DCF Lawsuit State Settles DCF Case For $14 Million

For 10 years, agents with Florida’s Department of Children and Families placed children with foster mother Nellie Johnson, despite multiple reports that she abused kids in her care.
Now, the agency has agreed to pay more than $14 million to the 20 children placed in Johnson’s home. She was convicted of child abuse and neglect in 2003 and sentenced to 60 years in prison.

The payouts will resolve a federal lawsuit filed against nine DCF case workers and investigators. It also disposes of a state case filed against DCF in Alachua Circuit Court. 


The federal suit brought on behalf of 20 children alleged the DCF workers violated the children’s civil rights by depriving them of their rights to life, liberty or property provided in the 14th Amendment’s due process clause of the U.S. Constitution.

By suing the DCF agents under a federal civil rights act, the plaintiffs did not have to endure a protracted claims bill procedure in the Legislature to collect damages above the Florida’s sovereign immunity caps of $100,000 per person and $200,000 per incident. State law protects governmental entities such as the DCF from paying the full amount of claims unless lawmakers approve an exemption.

Filing a federal civil rights claim sidesteps the sovereign immunity limits, but it requires a higher burden of proof. The lawsuit, filed by child advocate and Fort Lauderdale attorney Howard Talenfeld, outlines each instance that a case worker failed to act upon a tip or a report of abuse.

"This is one of the most egregious set of facts you’ve seen anywhere and obviously the state agreed," Talenfeld said. He applauded DCF and its secretary, Bob Butterworth, for not forcing the plaintiffs to go to trial to seek the money they needed for treatment.

Butterworth, a former Florida attorney general, Broward judge and law school dean at St. Thomas University, said the outcome demonstrates the department’s commitment to settling cases involving clear wrongdoing on the part of DCF and its agents.

"The state can’t have it both ways," Butterworth said, adding that Florida cannot prosecute the foster mother for abuse and simultaneously take the position in civil court that the children must prove they were abused. 

Butterworth DCF

Coral Gables attorney Sheridan Weissenborn, a partner at Papy Weissenborn Vraspir Paterno & Puga, who represented the state agents named in the federal lawsuit, did not return call for comment by deadline Thursday.

From 1991 to 2001, Johnson, a single mother, took in more than two dozen children, according to the federal lawsuit filed by Talenfeld. During that time, 17 reports of physical and emotional abuse were filed with DCF and 30 calls were received by the department’s hotline indicating that Johnson was abusing children in her care, the lawsuit alleged.
Despite the complaints and the need for the removal of some abused children from Johnson’s homes in the Gainesville area, DCF continued to place children with her.

The children said that Johnson would beat them with pipes, belts, shoes, sticks and paddles. She would also force them to eat until they vomited.

In 2001, state officials terminated Johnson’s parental rights and removed the 17 children who were then in her care.

In 2003, Johnson and one of her adult adoptive daughters were convicted of child abuse and neglect.

In 2005, Talenfeld sued on the children’s behalf in Broward Circuit Court. The case was removed to U.S. District Court in Miami. Ten of the children in the suit were older than 18 at the time the lawsuit was filed.

 The lawsuit alleged that DCF "utilized the Johnson home as an inexpensive means to warehouse special needs children in order to avoid providing necessary and appropriate foster care and adoption services to those children."

Talenfeld recounted one instance when a child risked bringing a paddle to school that Johnson used to beat her with so she could give it to a DCF agent. The agent returned the paddle to Johnson without acting on the child’s complaint.

"Obviously the whole system plain did not work," Butterworth said in an interview. He added the state should not have left the children in Johnson’s home.

"When Nellie Johnson receives 60 years in prison for abusing the children that she had placed with her, you know pretty well that you’re not going to win that case," Butterworth said.

 

He said DCF decided it was in the best interest of the state and the children to settle and not delay justice for the children who were guaranteed to win anyway.

"Butterworth’s position makes sense: Why should we waste state resources on defending indefensible claims when we could be getting treatment for these children?" Talenfeld said.



Howard Talenfeld 

http://www.judicialaccountability.org/articles/dcflawsuit.htm


By Jordana Mishory
Daily Business Review
September 28, 2007 

A FEDERAL FELONY Sentence Of LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE = NO DEALS, NO LENIENCY!!

Make murder during the commission of child abuse A FEDERAL FELONY, to carry a sentence of LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE = NO DEALS, NO LENIENCY!!
Minot ND - A sweet angel died in a hospital bed on February 14, 2011 after suffering brutal abuse. He was 19 months old...Literally held hostage in his own home, his body was brutally beaten into a coma. A broken jaw, cuts, bruises covering his precious body...his brain swollen from the beatings, no chance for recovery, his "mother" had him taken off life support. The "parent" and her "boyfriend" plead guilty Oct 21, 2011 to murder but with plea agreements in place, they will serve 18.5 years (Cassondra Ayala) and 23 years (Anthony Robinson). THIS is NOT justice....CONRAD will NOT be able to start over in 18.5 or 23 years, in fact, he didn't get a second chance, he didn't get a lenient sentence. He got death. Story after story, county after county, state after state, we see the same result. Our children DO NOT have the worth of an adult's life, sometimes not the worth of an abused animal. MAKE the STAND for the CHILDREN...this is the richest and most powerful country yet our child abuse rates soar?? Change the snapshot before it's too late...make a statement...one that says "WE, the PEOPLE, WILL not allow the senseless slaughter of our YOUNG any LONGER" Pass Conrad's Law...make the future not SO bright for child killers in this nation. Thank you!!

http://www.change.org/petitions/conrads-law

Innocence Lost: Florida Lawsuit Alleges DCF Sent Girl To Abusive Setting

Children should know they’re beautiful and loved. They should feel safe, welcome and comfortable surrounded by family and friends.

Yet one girl felt none of these. At 7, she was placed by the Florida Department of Children and Families into an overcrowded foster home, shared a bed with another foster child, and ultimately was sexually molested by the foster parent. She lost more than her innocence. She lost her trust in others and a chance at a normal future.

Now 12, her adoptive mother is trying to help the girl regain her trust – and a normal life. A lawsuit filed against the Florida DCF and YMCA seeks to ensure normalcy for the girl – and future state wards.

Recall DCF

In the St. Petersburg Times story of February 27, 2010, “Lawsuit Alleges DCF and YMCA Sent Girl into Sexually Abusive Situation,” it was reported that the first time the Florida woman took her adoptive daughter to the dentist, an assistant asked if the girl had been sexually assaulted.
“She just asked that because of how she reacted toward him,” the girl’s mother said.
The abuse, which occurred when the girl was 7 years old and in foster care, could have been prevented and should have been recognized sooner, according to a suit filed in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court that accuses the Department of Children and Families and the Sarasota YMCA of negligence and oversight failures — allegations that the DCF flatly denies.


Attorney Howard Talenfeld says the girl should have never been in the Oldsmar home of Brian and Antonia Starmer, who are also named in the suit.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bRaGgndXt3QJ:floridachildadvocate.com/innocence-lost-florida-lawsuit-alleges-dcf-sent-girl-to-abusive-setting+dcf+florida+lawsuit&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Couple Accused Of Swindling Over $400,000 From Foster Child

September 02, 2010 9:05 AM

The Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. — A Polk County couple faces federal charges of swindling more than $400,000 from a foster child after he received life insurance money.
A grand jury indictment doesn't identify the name of the victim in the case, but said that a boy was sent into foster care to live with Radhames Antonio Oropeza and Asia Concepcion Oropeza after his mother died and his father was incarcerated.


On Tuesday, a magistrate judge set the couple's bail at $50,000 each.
Court records show the proceeds of a life insurance policy were made available to the boy after his 18th birthday and the Oropezas are accused of inviting him down to Florida, and stealing the money by convincing him that he was investing in real estate.
The couple are charged with conspiring to commit fraud and wire fraud. A trial is scheduled for October.

Read more: http://www.nwfdailynews.com/articles/fla-32510-foster-swindling.html#ixzz1c7oK7SwX

Governor Rick Scott Department Children And Families

 Governor Rick Scott,

I know that this happened in 2000, but it shows a long history of abuse and corruption in the state of Florida. I have made you aware of numerous abuses. I have been connected with literally hundreds of other Floridians who have experienced constitution and civil rights abuse by DCF and local police agencies in supporting illegal search and seizures, fraudulent reports, and so much more.

Since you have been made aware of these problems, including the deaths of children in state care, and have chosen to do nothing about it, I know that you should personally be held responsible for each family torn apart.

You swore to defend the constitution and both the US Constitution and the FL Constitution protect citizens from these abuses. Are you standing up or are you burning your head so you can once again plead the 5th?

We do not advocate violence in any form


From: Schafer [mailto:schafer@sprynet.com]
Sent: Friday, June 16, 2000 5:00 PM
To: Denise Karp
Subject: Abusive Fla. DCF Sued for $501 million
ABUSIVE FLORIDA DCF SUED FOR $501 MILLION
On Wednesday, June 7,2000, a $501 million dollar civil rights class action suit was filed and accepted in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, on behalf of families who allegedly have been victimized by the practices of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Juvenile courts.

Attorney Robert Dowd, of Orlando, filed the 24-page suit on behalf of over 13 families and 50 minor children, including several from Okeechobee County.
Named as defendants in the action are the Florida Department of Children and Families, Judge Kathleen Kearney, the Juvenile Court System, DCF attorneys Bernstein, Swartz and Gillen, Attorney General of the State of Florida Robert Butterworth, DCF case workers Christina Garcia, Laura Dickinson, Lisa Suarez, and Michelle Akins.
In addition are listed Judge Kerry Evander and Judge Burton Conner. Also included in the suit are the guardian ad litem director, the Indian River Juvenile Facility and the inspector General for the State of Florida.
The suit alleges that the state engaged in a systematic process by which the families, parents, children and citizens of the State have been terrorized, traumatized and torn asunder as well as deprived of their fundamental rights without due process of law. The suit continues by stating that the motivation behind this system oppression is federal funding.
The state receives over one-fourth of it’s annual budget from the federal government. In the fiscal year ending in 1999, the state received over $10 billion from the federal government, of which the greatest share was for "human services." This amount is four-and-one-half times greater than that provided for education, and six times greater than funding for transportation.
The suit contends that Florida’s child welfare laws, as currently written and applied by the defendants, have been enacted specifically for the purpose of qualifying for that federal funding.
According to the court document, in accordance with the federal statutes, funding is increased in direct proportion to the number of children who can be brought within the juvenile courts, foster care and the compulsory adoption system.
LAWSUIT CLAIMS PARENTS ARE PRESUMED GUILTY, DENIED DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW.

The law explicitly calls this "freeing children" from their parents for adoption. Among the examples listed in the filing regarding the denial of due process includes allegations that the defendants flagrantly violated Florida Statute section 39, which contains the framework upon which DCF operates. It continues by stating that under current federal and state law parents are not permitted to know who has reported them to the state for alleged violations of child welfare laws.


Once the parents are accused, they are presumed guilty, and the burden is placed upon them to prove their innocence, said the lawsuit. In addition, the suit states that the juvenile courts are closed to the public and since they are a "star Chamber" due process can be abused with impunity.
As you can see I have been very busy here, and hopefully we will nail some thirty Judges very shortly. Among them, Walter Colbath, and Ron Hoy, from Palm Beach County.

And This Is Just One Reason The System Is Corrupt!

Matthew Lappin

Matthew Lappin is just one reason the system is corrupt. How many more are out there? In light of what has happened in the last few weeks first with Nubia and her brother and with the two children and their mother one wonders when it will all stop! Added to that was the case worker who was arrested in Orlando for drugs and now this. The system is beyond broken. It is corrupt – greedy and abusive. It is past time to shut it down!

A Department of Children and Families employee was arrested by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday on two charges of lewd and lascivious molestation against a child, LCSO spokesman Sgt. James McQuaig said Sunday.
Matthew Lappin, 29, was arrested on charges of fondling/molesting a child younger than 12 years of age, McQuaig said.

If convicted, Lappin could face life in prison.
DCF Communications Director Joe Follick said Lappin worked as an abuse registry counselor. His job was to field calls on the department’s abuse hotline, take information from the callers and dispatch that information to the proper authorities. Follick said Lappin did not come in physical contact with children on his job.
McQuaig said LCSO received the case on Feb. 25 through a report from DCF, informing LCSO of allegations that a child was molested twice, once on April 1 and once on Oct. 1.
“The system in place worked,” McQuaig said. “When DCF became aware of a criminal allegation, they did what they were supposed to do and contacted the appropriate law-enforcement authority.”
Follick said Sunday the department had become aware of the allegations against Lappin on Feb. 25, contacted LCSO and placed Lappin on paid administrative leave. On the day of Lappin’s arrest, Follick said DCF sent Lappin a letter stating the department’s intentions of firing him. He has 10 days from the receipt of the letter to contest the firing.
“On the rare occasion when a department employee allegedly commits a crime, we react quickly to remove that person from any interaction with families during an investigation,” Follick said.
Lappin currently is being held in Leon County Jail. Bail has been set at $25,000.


http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110320/BREAKINGNEWS/110320006/DCF-employee-arrested-on-child-molestation-charges
Read more: DCF employee arrested on child molestation charges | tallahassee.com | Tallahassee Democrat http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20110320/BREAKINGNEWS/110320006/DCF-employee-arrested-on-child-molestation-charges#ixzz1HBq1mScG

Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Department Of Children And Families

Lawsuit Filed Against Florida Department Of Children And Families (DCF) Arises Out Of The Death Of A 15-Month-Old Boy - Law Offices Of Spicer And Miller, P.L.

GAINESVILLE, Fla., Jan. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blake Rupe, 15 months old, passed away on December 16, 2008 as the result of horrific child abuse, which unfortunately could have been prevented. The Personal Representative of the Estate of Blake Rupe and Brian Fore, the father of the child and his 4-year-old surviving sister, have now filed a lawsuit against DCF and other involved agencies and named David Spicer and Stephen K. Miller as case attorneys.

The errors by DCF unfortunately did not end after this tragedy. Coincidentally, months after Blake's death on the same day that David Tatara, the live in boyfriend of Blake's mother, was charged with 2nd degree murder and aggravated child abuse, DCF mailed Tatara a letter stating that "the Department determined that there are no indications of bone fracture, failure to protect, physical injury, death or inadequate supervision."

DCF Stupid People

"It is very concerning to me that a DCF letter is mailed out almost four months after a child in its care has already passed away," Miller said. "It makes you wonder if anyone is really monitoring these files closely, or if computers are entrusted to track children and generate form letters."
DCF admitted fault through Spokesperson Carol Hoeppner, in several interviews shortly after the tragedy.  "We know we could have done more. We know we have an obligation to do more," said Hoeppner. In January 2009, a case manager and supervisor with a contracted agency were also fired.

Attorneys Miller and Spicer are determined to do everything possible to ensure that all those involved in the negligent handling of this case that resulted in this tragedy are held accountable. "Nothing anyone can do will ever bring that baby boy back, but we are going to do all we can to ensure that DCF and its contracted agencies never let this happen again to any other child," said Miller

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:aJo_V5xQmVUJ:www.thestreet.com/story/10958660/lawsuit-filed-against-florida-department-of-children-and-families-dcf-arises-out-of-the-death-of-a-15-month-old-boy--law-offices-of-spicer-and-miller-pl.html+dcf+florida+law+suit&cd=20&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us