Florida Department of Children and Families

Florida Department of Children and Families
Agency overview
Formed1996; 29 years ago (1996)
Preceding agency
  • Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services
HeadquartersTallahassee, Florida
Employees12,000[1]
Annual budget$3 billion[2]
Agency executive
  • Shevaun Harris[3], Secretary
Websitemyflfamilies.com

The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a state agency of Florida. Its headquarters are at 2415 North Monroe St., Ste. 400 in Tallahassee, Florida. The department provides social services in Florida to children, adults, refugees, domestic violence victims, human trafficking victims, the homeless community, child care providers,[4] disabled people, and the elderly.[5]

History

The department was created in 1996 when the Florida Legislature split the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) into two new departments: DCF and the Florida Department of Health.[6] The department operates the Florida Adoption Reunion Registry, which is a registry of people who are or were the principal parties in an adoption.[7] The department operates the Florida Civil Commitment Center, in Arcadia, Florida.[8]

Notable cases

Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children & Family Services

In Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children & Family Services, the department had denied the applications of two gay men to serve as adoptive parents, because the men were homosexuals.[9] The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld Florida's ban of adoption of children by homosexual persons as enforced by the Florida Department of Children and Families.[10]

In re Gill

Florida's ban on homosexuals adopting children was later challenged in the Florida state courts.[11][12] In 2006, Frank Martin Gill, an openly gay man, petitioned the department to adopt two boys, but although every assessment and home study showed that the boys were thriving under the excellent care of Gill and his partner, the department denied the petition because it violated the Florida law against adoption by a homosexual.[13] Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida Judge Lederman found in favor of Gill, and granted the adoption in 2008.[14] In In re Gill, Judge Lederman noted: "Here Petitioner qualifies for approval as an adoptive parent in all respects but one: his sexual orientation. The Department's position is that homosexuality is immoral. Yet homosexuals may be lawful foster parents in Florida and care for our most fragile children who have been abused, neglected and abandoned. As such, the exclusion forbidding homosexuals to adopt children does not further the public morality interest it seeks to combat. ... The contradiction between the adoption and foster care statutes defeats the public morality argument and is thus not rationally related to serving a governmental interest."[14] During the Gill trial, the department admitted that "gay people and heterosexuals make equally good parents ... that placing children with gay adoptive parents does not harm or disadvantage children emotionally or physically ... [and] that gay people could be the ideal placements for some children."[15] On appeal, the ban was found unconstitutional under the state Constitution of Florida in 2010 by a Florida state court of appeals, ending Florida's 33-year ban on adoptions by homosexuals.[16] The state did not appeal the decisions further, thereby ending Florida's ban.[17]

Nikolas Cruz

Further information: Parkland high school shooting § Perpetrator

Before the 2018 Parkland high school shooting in which 19-year-old former student Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people, and injured 17 others, a Broward County Sheriff's Office deputy had an investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families speak to Cruz in 2016. However, Cruz's therapist said that he was "not currently a threat to himself or others" and did not need to be committed, a mental health counselor said Cruz did not meet the criteria under Florida law that allows the police to commit a mentally ill person against their will, Stoneman Douglas High School conducted a "threat assessment" on Cruz after the counselor's report, and the Florida Department of Children and Families ultimately concluded that Cruz was not a threat because he was living with his mother, attending school, and seeing a counselor.[18][19]

Appointed Secretaries

Health and Rehabilitative Services (1969–96)

Buddy MacKay
  • James A. Bax – 1969–1971
  • Emmett S. Roberts – 1971–1974
  • Oliver James Keller Jr. – 1974–1975
  • Emmett S. Roberts – 1975
  • William J. Page – 1975-1978
  • Emmett S. Roberts – 1978-1979
  • David H. Pingree – 1979-1980
  • Alvin Taylor – 1980–1981
  • David H. Pingree – 1981–1987
  • Gregory L. Coler – 1987–1991
  • Bob Williams – 1991–1993
  • Buddy MacKay (acting) – March–July 1993
  • Jim Towey – 1993–1995
  • Ed Feaver – 1995–1996

Department of Children and Families (1997–present)

George Sheldon
  • Ed Feaver – 1997–1999
  • Kathleen Kearney – 1999–2002
  • Jerry Regier – 2002–2004
  • Lucy Hadi – 2004–2006
  • Bob Butterworth – 2006–2008
  • George Sheldon – 2008–2011
  • David Wilkins – 2011–2013
  • Esther Jacobo (interim) – 2013–2014
  • Mike Carroll – 2014–2018
  • Rebecca Kapusta (interim) – 2018-2019
  • Chad Poppell – 1/15/2019 – 2/19/2021
  • Shevaun Harris – 2/20/2021 – present

Community-Based Care

Community-Based Care is an initiative of DCF to improve its Child Welfare and Foster Care Services by contracting with local not-for-profit social services agencies through a competitive procurement process designed to engage community stakeholders. Its goals are to increase accountability, resource development, local community ownership, and system performance.[20]

Lead Agencies

Region/Circuit[21] Lead Agency Website
Northwest
1 Northwest Florida Health Network https://www.nwfhealth.org/
2,14 Northwest Florida Health Network https://www.nwfhealth.org/
Northeast
3,8 Partnership for Strong Families http://www.pfsf.org
4 (Duval, Nassau) Family Support Services of North Florida, Inc. http://www.fssjax.org/
4 (Clay) Kids First of Florida, Inc. http://www.kidsfirstofflorida.org/
7 (St. Johns) St Johns County Board of County Commissioners http://www.co.st-johns.fl.us/fip
7 (Flagler, Volusia, Putnam) Community Partnership for Children, Inc. http://www.communitypartnershipforchildren.org
Suncoast
6 (Pasco, Pinellas) Family Support Services Suncoast https://fssc6.org/
12 Sarasota Family YMCA, Inc. http://www.safechildrencoalition.org/
13 (Hillsborough) Children's Network Hillsborough https://childrensnetworkhillsborough.org/
20 Children's Network of SW Florida http://www.childnetswfl.org/
Central
5 Kids Central, Inc. http://www.kidscentralinc.org/
9, 18 (Orange, Osceola, Seminole) Embrace Families https://embracefamilies.org/
10 Heartland For Children http://www.heartlandforchildren.org
18 (Brevard) Brevard Family Partnership http://www.brevardfp.org/
Southeast
15, 17 (Palm Beach, Broward) ChildNet Inc. http://www.childnet.us/
19 Communities Connected for Kids http://www.cckids.net/
Southern
11,16 (Dade, Monroe) Citrus Family Care Network https://www.citrusfcn.com/

See also

References

  1. ^ "Careers at DCF, Employment Opportunities - Florida Department of Children and Families". www.myflfamilies.com.
  2. ^ "Long range program plan," Florida Department of Children and Families
  3. ^ "Office of the Secretary - Florida Department of Children and Families". myflfamilies.com.
  4. ^ "MyAccessFlorida – New Portal Apply Online | Florida DCF". MyAccessFlorida. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  5. ^ "About the Department of Children and Families." Florida Department of Children and Families. Retrieved on October 26, 2010. "1317 Winewood Boulevard Building 1, Room 202 Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700"
  6. ^ "Florida Department of Health - FDOH" United States Department of Health and Human Services website
  7. ^ United States Congress, House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Human Resources (2000). "Adoption Reunion Registries and Screening of Adults Working with Children", Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, One Hundred Fifth Congress, Second Session, June 11, 1998, Volume 4
  8. ^ "News Release - DCF Sex Offenders Response". myflfamilies.com.
  9. ^ Appeals, United States Court of; Circuit, Eleventh (December 27, 2004). 358 F3d 804 Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services Xi X (Court case). Vol. F3d. p. 804 – via openjurist.org.
  10. ^ Lofton v. Secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services Via OpenJurist.Org Accessed August 31, 2011
  11. ^ Blumner, Robyn E. (November 30, 2008). "Making a loving home for two brothers". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  12. ^ "In re: Gill - About the Plaintiffs". American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU. November 25, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  13. ^ "Victory for Florida Family First Step to Ending Adoption Ban". ACLU. July 17, 2009. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
  14. ^ a b "In re: Gill, Lederman, C.S., Final Judgment of Adoption" (PDF).
  15. ^ "In re: Gill - Facts About Florida Foster Care". American Civil Liberties Union.
  16. ^ ACLU, "In re: Gill - Case Profile", January 19, 2011.
  17. ^ Schwartz, John (September 22, 2010). "Florida Court Calls Ban on Gay Adoptions Unlawful". New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
  18. ^ Pagliery, Curt Devine,Jose (February 27, 2018). "Sheriff says he got 23 calls about shooter's family, but records show more". CNN.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Blinder, Alan; Mazzei, Patricia (February 22, 2018). "As Gunman Rampaged Through Florida School, Armed Deputy 'Never Went In'". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "Community-Based Care | Florida Department of Children and Families". www.myflfamilies.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  21. ^ "Lead Agency Websites | Florida Department of Children and Families". www.myflfamilies.com. Retrieved April 5, 2016.

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