Kelli Kennedy - page 2

The man appointed to lead Florida’s social services agency has a track record of mobilizing resources to better protect children. In 2012, after nearly a dozen Tampa area children had died while their cases were being investigated by child welfare officials, Mike Carroll combed through data and noticed familiar patterns: substance abuse, domestic violence and children under the age of 3. Carroll, then a regional manager for the state Department of Children and Families, piloted a rapid safety feedback program,…

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In a bizarre and emotionally transparent performance, Miley Cyrus mocked her own music, opened up about her dark year and belted out some Led Zeppelin. Oh yeah, and she smoked pot onstage. Wearing a silver metallic Cleopatra wig and bright turquoise eye shadow, Cyrus kicked off the poolside show at the Raleigh Hotel in South Beach singing a duet of “Super Freak” with a topless woman. Cyrus was among the top-billed acts during the star-studded week of the prestigious Art…

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In the months before David Mohney shot his three children, killing two of them and then himself, his wife’s drinking seemed to be tearing the family apart. She was stumbling drunk at times, repeatedly slapped the children and they were increasingly afraid of her, according to documents released Wednesday by state child welfare officials. Cynthia Mohney’s disturbing behavior brought child protective investigators to their central Florida home in June. Her husband poured out all alcohol and the investigator had the…

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Republican Gov. Rick Scott repeatedly tells voters that abused and neglected children are safer under his leadership than when his Democratic opponent Charlie Crist was governor, but an Associated Press examination of that claim shows that campaign claim may be an exaggeration. Scott says deaths among children who have come to the Department of Children and Families’ attention have plummeted from 97 in 2009 to 36 last year, but child welfare experts say any drop is attributed to the way…

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If former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist gets his old job back, he promises to expand Medicaid to roughly 1 million low-income residents by calling a special session of the Legislature or through an executive order. If Gov. Rick Scott is re-elected, the decision will once again be left to the Legislature with little meddling from him. The debate over Medicaid expansion, a key part of President Barack Obama’s health law, has been contentious in the campaign leading up to the…

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Florida health officials are declaring victory after transitioning the state’s 3 million Medicaid recipients into private insurance plans, but some doctors and health advocates are warning their offices are filled with confused patients who say they have been cut off from their regular physician. The state sent out a press release this week saying that the Medicaid changes have gone well, but The Associated Press interviewed doctors, parents and health advocates around Florida who said privatization has exacerbated problems first…

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Expanding Medicaid to an additional 1 million Floridians under President Barack Obama’s new health law is turning into one of the biggest issues of this year’s gubernatorial race. Former Gov. Charlie Crist brings up the topic on most campaign stops and says one of the first things he’ll do if elected is call a special session to expand Medicaid. His opponent, incumbent Republican Gov. Rick Scott, seems to be waning in his support. Scott says he’s open to taking roughly…

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