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: Miami, Florida)

The Department of Children and Families will convene a peer review team to conduct an assessment of current operations and to develop recommendations to improve the relationships of stakeholders within the Miami-Dade child welfare system of care, strengthen behavioral health services for teens, and to clarify information-sharing. The commencement of the Miami Peer Review Team will take place on Monday, May 1, 2017 (9am) at 401 NW 2 Ave, Suite North-1011/Visionary Room, Miami, FL 33128, and you are invited to attend.

The team will facilitate multiple discussions with individuals and groups involved in the local child welfare system to engage various community stakeholders. The team’s work will build upon prior work completed in the region, including the Child Welfare and Behavioral Health Integration Self-Study and Peer Review, Southern Region Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties’ Child Welfare System of Care Peer Consultation Team Summary [found here], and relevant CIRRT reports [eventually will be found here].

The team, led by Lee Kaywork, CEO of Family Support Services of North Florida, consists of DCF leadership and external stakeholders. Team members include:

  • Vicki Abrams, DCF Assistant Secretary for Operations
  • Neil W. Boris, MD, Irving Harris Training Director, Florida State University–Center for Prevention and Early Intervention Policy Professor, Child Psychiatry
  • Skye Cleek, Program Manager: Henderson Behavioral Health
  • Rebecca Kapusta, DCF General Counsel
  • Kelly McGrath, DCF Assistant General Counsel
  • April May, DCF SunCoast SAMH Program Supervisor
  • Steven Murphy, Executive Director of Devereux Florida
  • Frank Prado, Director of Operations of Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office
  • Gertrude (Trudy) Petkovich, Foster Parent Consultant
  • Lorita Shirley, CEO of Eckerd Kids
  • Dr. Joyce Taylor, Consultant and Former Interim CEO of Our Kids Miami-Dade, Monroe

If you have any questions or need more details regarding the meeting, please contact Gilda P. Ferradaz at 786-257-5059 or Gilda.Ferradaz@MyFLFamilies.com. We hope you will be able to join us for this important meeting to help ensure that the state and community are working together to meet the needs of Florida’s children and families.

Sincerely,

Mike Carroll
Secretary
Florida Department of Children and Famlies


Comments

One response to “DCF investigating Miami’s child welfare dysfunction”

  1. Alan Abramowitz Avatar
    Alan Abramowitz

    I don’t know if its public but will check. I imagine they will be talking to people not in public so they will open up. They will likely have some aspects that are open.

    I assigned Frank Prado to the team. He’s my operations manager. He will be briefing me throughout the process.

    Alan F. Abramowitz
    Executive Director
    Florida Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office

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