When Mike Carroll, secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, told panel committees from the Florida House and Senate in the wake of Phoebe Jonchuck’s death at the foot of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge earlier this month that a “sad irony” had also occurred, it highlighted a stark... View Article
Results & verdicts
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Child advocates and children’s rights attorneys who fight to prevent child abuse and death of Florida’s at-risk children are concerned about the evolving case of Phoebe Jonchuck. During a court hearing, her father, Jon Jonchuck, had hoped his case would be “in God’s hands” but a court-appointed attorney now... View Article
To those who advocate for greater protections for any child suffering physical abuse or threatened with harm, the episode this week when a young girl was tossed to her death off a Tampa Bay bridge raises questions and concerns. In the aftermath of the death of 5-year-old Phoebe Jonchuck, reportedly... View Article
In what one child advocate and children’s rights attorney called a “landmark” ruling in support of protections for the state’s poor and most vulnerable citizens, a federal judge ruled recently that Florida’s Medicaid program violates several federal laws when it comes to healthcare for children. Howard Talenfeld, director of the... View Article
In a case that could help ensure Florida’s at-risk children in the care of the Department of Children and Families and in need of mental health services get the treatment they require, a Miami child welfare judge has demanded that Florida DCF officials appear in court to explain their actions. The... View Article
In an important win for Florida’s most vulnerable children – and the doctors and advocates who serve them, a U.S. federal judge this week ruled that the state’s healthcare system for those children violates various federal laws. The move follows a decade-long battle by pediatricians who care for those kids,... View Article
If making life better for Florida’s abused, abandoned and neglected children is not already on your charitable priority list, consider Florida’s Children First. Thanks to the unwavering support of child advocates and supporters statewide, we’ve been able to help some of the 20,000 children in foster care who depend Florida’s... View Article
Stacie J. Schmerling, a children’s rights lawyer and former veteran child welfare investigator and case worker, has been named partner with Talenfeld Law, Florida’s only law firm dedicated exclusively to protecting abused, disabled and injured kids. Stacie has worked with preeminent children’s rights lawyer Howard Talenfeld for six years and... View Article
Talenfeld Law recently celebrated its grand opening with an open house event at the firm’s office. Scores of South Florida child advocates, attorneys and others who help protect children in the child welfare system were in attendance. Led by Howard Talenfeld, one of the nation’s preeminent children’s rights attorneys, Talenfeld Law... View Article
Thousands of foster children, former foster children, developmentally disabled and medically fragile children are part of the Florida child care system. If you’re currently or formerly a child in – or an advocate for or parent of a child in the foster care system – the Justice for Kids blog... View Article