Tragically, children in foster care are raped and physically assaulted at shelters like Youth Haven that are not equipped to address the individual therapeutic needs of children. The Fort Myers News Press has started a five-part series that offers an up-close look into the world of Anber, “who drifted in... View Article
As reported by the Associated Press, the foster care programs meant to provide migrant children with care while authorities work to connect them with parents, relatives or other sponsors may actually be harming them. A review of 38 legal claims obtained by the Associated Press — some of which have... View Article
On November 13, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Fostering Youth Transitions, a report with the most comprehensive data ever collected across all 50 states to help illustrate how young people ages 14 and older are faring as they transition from foster care to adulthood. This first-of-its-kind report examines how... View Article
Talenfeld Law Founder Howard Talenfeld shares insights on the deficiencies in our state’s foster care program in this article from the Orlando Sentinel, “‘Baby steps’ made to protect kids 20 years after Kayla McKean, 6, was murdered by father.” According to Talenfeld, privatization of child-welfare services has resulted in more state... View Article
Read about needed changes to South Florida’s foster care program in the article “South Florida’s Foster Care Program Urgently Needs to Change” by Talenfeld Law Founder Howard Talenfeld in the May 7 issue of the South Florida Legal Guide. Click here to view the South Florida Legal Guide.
The following is an opinion piece from Howard Talenfeld, President of Florida’s Children First and the founder of Talenfeld Law. When Senators Orrin Hatch and Ron Wyden, the Chairman and Ranking Member respectively of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, released findings from a two-year investigation into foster care privatization, it did... View Article
Attorneys, advocates, psychiatrists and healthcare providers who work with foster children under the care and watch of the Florida Department of Children and Families have learned through the years the perils of prescribing powerful psychotropic medications. Several years ago, Gabriel Myers, a 7-year-old boy also under the care of DCF,... View Article
Florida’s Children First (FCF), the statewide advocacy organization focused on protecting the legal rights of at-risk and foster care children, had a very successful Miami-Dade awards reception last week. Dozens of community and business leaders, and all other persons concerned about the future of Florida’s abused, abandoned and neglected children,... View Article
Florida’s privatized system of foster care is still failing our children. This documentary, which aired at the Palm Beach film festival, tells the story of many children who have fallen through the cracks of Florida’s experiment and who have been physically, sexually and emotionally abused in the system that was... View Article
This Thursday, dedicated South Florida child advocates who fight to protect the state’s most vulnerable foster children and at-risk kids will gather for the Broward Child Advocacy Awards & Reception supporting Florida’s Children First, the state’s leading child advocacy organization. The event will be held at The Riverside Hotel (620 East... View Article