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 Florida Department of Children and Families
Current Florida policy leaves hundreds of foster children without Medicaid coverage
Until recently, the state of Florida has continued to abandon foster children who had already been abused and neglected, even after they left state care, by improperly removing 1,730 former foster children from Medicaid. Former foster children, under federal law, remain Medicaid eligible until age 26. However, a current Florida... 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
DCF Florida’s Chief Inspector General defends investigation into nonprofit executive pay
Florida private social welfare agencies charged with caring for abused, neglected, and disabled children are under attack after Florida’s Chief Inspector General for the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) issued a preliminary report suggesting that their executives were being compensated well above the limits allowed by state law.... 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
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
USA Today: A foster father was accused of sex abuse. Then he got a second chance.
USA Today is publishing an ongoing investigative series about Florida’s child welfare system. In one of the latest pieces, the newspaper explores how serious allegations against foster parents often go unchecked in our state, and how DCF and contractors sometimes cut corners in screening and investigating potential foster parents. Read... View Article
Tampa Bay Times: Siblings in foster care should be kept together, Florida says – except when it argues the opposite
This article from the Tampa Bay Times discusses the many issues with inconsistency when it comes to crucial child placement decisions. Florida’s Children First’s Robin Rosenberg notes that the court doesn’t always get accurate information with which to make the best decision. Click here to read more.
Tampa Bay Times: Plan to use secure facility for Hillsborough’s problem foster teens is ‘ludicrous,’ sheriff says
A plan to use a secure facility to house Hillsborough’s problem foster teens is being met with opposition from several groups, including the Hillsborough County Sheriff, the Hillsborough County Commission Chairman, and Florida’s Children First. They warn that forcing children into a locked facility will cause them more emotional harm.... View Article