Author: Robert Latham
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Miami Herald tears open the juvenile delinquency system’s horrible secrets
Carol Marbin Miller and Audra Burch are unstoppable investigators. Their 2014 report Innocents Lost laid bare the child welfare system’s rampant lack of effort and oversight in abuse investigations. Now, with FIGHT CLUB, they set their sights on the juvenile delinquency system. And what they find is appalling: mismanagement of facilities, unbelievable hiring practices, and…
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And the first child welfare bills this session are…
If it feels like the legislative session just ended, that’s because it did. Florida’s constitution allows legislators to choose the session start date in even numbered years instead of the normal first Tuesday after the first whatever this is a confusing way to do dates. Why would they move it? Spring Break, campaign season, and…
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Florida case law update: bio fathers granted standing to assert rights
Two Florida district courts issued favorable rulings for biological fathers this month. Both fathers were granted standing and a chance to assert their claim over the objection of the presumptive legal fathers. The Second District permitted a biological father to challenge the paternity of a man on the birth certificate. The court approved of the…
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The Florida foster care stats you’ve been waiting for: 24,152 kids in out-of-home care & which CBC is the biggest?
It’s been awhile since I posted a pile of graphs, so here we go. Out-of-home care numbers are still rising. That’s probably not a good thing. All is not equal in the types of placements. Relatives are still shouldering most of the burden for foster care. Finally, which CBC is really the biggest?…
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Attorney: “I don’t have to file a motion for every little thing.” Appellate Court: “Oh really?”
The Third District Court of Appeal reversed an order granting supervised visits yesterday because the trial court entered the order without proper notice to the Department. The opinion is surprisingly long for a simple “no notice, reversed” ruling, and the lone footnote may explain why: 1 In light of the statutory obligations and clear case…
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Two cases out of Florida show the bias against fathers in child welfare
Let’s talk about fathers for a second. One critique of child welfare law is that it puts a significant burden on mothers while essentially ignoring fathers until they become inconvenient. Two cases out of Florida this month highlight this phenomenon. In the first case, twin children were sheltered from their mother due to neglect. The father had…
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Let’s talk about the IL Programs and justice
The Third DCA ruled against our clinic yesterday, holding that access to federal Education and Training Vouchers (ETV) could be restricted by the State through the creation of programs with additional eligibility rules. While I disagree with the reasoning of the Court, I’m writing here about the original source of injustice in this case. Our…
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George Sheldon in talks to head Our Kids
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that George Sheldon is in talks with Our Kids to become their new CEO. Sheldon is the current Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and has a long career in politics and child welfare (wikipedia). According to the Tribune, Our Kids’ board chair Keith Ward supports Sheldon. “He wants…
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Florida DCF contracts are worth billions – where does the money go?
I was wondering who holds the largest DCF contracts in Florida. The answer was right on the Florida Department of Financial Services website (thank you, Mr. Atwater), which lists public contracts with an ending date of February 29, 2012 or later. I created a tableau where you can explore the DCF vendors by name, and see…
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DCF investigating Miami’s child welfare dysfunction
The Department of Children and Families is convening a Peer Review Team to investigate the problems in Miami. I don’t know if it’s a public meeting, but it should be. See email below for details. From: Mike Carroll <Mike_Carroll@info.dcf.state.fl.us> Date: 04/25/2017 10:30 AM (GMT-05:00) To: “Ferradaz, Gilda” <Gilda.Ferradaz@myflfamilies.com> Subject: Miami Peer Review Launch Meeting (5/1/17:…