A grand jury report issued Aug. 31 strongly criticizesthe Florida Department of Children and Families'record of protecting children and the elderly in Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando counties.
The 10-page document spells out the grand jury's finding of facts and details what the panel calls multiple example of DCF missteps in those counties, which make up Circuit 5.
"This grand jury is issuing this report not as a routine administrative review, but to sound an alarm," the document reads. "The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is statutorily mandated to protect our community’s most vulnerable citizens: our children and our elderly. DCF in Circuit 5 is failing catastrophically in that duty."
The Star-Banner left two phone messages
with the DCF press office on Sept. 1 but did not hear back before this story was published online. The Star-Banner sent an email to the press office on Aug. 31 but did not get a response.
The grand jury says it heard from attorneys, first responders, a member of the judiciary and DCF service providers when conducting its review. The panel said it found "heartbreaking, systemic patterns of neglect, abrogation of statutory responsibilities, as well as operational failures within DCF-Circuit 5."
In one section of the report, titled "Systemic Failures in Elder Abuse & Exploitation Services," the grand jury writes: "DCF routinely fails to responds to calls, closes cases prematurely without thorough review, and misinterprets policies to shirk its responsibilities."
Under the heading "Shifted Burdens and After-Hours Neglect," the grand jury says that DCF adult protective investigators "routinely fail to respond to calls after 5 p.m. or on weekends."
The report says that when first responders report abuse or neglect after hours, the hotline operators' response is to take the person to an emergency room or a Baker Act center. This happens, the grand jury says, even when the individual has no medical or mental illness, but is suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
According to the report, this practice places a burden on local hospitals. "Because DCF fails to provide follow-up casework or safety plans, some individuals remain stuck in hospital beds for extended periods of time," the report says, adding that one person waited up to a year for placement.
As for protecting children: According to the grand jury, in one case, a defendant was charged with first-degree felony murder of a child. It turns out DCF had investigated and visited the family 14 times prior to the death.
"This tragedy is a direct symptom of an agency in crisis," the report says. "We call upon leadership to review these findings in earnest and work collaboratively to implement the vital structural reforms needed in DCF Circuit 5."
In a separate case, a child tested positive for methadone and amphetamines when born in late 2022. The child's mother had overdosed and been detained under the state Baker Act during her pregnancy. When the child was born, he was placed in a relative's care.
About a year later, the grand jury report says, DCF initiated reunification proceedings despite objections from the caretaker and a case management employee relating to the parents' ongoing drug use and criminal histories. The child was reunited with his father in 2024.
The mother wasn't supposed to visit the child, but the mother stayed there for days before the boy's death. The report states the child died from from an overdose of drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine and xylazine.
"This child's death was preventable: had DCF acknowledged the credible warnings of his caregiver and the case management employee, the child would never have been returned to this lethal environment. Both parents were charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child," the report says.
The grand jury report further states that "DCF is often unprepared in court, frequently does not follow court orders, and does not take advantage of certain statutory avenues to protect children from harm."
The grand jury "also learned about twelve cases across the circuit where DCF or case management workers were accused by law enforcement of falsifying reports/records," according to the report.
"In eight out of the twelve cases, charges for official misconduct-falsifying records were filed by the State Attorney's Office," the report states.
The grand jury report concludes with a list of recommendations, which are listed in a separate Star-Banner story.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Grand jury criticizes DCF handling of abuse and neglect cases
