Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Associated PressJanuary 16, 2017

Officials say the number of human trafficking cases have increased more than 50 percent in the state from the previous year.The Florida Department of Children and Families says Florida received 1,892 reports of human trafficking. That’s a 54 percent increase from the previous year. The increase in reported allegations of human trafficking was due in […]

Peter SchorschNovember 14, 2016

The Florida Department of Children and Families announced Monday it will receive $8 million in federal money to fund services for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking in underserved communities. The 2016 Services, Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) grant will fund victim services providers such as law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and courts by […]

Staff ReportsSeptember 1, 2016

A former chief of staff of the Florida Department of Children and Families has become a top executive for Pondera Solutions, a Google Enterprise partner. Vivian Myrtetus is regional manager for the eastern United States, the company announced in a press release. It provides “fraud analytics for government agencies nationwide.” She will be based in Miami, reporting to Pondera Solution’s COO Greg […]

Florence SnyderJune 27, 2016

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is not the worst offender in Florida’s never-ending War on Open Government. It just gets caught in the act more often than fellow offenders at the state, county and municipal levels. That’s because DCF is one of the few agencies left which ever has to contend with watchdog journalism. DCF chieftains, […]

Jim RosicaJune 15, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday state agencies were setting aside millions of dollars for the Orlando area in the wake of Sunday’s mass shooting at a gay nightclub there. Also Wednesday, his office revealed Scott and President Obama finally had a one-on-one phone conversation in advance of the president’s scheduled Thursday visit to the area. […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 14, 2016

The Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, chaired by Hollywood Democratic Sen. Eleanor Sobel, on Thursday unanimously passed Senate Bill 12, Mental Health and Substance Abuse, sponsored by Hialeah Republican Sen. Rene Garcia to improve the delivery of mental health and substance abuse services. “Our current system of behavioral health services is fragmented […]

Drew WilsonOctober 27, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that his 2016 budget recommendation will including a $22.9 million funding bump for the Department of Children and Families. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking when a child is a victim of abuse or neglect. Anytime something horrific happens to an innocent child, we have to stop and think about what we can […]

Phil AmmannFebruary 17, 2015

Florida’s child-welfare system is once again under Tallahassee’s microscope, further consequence of the death of 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck, whose father threw her off a St. Petersburg bridge into Tampa Bay on Jan. 8. Senate President Andy Gardiner is calling for an “across the board” examination of the state’s mental health care and abuse hotline procedures, […]

Florence SnyderFebruary 16, 2015

It’s not every day that a divorce lawyer reports her own client to the state’s child abuse hotline. But that’s what John Jonchuck’s lawyer did on January 7, when Jonchuck showed up at the firm’s office dressed in pajamas and toting his five-year-old daughter Phoebe, along with a Bible which he incorrectly believed to be written in Swedish. Jonchuck’s lawyer told the Hotline that […]

Associated PressFebruary 9, 2015

Just 12 hours before police say a man threw his 5-year-old daughter to her death off a Tampa Bay bridge last month, his own attorney called Florida’s child abuse hotline, warning that his client was suffering from mental delusions. But the hotline operator didn’t refer the call to investigators because she didn’t think the child […]

Tag: DCF
Image via AP.

Human trafficking cases increase 50 percent in Florida

DCF receives $8 million grant to fund community-based projects targeting domestic violence and sexual assault

Personnel note: Vivian Myrtetus moves to Pondera Solutions

Florence Snyder: At Florida Department of Children & Families, the sun don’t shine

Rick Scott says money set aside for Orlando efforts

Senate committee passes legislation to improve delivery of mental health, substance abuse services

Rick Scott asks for $23 million budget bump for DCF in 2016

Andy Gardiner calls for full analysis after death of Phoebe Jonchuck

Florence Snyder: DCF's Orwellian response to child thrown from bridge

Hotline ignored calls on girl thrown over bridge by dad