Startling Find In Jacksonville's DCF Child Death Investigations

I-TEAM examined 227 death investigations from 8-year span

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Nearly half of the 227 cases of child deaths in Duval County investigated by the Florida Department of Children and Families between 2009 and 2016 involved families already known to DCF investigators, an I-TEAM analysis of data found.

Those in charge of local child protection organizations were unaware the number was that high until shown the analysis by News4Jax.  The startling discovery by the I-TEAM has led to questions about staff experience and oversight within Florida’s child welfare system.

I-TEAM: Startling find in Jacksonville's DCF child death investigations

A privatized system

Florida privatized its child welfare system under then-Gov. Jeb Bush. The Department of Children and Families contracts with different lead agencies -- mostly nonprofits -- in different parts of the state, broken down by judicial circuits. The goal of that process is to have smaller organizations handle child welfare, in each individual community.

Family Support Services of North Florida is the lead agency for child welfare in Duval and Nassau Counties.

In Jacksonville, Family Support Services contracts with four other nonprofits to handle case management for children in troubled homes. Those organizations -- Children's Home Society, Daniel, Jewish Family and Community Services and Neighbor to Family -- also do other work beyond case management.

Lee Kaywork has been the CEO of FSS for eight years. The nonprofit annually oversees the cases of about 1,500-2,000 children who are victims of abuse, neglect or abandonment, largely due to domestic violence, substance abuse or mental health issues.  But the I-TEAM learned that Family Support Services doesn’t actually oversee any individual case involving abuse or neglect.

“I think we’re one of the best in the state,” Kaywork said when asked how child welfare in Jacksonville compares with communities across the state.

Kaywork told the I-TEAM he was confident that his case managers here have enough experience to make critical decisions about the children’s future.

“I'm confident once the child is in care, the safety of the child is being taken care of,” Kaywork said.

Taking a closer look at investigations

The harsh reality uncovered by the I-TEAM is that sometimes those families known to DCF and Family Support Services still end up having children die

Statistics on the DCF’s website show that 48 percent of child deaths the agency investigated in Duval County over the last five years were in families known to the agency. That percentage was higher than the percentages in jurisdictions with large cities, including Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Child Deaths in Large Florida Counties

County	Total Child Deaths	Percentage of deaths in families known to DCF
Duval	227	48.46%
Orange	222	47.75%
Miami-Dade	278	42.09%
Broward	272	40.44%
Palm Beach	200	35.00%
Hillsborough	279	32.26%

Data compiled from DCF statistics, 2009-2016

“I don’t know that for a fact, but I’ll believe you for the moment,” Kaywork responded when asked about the comparison. “I don't know the detail behind the number.” Kaywork added, “I think that, in most cases, those are going to be investigations that never reached us at Family Support Services.”

The I-TEAM discovered that not to be the case.

In 2015, DCF began deploying a new oversight team -- the Critical Incident Rapid Response Team -- to investigate child fatalities in families that are already known to the state system.  One goal of the team was to figure out how to make improvements. A review of reports from the team’s first year found that Duval County had six CIRRT investigations – more than any other county in the state.

A review of the case of a 6-month-old girl found her death to be sleep-related, but investigators still found issues within the case. One finding cited “high turnover and lack of available staff.”  One child protective investigator also stated he felt he “lacked experience to handle complex cases.” 

The report also found “safety plans were not sufficient” to manage dangers.

In another case investigated by the CIRRT, a 3-month-old girl died after co-sleeping with her mother. The family had been investigated by DCF prior to the girl’s death. 

In this case, the report found “investigations lacked a thorough assessment of the family situation,” and that the “region’s workforce was inexperienced at all staffing levels.” The report went on to say that 57 percent of child protective investigators had less than one year of experience, and 80 percent having less than two years of experience.

In three of the six cases from 2015, Family Support Services was involved. FSS delegated out the case management of the families to some of the nonprofits under them.

“That’s an alarming number. I’m not going to make short sight of it,” Kaywork said when pressed. “That is an alarming number.”

The I-TEAM asked Kaywork how often Family Support Services examines its actions to see if a mistake was made in a child’s case.

“I don’t go to sleep at night without thinking of the children we are serving,” Kaywork said. “That’s our job.”

Kaywork acknowledged the system is not perfect.

“It’s a child welfare system. We are at the tail end of a lot of woes of our society,” Kaywork said.

In recent years another societal issue -- opioid addiction -- has had an effect on the child welfare system. 

Kaywork said the bulk of child removals from custody now are tied to opiate use, accounting for the case of 75 to 80 percent of the children taken from their homes. That’s up from 40 percent in the past.

Family Support Services, a fully accredited organization, has been the local lead agency for foster care, adoption, and family services since 2001. Kaywork explained their state-mandated goal is to reunify families, but the I-TEAM found that happens in less than half of their cases.

In 2013 and 2014, more children were adopted out than reunified. In 2015 and 2016 there were fewer adoptions, but still only 35 percent of families were reunified.

Kaywork said it’s a delicate and difficult balance.

“There is nothing more traumatic to a child than being removed from their parent,” Kaywork explained.  “Nothing. They will never recover from it.”

Thursday afternoon DCF responded to the I-TEAM analysis with a statement:

Child safety is the first priority of the Florida Department of Children and Families and our staff and partners are entrusted with a sacred mission to protect the vulnerable and aide family recovery and resiliency. Every case of suspected abuse or neglect called into the Florida Abuse Hotline is carefully evaluated based on statutory criteria to be accepted for investigation. Every child death, regardless of family situation or the community, is a devastating tragedy. DCF takes every child fatality very seriously and is absolutely committed to reducing preventable child deaths."

http://www.news4jax.com/news/investigations/48-of-duval-countys-child-deaths-investigated-by-dcf-from-known-cases 

Courthouse Protester Seeks Custody Hearing In Viera

For several days, the 39-year-old father has paced back and forth with a cardboard sign asking a judge to 'free my babies' as hundreds of people carried out their daily business at the Moore Justice Center in Viera.

Korvary Rojas, of Fort Lauderdale, said he is also protesting against the Department of Children and Families at the Viera courthouse and added he is hoping to regain custody of his two daughters, ages 2 and 3, in a pending family court review.

Rojas has been at the courthouse since Tuesday, but was asked by Brevard County sheriff's deputies on Thursday to leave the courthouse premises after a call to a helpline raised concerns about his wellbeing. Several deputies turned up within minutes of the call and surrounded him in front of the courthouse. No arrest was made.

“They told me to go home, that I can't be standing there. These are my babies,” he said, “free my babies. I don’t know what else to do,” the handyman told FLORIDA TODAY.

The Department of Children and Families removed the two children from Rojas’ home in June 2015. A June 3 hearing was held at the Moore Justice Center in Viera for Rojas to present his case.

“The court heard testimony from the father in regards to a home study managed in Fort Lauderdale,” said David Ocasio of DCF in a written statement to FLORIDA TODAY.

“It was deemed that there were still concerns regarding the dad's ability to properly care for the children. A judgement has not been made on whether or not to overrule the home study.”

Rojas said one deputy prayed for him. Others asked why he was there. He was also joined by another fathers' rights advocate,  David Henry, on Thursday. "I've been out here night and day," he said. "But I've been suffering like a dog for a year since they took my children. I thought I was supposed to come back here to pick up my babies but nothing happened," he said, adding that he questions the care the two are receiving in DCF custody.

"I just want my babies."

http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2016/06/09/courthouse-protester-seeks-custody-hearing-viera/85644284/

Child-Protection Worker Accused Of Falsifying Reports

October 10, 2013|By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel, By Erika Pesantes, Sun Sentinel

A Broward sheriff’s employee entrusted to help shield kids from harm didn’t even bother to meet five children she needed to watch over, possibly compromising their safety, authorities say.

Sandra Marti

Sheriff’s child investigative specialist Sandra Marti has been arrested, accused of falsifying reports that stated she had met with the children, according to a sheriff’s report. Instead, Marti simply arranged for parents to send her cellphone photos of the children, the report said.

Marti was jailed Wednesday on multiple counts of falsifying reports, records show.
“The falsification of official records, and the potential risks that any kind of falsification could pose for children, will not be tolerated,” said Dennis Miles, the regional managing director for the state’s Department of Children and Families’ Southeast Region.
Marti submitted the falsified records involving the five children between Dec. 1, 2011, and June 30 this year, the Sheriff’s Office said. Detectives found that those children are doing well, sheriff’s spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion said.
“We have gone back and made sure that all of those kids were safe, and the original allegations had been addressed,” she said.
An investigation into Marti’s actions began in June when a child’s mother phoned the Broward Sheriff’s Office. The mother said she planned to send Marti a photo of her son, but couldn’t because she had lost Marti’s phone number, an arrest report said.
That was a red flag for Marti’s supervisor, Concepcion said.
Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Public Corruption Unit reached out to several parents who each similarly detailed Marti’s instructions to send her photos of their children. They all said their sons and daughters did not meet with her on instances when she indicated they had, according to an arrest report.
Marti, a civilian employee, is currently suspended without pay, Concepcion said. Marti, 57, of Coral Springs, has been employed with the Sheriff’s Office for nine years.
She previously worked in pre-trial services and community control supervision of offenders, and later began working as a child investigative specialist.
Detectives have reviewed all of Marti’s cases since July 2010 — when she began working in the Child Protective Investigations Section — and only found five cases “in which she acted inappropriately,” Concepcion said.
Marti, who was freed from jail on a $5,000 bond, could not be reached for comment Thursday despite several attempts to contact her via a relative.
As part of their role, child protective investigators take a look at allegations of abuse, neglect or abandonment that come into the DCF hotline. Those cases range from neglecting to offer a child medical attention, to leaving minors who cannot care for themselves home alone, to sexual abuse, DCF spokeswoman Paige Patterson-Hughes said.
However, it was not known Thursday what circumstances led Marti to each of the cases for which she allegedly falsified reports.
“It’s important for there to be the appropriate contact with the potential victim and other people involved,” Patterson-Hughes said. “Not following through clearly is a problem.”
In the case that helped start the investigation, Marti filed a report indicating she met a child on June 13 this year, authorities said. But in a sworn statement, the boy’s mother said Marti did not meet her son and instead asked the mother for a cellphone photo.
According to the arrest report, investigators found that Marti filed a report in January 2012 stating that she had met with another child. But that boy’s mother also gave a sworn statement that said Marti didn’t see her son.
The scenario repeated itself in December 2012, when Marti said in a report she visited a 7-year-old girl at Croissant Park Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale, an arrest report said. But the school’s assistant vice principal said she had no record of an investigator visiting the child at the time, the report said.
Marti allegedly also asked that girl’s mother to send a cellphone snapshot of her other child, a 2-year-old girl. The mother, in a sworn statement, said she did as instructed.
In April 2013, Marti gave a 16-year-old boy’s mother her business card and asked that his photo be emailed to her, the report said. The boy told investigators that he never met Marti, but did take a photo of himself on his cellphone and emailed it to Marti.
Patterson-Hughes said meeting people is essential: It offers investigators clues to anything else that should be taken into account during their investigation.
“Clearly, when you’re talking to a person, you’re oftentimes taking in more than the words. You’re looking at other aspects, the behavior, the demeanor and the circumstances that brought you to the person in the first place,” Patterson-Hughes said.
Marti also is accused of falsifying a report that said she had met with a parent, authorities said.
In May this year, Marti allegedly filed a report stating she had met with the father of a child who had an open case, authorities said. The father told detectives that he had a telephone conversation with a child protective investigator, but did not meet the investigator in person, the arrest report said.
Miles called the allegations against Marti a “serious matter” and commended the Sheriff’s Office for investigating. In an emailed statement Thursday, he said that DCF “will work with [sheriff's] investigators to ensure the integrity of other cases which involved this investigator.”

Dr. Sohail Punjwani Over Medicating Children In DCF Florida Foster Care Leads To Deaths

South Florida Family Sues Dr. Sohail Punjwani for Son's Death

A South Florida family has filed suit against a Fort Lauderdale doctor claiming he is responsible for their child's death and this is not the first time the doctor has been the center of controversy.

Dr. Sohail Punjwani who gave mind altering drugs to South Florida children could soon be going to court to defend his reasoning for prescribing the drugs. The mother of one of the boys spoke out about her son on Thursday.

"He was like a zombie, my son was like a zombie all the time," said Norma Tringali as she described the final days of her teen aged son Emilio Villamar.

Tringali told CBS4's Ted Scouten that her son was diagnosed as bi-polar and was treated by Dr. Sohail Punjwani. She claims her son was given a cocktail of drugs and that some that were not approved for children.

Villamar died of a heart attack at 16. Tringali said she was shocked when she heard the same doctor was treating 7-year old Gabriel Myers, who hanged himself April 16th in the bathroom of his Margate foster home.

Investigators are checking claims that he hanged himself, while also on a cocktail of drugs, some not approved for kids.

"When I learned that he was under the care of Dr. Punjwani, I say to myself, I will go forward and talk about it because maybe somebody else can learn from my tragedy," said Tringali, who actually filed the lawsuit four years ago.

Gabriel Myer's death spurred DCF Secretary George Sheldon to appoint a work group to study the agency's use of psychiatric drugs, and its compliance with a 2005 reform law on the use of such medications on children in state care.

Under the 2005 law, the Agency for Health Care Administration oversees a state program that monitors the prescribing of mental-health drugs to children under Medicaid, the state insurance program for the needy.

The program, called the Medicaid Drug Therapy Management Program, tracks the prescribing of mental-health drugs to children, and flags psychiatrists whose practices veer outside generally accepted protocols.

Among the practices that might draw attention: doctors with a high volume of prescriptions of mental-health drugs or potentially dangerous combinations of the medications. The program looks at the practices of about 17,000 doctors who prescribe medications to children on Medicaid, and about 300 to 450 end up red-flagged.

Dr. Sohail Punjwani, who was treating Gabriel and Emilio, had been red-flagged by the medication program every quarter that the list was kept, one of the administrators told CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald.

 http://westonlawyers.com/NewsInfo/SF-Family-Sues-Psychiatrist.html