The recent news of two children who broke into a Volusia County home and used guns they found inside to repeatedly fire at sheriff’s deputies is just another example of Florida’s failing foster system and its shortage of appropriate treatment facilities for children. Justice for Kids Partner Stacie Schmerling recently... View Article
Results & verdicts
more results & verdictsCategories for Florida Department of Children and Families
Current Florida policy leaves hundreds of foster children without Medicaid coverage
Until recently, the state of Florida has continued to abandon foster children who had already been abused and neglected, even after they left state care, by improperly removing 1,730 former foster children from Medicaid. Former foster children, under federal law, remain Medicaid eligible until age 26. However, a current Florida... View Article
Father Known to DCF Who Abused, Neglected and Starved Toddler to Death Takes Plea, Gets 20-year Sentence
Five months after his wife, Kristen Meyer, was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the death of their infant daughter, Alejandro Aleman pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter of a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison, as reported by CBS 12. This issue arises from terrible circumstances... View Article
Foster Kids Starved, Beaten and Sexually Abused, Reports Show Few Caregivers are Punished
A new USA Today article highlights daunting details regarding the systemic issues in Florida’s child welfare system. In the last five years, there have been nearly 5,000 calls to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) abuse hotline from various concerned members of the community. These calls come from... View Article
DCF Florida’s Chief Inspector General defends investigation into nonprofit executive pay
Florida private social welfare agencies charged with caring for abused, neglected, and disabled children are under attack after Florida’s Chief Inspector General for the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) issued a preliminary report suggesting that their executives were being compensated well above the limits allowed by state law.... View Article
After years of ignoring red flags, DCF secretary finally recognizes department’s failures in stopping child sexual abuse
After years of protestation by families, children, and advocacy groups that sexual abuse is rampant in state foster homes, DCF secretary Chad Poppell recognizes DCF’s failure in stopping children placed in state-licensed foster care from being sexually abused. The Miami Herald recently disclosed that during this past year, ninety-two... View Article
Tampa Bay Times: Plan to use secure facility for Hillsborough’s problem foster teens is ‘ludicrous,’ sheriff says
A plan to use a secure facility to house Hillsborough’s problem foster teens is being met with opposition from several groups, including the Hillsborough County Sheriff, the Hillsborough County Commission Chairman, and Florida’s Children First. They warn that forcing children into a locked facility will cause them more emotional harm.... View Article
DBR: Legal Aid Groups Bring Class Action Against Florida Agencies Over Medicaid Terminations
Hear from our firm founder Howard Talenfeld in this article from the Daily Business Review regarding a new proposed class action lawsuit in Florida. While Talenfeld is not involved in the class action, he comments on his experience with Florida’s welfare and disability programs. Click here to read more from... View Article
Tampa Bay Times: A fresh start for Florida to protect abused children
Talenfeld Law Founder Howard Talenfeld is quoted in the Tampa Bay Times article “A fresh start for Florida to protect abused children,” regarding Florida’s child welfare system and the recently announced resignation of DCF secretary Mike Carroll. “You can’t even run a Burger King with this turnover, let alone a... View Article
Howard Talenfeld Quoted in Miami Herald Article on Florida’s Child Protection System
Child advocates in our state continue to warn us about the problems that have resulted from Florida’s failed experiment with privatization in our state’s child protection system. This article from the Miami Herald details those failures, including commentary from children’s rights attorney Howard Talenfeld. Howard comments: “DCF continues to be... View Article