Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Les NeuhausMarch 17, 2017

The mother of a teen who committed suicide was in her car when she began receiving a trickle of text messages, Then a barrage of texts began streaming in. “Where’s your daughter,” one read. “Please please please check on your daughter,” read another. Gina Alexis, the mother of Naika Venant, the 14-year-old girl who hung […]

Les NeuhausMarch 13, 2017

A bill that would require drug testing for adults of families previously convicted of drug offenses who are applying for temporary family assistance from the state of Florida passed a House committee Monday. Sponsored by Rep. Chris Latvala, the bill – HB 1117 — would mandate the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to give […]

Les NeuhausMarch 13, 2017

A documentary film about Florida’s privatized child welfare and fostering programs — made by a Guardian ad Litem and filmmaker from Palm Beach — casts a draconian look at what happens to children when they are taken from abusive situations at home and become dependents of the state, at taxpayer expense, often to their peril. […]

Les NeuhausMarch 10, 2017

A couple living in southwest Florida have been charged in Alabama with 727 counts of sexual crimes and physical abuses against their 11 adopted and foster children, law enforcement officials in both states told FloridaPolitics.com Friday. Police in both states are calling it the most shocking case they’ve ever seen. “I’ve been working sex crimes […]

Les NeuhausMarch 6, 2017

As legislators in Tallahassee prepare themselves to convene their 60-day Session Tuesday, expect an assortment of proposed bills to be hashed out over the Department of Children and Families (DCF). Hot-button subjects with bipartisan support in the Senate and House include improvements in mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, working toward identifying and reducing […]

Les NeuhausMarch 1, 2017

Caseworkers at the Florida Department of Children and Families are being forced to shoulder nearly unbelievable workloads, leading some to falsify records, according to a new report by an Orlando TV news station. A single child protection investigator in the (DCF) had at one point 32 cases with 77 accompanying children, show DCF documents provided […]

Les NeuhausFebruary 24, 2017

A total of 931 combined child deaths were reported in Florida in both 2015 and 2016, according to the state’s Child Abuse Death Review Committee (CADR), which met in Tampa Friday to discuss the issue. Broken down, 474 of those reviewable fatalities were in 2015, with another 457 reviewable notifications made in 2016. More than […]

Les NeuhausFebruary 22, 2017

It’s another interesting day in the Florida child welfare business and not a bit has anything to do with a Department of Children and Families (DCF) child protection investigator being arrested. That’s good news. Starting with the positive, the Tallahassee Democrat reported Tony Dungy was in the state capital to speak at a DCF Black History Month Celebration, […]

Les NeuhausFebruary 20, 2017

A former child protection detective in Florida was arrested for lying in an ongoing investigation involving the possible sexual assault of a child, a spokesman for the state’s Department of Children and Families confirmed Monday. According to court records, Brittanee Sharmayne Carter, 27, was taken into custody by agents of the Florida Department of Law […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 7, 2017

The head of the state’s child welfare agency told a legislative panel his department has now handed over “5,000 pages of documents” to a judge looking into why a foster child hung herself while broadcasting it on social media. Mike Carroll, secretary of the Department of Children and Families (DCF), spoke to the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee this week. […]

Tag: Department of Children and Families

Records released by DCF portray different picture of mother in teen’s Facebook Live suicide

House committee OK’s bill to drug test temporary family aid seekers

‘Foster Shock’ documentary takes Florida’s privatized child welfare system to task

Florida couple face ‘shocking’ 700+ counts of abuse against fostered, adopted children

Range of DCF oversight issues, bills to be debated by Florida lawmakers this Session

Review of 250 reports by DCF investigators accused of lying shows 40 percent falsified

Child Abuse Death Review Committee to examine fatality emergency calls

DCF files: Tony Dungy, adoption, false reports and a new trend – falling asleep in cars, high and with kids

Florida child protection investigator arrested for lying in possible sex abuse case

Mike Carroll: “We aren’t always able” to save “broken” children