NBC2 Investigators: Foster children kept on unapproved overnight stays

NAPLES -
Foster children in Naples were kept overnight in offices and hotels more than a dozen times in 2014, according to a Department of Children and Families Inspector General's report.

Keeping children overnight in offices is against DCF policy and an employee called the event "traumatic."

The unapproved placements were overseen by Family Preservation Services (FPS), now called Pathways, which is a subcontractor of the Children's Network of Southwest Florida (CNSF).

The report from the Inspector General found that employees at FPS were required to spend the night with foster children in the offices. One employee said she did not sleep because "she was concerned that the child's known behavioral problems might surface during the night."

Another employee sent an email stating she "slept in the office on a VERY uncomfortable chair and had no funds to feed the child."

The report found that 11 children were kept in unapproved placements on 15 different occasions during 2014. The children mainly stayed at the FPS Naples office but were also housed at local hotels on three other occasions and the FPS office in Labelle once.

The children were as old as 17 and as young as ten.

CNSF declined an on-camera interview but answered questions from NBC2 via email.
When asked if more children have been kept in offices since the incident was uncovered, a spokesperson wrote, "There have been two occasions when a child stayed in the office overnight. The children were almost 16 and almost 17-year-old teens. No children have stayed in offices or hotels overnight in the past 15 months."
The employee who filed the complaint with DCF also alleged that management at CNSF directed FPS employees to "hide this (office stays) information from the public by not putting any references in [FPS] office emails."

However, the inspector general's report found "no conclusive information was obtained to implicate CNSF or FPS employees in attempting to conceal information about the overnight housing of children in offices or hotels."
In a statement, a CNSF spokesperson wrote, "The Children’s Network of SWFL staff and leadership did not instruct any employees not to discuss overnight office stays in emails."
The underlying issue of the office stays was the lack of resources and ever increasing demand, according to the report, which also stated that before 2014, the amount of children in the CNSF system increased by more than 36 percent. During the same time, 120 new foster parents were recruited, but it still wasn't enough to keep up with demand.

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/32732872/nbc2-investigators-foster-children-kept-on-unapproved-overnight-stays#.V6xA7aLE7gY

Seven-month-old Tampa girl dies while in state care

Miracle Collins was taken into care in February when her mother was arrested in her east Tampa home after a report of domestic violence, a Tampa Police Department report states.

The child was placed with a friend of her mother's by Florida Department of Children and Families contractor Eckerd Kids.

But Tampa Fire Rescue was called to the child's temporary home Tuesday after the 10-year-old woke to find the baby unresponsive. Paramedics tried to revive the infant but were unsuccessful.

DCF has assigned a critical incident team to investigate the death, a step mandated by state law whenever a child dies while under the state's watch.

Officials from Eckerd declined to comment on specifics of the case while the investigation is ongoing.

"Losing a baby to co-sleeping is heartbreaking," said Terri Durdeller, an Eckerd spokeswoman. "An unsafe sleep environment is one of the leading causes of preventable child deaths across the country, and Eckerd Kids has always made it a priority to educate families and children in our care on how to avoid this tragedy."

Miracle's mother, Rolanda Angelique Cusseaux, 35, was arrested Feb. 15 by Tampa police officers in the 2000 block of 25th Avenue E on a domestic battery charge.

She had been fighting with her boyfriend, Mederick Collins, identified as Miracle's father in the report.

Police handcuffed and arrested Cusseaux after she shoved Collins in their presence. An investigation of Collins' actions was referred to the State Attorney's Office.

Police officers called DCF because Miracle, who was then just two months old, was in the apartment.

The report states she was given to Cusseaux's friend, Tarshemia Martin, to care for until Cusseaux was released. It is unclear whether Miracle was transferred to another caregiver before her death.

In their report, officers described conditions in Cusseaux's apartment as deplorable.

"The floors were covered in stains and what appeared to be food and other things," the report states. "I noticed roaches throughout the front room and kitchen area. The kitchen was filthy and unkempt."

A woman who answered the door of Cusseaux's apartment Friday burst into tears when a Times reporter identified himself. She said she did not want to talk.

Children in the care of the state are routinely placed with non-relatives as an alternative to foster parents and residential centers. Over the past 12 months, 446 non-relatives have provided care for children in Hillsborough County, according to Eckerd Kids. Of those, 370 provided care for at least 90 days.

One-third of those caregivers did not seek financial assistance that the state makes available.
DCF officials said when non-relatives are given care of children, an on-site check is made of the home to make sure it is clean and safe. Background checks are conducted to look for a history of criminal, delinquency and abuse or neglect. That is followed by fingerprinting of all adults in the house.
A case manager or other services provider should have face-to-face contact with the child at least once a week, officials said.
In addition, the Rilya Wilson Act, named after a Miami 4-year-old whom the DCF lost track of for two years, requires that children in care be enrolled in daily early education or child-care programs.

The DCF investigation will determine if those rules were followed in Miracle's case.

The placing of children with non-relatives has pros and cons, said Robin Rosenberg, deputy director of Florida's Children First, a statewide advocacy organization focused on children's rights.

For older children, it can mean staying with adults they know and trust.

But many of the caregivers need help applying for financial support and Medicaid, she said.

"It can be a wonderful thing or it can have bad results if they're not adequately supported to take care of the child," Rosenberg said. "Sometimes it imposes on really well-intended people but doesn't give them adequate support."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/seven-month-old-tampa-girl-dies-while-in-state-care/2286534

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/

Ex Deputy Gets House Arrest For Falsely Reporting Abuse

SANFORD — A former Seminole County Sheriff's deputy convicted of falsely reporting that a romantic rival was dating a sex offender who was abusing a child was sentenced Wednesday to house arrest.
Valencia LaRue, 42, has been in the Seminole County jail since she was convicted April 13.
Jurors concluded that she had anonymously called a Florida Department of Children and Families hotline, saying that the new boyfriend of her lover's estranged wife had sexually abused a 6-year-old girl.
The child had not been abused, and, in fact, the romantic rival had no boyfriend, investigators found.

Valencia LaRue, former Seminole County deputy, was convicted of making a false child abuse claim to DCF's hotline

On the day of the phone call, May 14, 2014, LaRue was no longer a deputy. She had resigned the day before but was about to be fired after 20 years in law enforcement.
An internal affairs investigation found that she and another deputy, Joseph Fetchick, had an affair while they were both still married to other people.
They were accused of leaving their assignments to have sex while on duty at least three times. Although they admitted to the extramarital affair, the two denied that allegation.
Fetchick was fired. He and LaRue currently live together. She now operates a beauty salon.
Phone records obtained during the investigation showed that the two exchanged more than 6,000 text messages in a 10-week period, many of them sexually explicit.
The phone call happened about a month later. In it, LaRue said that Fetchick's wife had a boyfriend who was abusing the couple's 6-year-old daughter. LaRue also said that Fetchick's wife and boyfriend had sex in front of the child.
The Sheriff's Office traced the call to LaRue's cellphone.
At Wednesday's hearing Fetchick's ex-wife, Michelle Fetchick, told Circuit Judge Debra S. Nelson, "The past three years have been nothing short of absolute turmoil."

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-former-deputy-false-child-abuse-report-20160525-story.html

Palm Beach Defense Attorney: DCF Has a Reputation for Breaking Up Families

By Andrew Stine | Published April-05-2016

According to criminal defense lawyer Andrew Stine, DCF has earned a reputation for using underhanded tactics to remove children from their homes.

The Department of Children and Families (DCF) has a nefarious reputation throughout Florida for illegally removing children from their families, reports Andrew D. Stine, Palm Beach defense attorney. DCF will receive a report through the “hotline” regarding child abuse, child endangerment or child neglect and then use underhanded tactics in their investigation of the allegations. Several investigation tools used by DCF allow for the “child” to be interviewed, without the parents even knowing about the investigation let alone the interview.
Schools are a favorite place for DCF to use this underhanded tactic in their bag of investigative tools. DCF likes to show up at elementary schools, middle schools and high schools to meet with the child and interview them. Another underhanded tactic that DCF likes to employ is by using the child’s friend to corroborate the story being told by the child, and this usually occurs without any parental notification about the “friendly witness.” Lastly, DCF likes to also use the “complaining” witness to show the foundation for why the child should be removed from the family home. The “complaining” witness however, on many occasions has a pecuniary interest in the outcome. This is because the “complaining” witness, on many of the DCF matters, is likely a parent of the child that is involved in a custody battle, owes back child support or wants to get the child support payments reduced and uses DCF as a tool to “pressure” the other parent into submission. DCF, of course, does not have the ability to see the motive behind the complaining witness because DCF is hell bent on removal of the child. Removal of the child is what ensures that DCF will remain a needed governmental agency and thus continue their employment.

Many allegations made in DCF cases stem from domestic violence allegations between the parents, caretakers or family members living with the child. DCF will always employ a “team” member to a Florida home, where children reside, if there are allegations of domestic violence. DCF has a firm belief and has convinced many circuit court judges that if domestic violence is allegedly occurring in a Palm Beach County home that in fact the children should be removed because the “impending harm to the child” is inevitable. DCF believes “all” incidents of domestic violence, even false allegations, will eventually harm the mental process of the child and eventually the violence will resonate over to the child and the child will become a victim of the violence.
The defense, against allegations made by DCF of domestic violence affecting the children, is that the children did not see, hear or witness the allegations of domestic violence between the parents, caretakers or family members. The appellate courts have continually held that even if the parents, caretakers and families members were involved in a domestic violence situation, without evidence showing that the domestic violence had occurred when the children were home, or that they otherwise were aware of the violence, the Circuit Court’s finding of “impending harm” to the children is unsustainable.
Another ripe area of concern for DCF to investigate is when the “hotline” receives the allegation that the parent, caretaker or family member is using “illegal” drugs or alcohol. Upon DCF receiving the drug use or alcohol information, they will immediately assume the allegations of drugs and alcohol are true, and then further jump to the conclusion that the children in the home are at risk and ripe for removal. But Florida law has continually held that even if there is evidence that the parent, caretaker or family member was under the influence of substances or alcohol, if there is no evidence that the parent was under the influence in the presence of the child, or that any substance abuse or alcohol abuse adversely affected the child, then the allegations by DCF are unsustainable.

If you or a family member are facing a DCF investigation and/or a criminal investigation into child abuse, neglect or abandonment, then time is of the essence in getting legal advice; definitely before meeting with DCF or law enforcement officers is imperative. Knowing how the appellate courts have interrupted the DCF statutes in Florida is paramount in getting a successful outcome for you and your child, when it comes to all DCF and criminal investigations regarding your family.
If you or a loved one are asking questions like “should I meet with DCF or the police about the domestic violence allegations in the home” or “should I take the urine test” that DCF is requiring of me, then you need to call West Palm Beach lawyer Andrew D. Stine. Palm Beach County criminal defense lawyer, Andrew D. Stine, has been fighting for his clients in DCF courtrooms since 2003 and in criminal courtrooms since 2001. Call Stine or Do the Time. 561 832 1170.

http://www.andrewdstine.com/palm-beach-defense-attorney-dcf-has-a-reputation-for-breaking-up-families/

Sarasota Department Of Children And Families Is Picketed

Protesters say agency removes children from good families and ignores those in need of protection

 

 

 

 

 

Protesters hold signs Friday morning outside of the Florida Department of Children and Families building in Sarasota, saying the agency has failed too many children and needs serious reform.

By Emily Le Coz

Published: Friday, March 25, 2016 at 3:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 25, 2016 at 3:54 p.m.

SARASOTA - Sharing tragic stories of their own experiences with the Department of Children and Families, a half dozen residents today protested the agency for what they call a broken system that harms the very children it’s supposed to protect.

Representing two groups – Op Expose CPS and Manasota Angels of Peace – the protesters stood outside the DCF building on 17th Street in Sarasota, holding signs and shouting slogans like, “End cash for kids.”

They claim the agency’s child welfare division removes too many children from good homes for little reason while ignoring the ones in real need of protection.

They also said the agency should not allow anonymous complaints, because it leads to too many false reports and places the burden of proof on potentially innocent families.

And they allege DCF is motivated by federal funds, specifically those from the Title IV-E Program. The program reimburses state agencies like DCF for expenses associated with removing children from their families and placing them in foster care.

Florida, however, has a waiver allowing it to spend IV-E dollars on efforts to decrease out-of-home placements and keep families together.

"DCF is unwavering in its mission to protect Florida’s most vulnerable," a spokeswoman wrote in an email. "Ensuring children are in safe environments is paramount. DCF investigates claims of child abuse or neglect via reports to the Florida Abuse Hotline that meet the threshold for acceptance. When it is determined by a team of professionals, including the court, that a child is not safe at home, then removal is necessary. Florida receives a capped allocation of Title IV-E funds from the federal government, and under a waiver program, can use these funds not only for out of home care, but also for front-end services in homes when children are safe to remain with their families. Funds are not allocated per child placement."

“We’ve heard story after story of kids being lost in the system, literally lost,” said Greg “Flip” Cruz, who also went through the foster care system. “There are serious problems, and we need serious change.”

Behind the protesters stood a poster with the faces of kids allegedly killed by their parents despite prior complaints filed with DCF. Among them were Chance Walsh and Janiya Thomas.

But the problem is not limited to Florida, protesters said. It is nationwide.

Maureen Hart’s three children were taken from her by the Massachusetts DCF after a neighbor alleged the kids begged people for food, she said. Hart denied the allegation and showed an investigator her fully stocked kitchen. But she admitted she spanked her kids when the investigator asked, and she lost custody of them the same day.

The state let two of her children stay with relatives but placed her 8-year-old son in foster care. The experience scarred him for life, she said.

“They drugged him and shocked him,” she said. “They told him I didn’t love him anymore. By the time I got him back, the damage was done.”

Her son committed suicide several years later.

Angela Willett was removed from her North Carolina family by DCF at age 12 and placed in a series of foster families, group homes and institutions. There, she said, she experienced repeated abuse and was told her mother did not want her and did not care about her.

It was a lie, she said. The incident devastated her mother, who had always done her best to raise her daughter and did not deserve what happened, Willett said. Now grown, Willett lives with her mother and calls her “my best friend.”

“There are some good people in the system,” Hart said. “But the system itself is broken.”

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20160325/NEWS/160329771

 

 

 

Former DCF Employee Accepts Plea Deal in Falsifying Records Case

A Department of Children and Families employee, charged in connection with the death of a baby left in a hot car, faced a judge Wednesday.

Shani Smith was a case worker making sure kids were kept safe. She accepted a plea deal in criminal court and pleaded guilty on six charges of official misconduct.

• UpdatedEx-DCF Investigator Falsified Records: FDLE

The judge gave Smith five years of probation for falsifying documents where a child suffocated to death in a hot car. Before her guilty plea, Smith insisted she was not at fault.

"What I regret is that this baby died, that's the regret that I have. But I did nothing wrong," Smith said.

• Mother Who Left Baby in Hot Car Pleads Guilty

As a DCF investigator, Smith supervised the case of 11-month-old Bryan Osceola and his mother Catalina Bruno. Before the child's death, Bruno was charged with a DUI when she passed out with her son in the car.

According to detectives, Smith didn't think Bruno posed a danger to her son and lied about referring her to a substance abuse program.

• Judge Weighs in on Controversial DCF Case

Six months later, the child died when his body temperature reached almost 110 degrees in his mother's car. Bruno later pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter.

If Smith violates her probation, she faces 30 years behind bars. If she successfully completes her probation, she won't be a convicted felon but her record will still exist.

• Fired DCF Child Protective Investigator Denies Wrongdoing

   

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Former-DCF-Employee-Accepts-Plea-Deal-in-Falsifying-Records-Case-366742741.html