Florida Child Injury Lawyer Blog

The arrival of thousands of Haitian children in Florida after the recent earthquake in that country has created a huge challenge for the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). The DCF has been plagued recently with a series of scandals that call into question its ability to handle Florida’s own children, let alone a large influx of injured and orphaned children from another country. George Sheldon, the secretary of the DCF, has acknowledged that the challenge is a big one said that he is ready to meet it head on.

Within a few short weeks after the earthquake in Haiti, the DCF had found shelter for 720 orphans, overseen medical care for 628 evacuees, and distributed $26 million in assistance along with 3,500 teddy bears. Sheldon said the teddy bears may have been the best medicine for most of the frightened children coming off the planes from Haiti.

Longtime critics of the department are hopeful that Sheldon will improve the situation for Florida children as well, who have been left behind by the system in the past. Roy Miller of the Florida Children’s Campaign has applauded Sheldon for addressing the department’s problems rather than trying to cover them up. Read more about what Florida has done for Haitian children at Florida DCF chief ready for a challenge.

Kim and Gerard Campanella of Port Charlotte, Florida have been acting as foster parents for a twenty one month old toddler since she was five months old. The Campanellas recently received a phone call from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), informing them that the girl was to be sent to live with a distant relative in Michigan.

Kim Campanella believed that the sudden change in custody would not be in the best interest of the child, and spent several hours researching her hunch on the internet. She found a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics saying that separating a child from its caregivers after six months of age can result in emotional disturbances later in life. Complicating the issue is the fact that the child’s birth mother called the Campanellas several months ago to ask them if they were willing to adopt the child.

The Campanellas made an unusual decision; they decided to hire an attorney and fight the Department of Children and Families’ decision. The move is unusual because foster parents in Florida are required to sign documents stating that they will not take legal action to keep a child they are caring for. According to a DCF spokesperson, the state only requests that foster parents not hire an attorney, and they are legally entitled to do so if they wish.

A judge has agreed with the Campanellas, finding that they are at least equally qualified to care for the child as the distant relative, and possibly more qualified due to the bonding they have had with the child. The judge has blocked the removal of the child from the Campanellas’ home. Find out more about this foster family’s fight to stay together at Southwest Florida foster couple fight for toddler.

When a Florida child enters the foster care system, he or she is supposed to be cared for or supervised by a large group of people including foster parents, case workers, and psychologists. Since foster children are already at risk of falling behind in school due to the stress in their home life, an undiagnosed or untreated learning disability can be disastrous for their chances of achieving success later in life.

In Florida and other states, judges have the right to appoint a surrogate parent to advocate for the educational needs of children in the foster care system who are suspected of having learning disabilities. These advocates can request testing and fight for extra help for these children in school. The main problem with the program so far is that there aren’t enough surrogates in the program to support all of the children who need help.

Surrogate parents are volunteers. Northeast Florida has been especially active in recruiting and training surrogates for Jacksonville, Florida area children. You can read more details of the surrogate parent program in northeast Florida at Surrogate parents fill needs of special-needs Jacksonville children.

Special education is vital to help children in need advance in school and generally in life. Unfortunately, many special needs children are not properly diagnosed, provided with proper instruction, or supervised at many public schools, private schools and day care centers. The lack of proper education and related supervision often times leads to injuries that could have otherwise have been prevented. If a child suffers an injury as a result of the negligence of a teacher or caregiver, contact a Florida Child Injury Lawyer to discuss the legal rights of the child and available courses or causes of action.

Deacon Richard Turcotte, chief executive of Catholic Charities announced recently the organization’s plan to bring homeless Haitian children to the US. Since then, he reports that he has been inundated with calls of support. According to the plan, any child considered “at risk,” including orphans, will be eligible to come to the US and be placed with an American family. Each child will be placed on a case-by-case basis. Turcotte cautioned that this will be a measured and temporary measure to help children who have been left homeless or orphaned by the 2010 earthquake that devastated Haiti.

What will happen to the children once they are placed in a family will depend on their situation. Some may be placed in foster care, with relatives, or even be adopted by an American family. So far, three sites have been designated in Florida to accommodate the children while they are being placed. The United States government will have to identify these children as officially “at risk” before the program can begin. According to Matthew Chandler, director of Homeland Security, the United States government is currently working on reuniting children with relatives before considering more drastic measures. Read more about the plans to help children orphaned by the Haiti earthquake at Plan to bring children to U.S. gathers steam.

Tempe, Arizona resident Elizabeth Johnson was extradited from Florida over the holidays after she failed to appear for a child custody hearing in Phoenix, Arizona. Her child, Gabriel Johnson was not with her at the time, and the child’s whereabouts are still unknown.

Elizabeth reportedly had tried to give the baby up for adoption in the past, turning her son over to a Scottsdale, Arizona couple she met in an airport several months previously. She later took the child back, and recently sent text messages to the child’s father, Logan McQueary, saying that she had killed the child. She now claims that she handed him over to a couple she met in a park in San Anonio, Texas. According to Ms. Johnson’s Grandfather, Bob Johnson, she was desperate to get the child adopted and may have tried to find a willing couple on Craigslist or some other online service. Police still do not know if the child is dead or alive, or if the child is in Texas, Florida or Arizona. Ms. Johnson has been charged with kidnapping, child abuse, and custodial interference. She is refusing to cooperate with authorities.

Find out more about this story at Missing Baby "Persons of Interest" Speak.

Keitler Pierre-Louis shares his Broward, Florida home with thirteen family members, including five children, one with Down Syndrome. Pierre-Louis owns a home-improvement business, at which he employed most of his family members. When the economy went bad last year, his business dropped substantially and he and his family were unable to afford their mortgage payments. An attempt to negotiate with lenders ended in a loan modification scam that cost him $1,000. The family has officially been evicted from the home, but they don’t have anywhere else to go and are illegally camping out in the house, hoping they can stay beneath the radar until the financial crisis is over. They have been sleeping on the floor on air mattresses, which they pack away along with other essential items every morning when they leave. In the morning they go to the storage unit where they packed away their belongings to pick out clothes for the day. If they are caught, they have no money for other housing and will be forced to live in their cars or in the storage unit.

In 2009 there have been over one hundred thousand foreclosures filed in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties. That represents a six-fold increase over 2006. Most former homeowners move in with relatives, or wait out the process in their own homes, since a foreclosure in the overburdened system can now take more than a year from initial filing to final judgment. Children, especially special needs children, in these families are put at a great risk by their homelessness. In most cases the families are reluctant to contact state services because they are afraid their children will be taken away from them.

You can read more about the Pierre-Lois family and other Florida families who have lost their homes in the recession at American Dream strands South Florida family of 14.

Stephen Hilla of El Dorado, New Mexico, picked up his three kids from his ex-wife for a visit last week and never returned. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department issued a warrant for his arrest soon after. Hilla was picked up several days later in a Florida state park on Key West. He was found after a concerned passer-by called police to report that he had left two dogs unattended in his truck. The ranger was able to identify Mr. Hilla as a fugitive by using the NCIC database. Hilla was arrested and the children were placed in custody. Joanna Hilla, the children’s mother says she has been in agony not knowing where her children were for several days. Hilla will be taken back to New Mexico and will reportedly be charged with child abduction and child endangerment.

While it is natural for parents to miss spending time with their children after they lose custody of them, breaking the law to do so is never the right answer. It is important for parents in Florida and other States to follow the orders of Judges and to go through the legal system to make any changes regarding support, custody and visitation. For more information, see Abducted kids, father found in Florida.

The Orange County, Florida Sheriff’s Office made ten arrests recently, stemming from an investigation into an internet prostitution ring. The investigation took place over several weeks and included individuals in seven Florida counties. One of the alleged prostitutes arrested was a sixteen-year-old girl. She told police that her pimp was holding her five-month-old baby hostage, and that if she did not return to him with the money, he would keep the baby.

Deputies found the baby some time later with the girl’s alleged pimp, in a car in a parking lot at the Wal-Mart on South Kirkman Road in Orlando, Florida. The baby was unharmed; the pimp was arrested. The child has been turned over to the Florida Department of Children and Families, which will determine if the infant should be returned to its mother.

It is sad enough that this young sixteen-year-old girl has become involved in a life of prostitution. But it is sadder still that her infant child has been mixed up in it as well. Children should be cherished and protected, not used as hostages held for ransom. Clearly this young girl is putting her child in harm's way by associating with alleged criminals. It will be interesting to see how the Florida Department of Children handles this matter and what the future holds for the 16 year old and her child.

Find out more about this story at Baby held hostage in prostitution ring.

Shannon Dedrick, the Florida seven-month-old who was reported missing from her home over a week ago, was found alive recently. The girl was found lying hidden in a small box under the bed of her babysitter / step-aunt, Susan Baker. Shannon appeared to be in good health. According to police, Ms. Baker had asked the child’s mother, Crystina Lynn Mercer, to give her permanent custody of the child, and Ms. Mercer handed the girl over to her.

Police became suspicious of Ms. Baker after learning that she and her husband had been arrested in 2000 in connection with the disappearance of their own three-year-old son over twenty years ago in South Carolina. That case has never been solved. Washington County, Florida Sheriff, Bobby Haddock, says that the women conspired to place the child with Ms. Baker, but they do not believe that Ms. Mercer was aware that Ms. Baker had hidden the child in a box under her bed.

According to the local news station, WLTX, Ms. Mercer has been charged with deserting a child, and Ms. Baker has been charged with aggravated child neglect. Both women have been charged with filing a false missing child report, filing a false report of a crime, interference with child custody, and contributing to the dependency of a child. Ms. Baker’s husband was arrested as well, but he has been released; police have not determined if they will charge him with a crime.

If these women had gone through proper channels to legally change custody of Shannon, all the drama and cost of the prolonged search could have been avoided, and the women would not be facing criminal charges. It is unclear why Ms. Mercer would so easily hand over her child to someone else, and why they would not go through regular channels, but more details will likely come out as the investigation continues.

Find out more about Sannon and her ordeal at Shannon Dedrick case: Police say mother gave girl to babysitter, both women charged.

Ivana Linic, age 23, of West Palm Beach, Florida was convicted of starving her 5-month-old son to death. She may be sentenced to as many as fifteen years in prison. Linic claimed that she fed the baby adequately, but the child’s autopsy results showed that he had only gained two pounds in the five months since his birth. The father, who was not named, reportedly told police that Linic was angry about having a baby and had asked him to take care of the child. He did not accept the responsibility, due to his own struggles with substance abuse.

Newborn children are totally reliant on adults to care for them. When the adults are unable to do so, the results are often tragic. Parents who are unprepared or unable to take care of their own children should reach out for help rather than taking it out on their child. You can find out more about Nehemiah Chavis at Florida Mother Convicted of Starving Child to Death.

Bay County, Florida Sheriff’s deputies were called to the residence of Kimberly Smith and James Moore to settle a dispute. While they were talking to the couple, Moore admitted to the officers that he had smoked meth four days previously. One of the neighbors then accused the couple of cooking meth in front of the couple’s baby. Moore denied their claim, and Smith then also admitted to smoking meth three or four days ago.

After getting permission to search the couple’s home, the deputies found marijuana paraphernalia and residue. Moore refused to take a drug test. Both were arrested and charged with child neglect and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Florida Department of Children and Families took custody of the child and then turned it over to another family member. Find out more about this couple and their arrest at Two arrested after meth confession.

This past April, seven-year-old foster child, Gabriel Meyers, apparently committed suicide after taking prescribed psychiatric drugs. The death has caused a debate that is slowing the flow of prescribed medications to children in state care in Florida.

After the child’s death, the Florida Department of Children & Families (DCF) launched an investigation into his death, and found that many foster children were taking medications without the proper consent forms in place. Lawmakers have vowed to create new laws to try to prevent the overuse of drugs by foster children. Fear of an increased suicide rates among children taking psychotropic drugs has prompted the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to put a black box warning on them.

Child advocates approve the recommendation of getting the proper consent, but worry that slowing down or stopping treatment for troubled children could lead to more problems. In some instances, a foster child's behavior that is not controlled by necessary medication may make it more likely that they will be rejected by foster families who do not know how to deal with these children.

Alan Abramowitz, director of DCF’s Family Safety Program Office, said that physicians with any questions about a prescription should contact his agency.

Read more about this story at Florida foster kids slower to get medications now.

The Florida Medical and Custody Power of Attorney form / document that I use in my practice is a valuable tool for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers. I prepared this document for my sister in law and brother in law when they went out of town. They live in South Florida and were going out of the country for a few weeks. I prepared the document and e mailed it to them for their signature. I have also prepared these documents for many parents and caregivers in Jacksonville, Florida who are taking vacations or going out of town for business. The Florida Medical and Custody Power of Attorney form is also a helpful tool for relatives and others who regularly take care of a child.

The document gives authorization to a grandparent, other relative, or other caregiver to make decisions regarding medical care and other custodian responsibilities while the parent / guardian is out of town or otherwise unavailable. Broad or limited powers can be provided by this document. While some medical providers will provide care without any such legal document, other medical providers are quite particular about the authority to receive medical information and make medical decisions regarding a child. If you need a Florida Medical and Custody Power of Attorney document prepared or reviewed, please contact a guardianship and probate attorney.