On November 6, 2020, Florida lost another child that had been repeatedly involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). 22-month-old Rashid Bryant was pronounced dead at Miami Jackson North Medical Center. The cause? Complications of acute and chronic blunt force injuries, attributable to “parental neglect,” according to the... View Article
Results & verdicts
more results & verdictsCategories for Child Abuse
Inspiring Story Told by Former Foster Care Child Who Was Abused and Neglected
Kenisha E. Anthony has become an agent for change within the foster care system. She began her journey as a “ward of the state” when she was only four (4) years old. Her parents struggled with drug addiction and Kenisha was taken from them. She would then be placed in... View Article
Northern Illinois Academy to Shutdown Permanently Following an Investigation Over Allegations of Child-on-child Sexual Abuse, Treatment & Safety Concerns
A residential school operated by Sequel Youth and Family Services is set to permanently shutdown its operations. Northern Illinois Academy (NIA), located in Aurora, Illinois, is an 87-bed facility that receives funding from the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), and... View Article
In Memory of a Foster Child that Died a Year Ago After a Chokehold, Michigan is to Ban the Use of Restraints on Children Living in Group Homes
On April 29, 2020, 16-year-old Cornelius Fredrick threw a sandwich at another child during lunch at Lakeside Academy, a Sequel Youth and Family Services facility for at risk children in Michigan. In response to the sandwich incident, seven adult male staff members held little Cornelius on the floor for more than 10... View Article
Father Known to DCF Who Abused, Neglected and Starved Toddler to Death Takes Plea, Gets 20-year Sentence
Five months after his wife, Kristen Meyer, was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the death of their infant daughter, Alejandro Aleman pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, as reported by CBS 12. This issue arises from terrible circumstances... View Article
Foster Kids Starved, Beaten and Sexually Abused, Reports Show Few Caregivers are Punished
A new USA Today article highlights daunting details regarding the systemic issues in Florida’s child welfare system. In the last five years, there have been nearly 5,000 calls to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) abuse hotline from various concerned members of the community. These calls come from... View Article
After years of ignoring red flags, DCF secretary finally recognizes department’s failures in stopping child sexual abuse
After years of protestation by families, children, and advocacy groups that sexual abuse is rampant in state foster homes, DCF secretary Chad Poppell recognizes DCF’s failure in stopping children placed in state-licensed foster care from being sexually abused. The Miami Herald recently disclosed that during this past year, ninety-two children... View Article
Abusing children while taxpayers give them millions? Allegations of Sequel Youth’s profitable “death trap” were brought to light in a recent article by NBC news. Sequel Youth & Family Services, a for-profit child rehabilitation facility for children with serious mental and behavioral health issues, markets itself as a “national leader... View Article
A recent series of articles in USA Today again indicted Florida’s failing privatized child protection system, including an interview with Florida child advocate Stacie Schmerling on a horrific case of child sexual abuse in Ocala. Since the release of the articles, Florida lawmakers and child welfare leaders have debated the... View Article
More than 600 Children Separated, Caged, Abused, and Neglected by U.S. Government
The U.S. immigration crisis has led to the placement of 666 children, in cages, subjecting them to varying abuse and neglect from the Government which their parents sought protection. Instead of being placed in safe foster homes which the U.S. government requires of the states who remove children from the... View Article