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DCF program will send 1,600 Florida foster children home for Christmas

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More than 1,600 Florida foster children will get to spend Christmas with their families, the Department of Children and Families announced Wednesday. DCF’s “Home for the Holidays” initiative accelerates adoption paperwork and visitation requests so children can spend time with their adoptive or biological families over the holidays. “Time with family around the holidays is the best gift we can give to our children, including those in foster care,” DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said. “An important part of our mission…

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Mom of girl found dead accused of abusing 5 kids for years

in Apolitical/Top Headlines by

The mother of a girl found dead in a freezer was accused of beating her five children for years in a home that at times was filled with rats and roaches, according to documents released Tuesday. The documents, released by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, show child welfare investigators visited the home of Keishanna Thomas 10 times amid allegations that she beat one of her children with an electric cord leaving welts, burned another child with bleach so badly her…

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Rick Scott asks for $23 million budget bump for DCF in 2016

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Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that his 2016 budget recommendation will including a $22.9 million funding bump for the Department of Children and Families. “It’s absolutely heartbreaking when a child is a victim of abuse or neglect. Anytime something horrific happens to an innocent child, we have to stop and think about what we can do to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Scott said in his announcement. “As a father and a grandfather, I take the safety of our…

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Ex-DCF investigator charged with faking notes in tot death

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A former child abuse investigator surrendered Wednesday on charges that she falsified a substance abuse screening for a mother who authorities say was drinking months later when she left her 11-month-old baby to die in a hot car. Shani Smith, 35, was supposed to determine in her 2012 investigation whether Catalina Bruno’s children were safe to remain in her care and whether Bruno needed drug or alcohol treatment after the mother was charged with drinking and driving. Bruno was accused…

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Food stamps applications in Panhandle up 15%

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Applications for food stamps in Panhandle counties have soared since oil began gushing from the broken BP pipe leak. Since May 1 applications are up 15 percent. The Department of Children and Families is keeping separate data to track people who qualify for food stamps because the oil has destroyed their careers. Don Winstead is the welfare advisor for DCF. He says along with the growing need for food assistance is a growing need for counselors to help families going…

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The post the Brian Blair campaign doesn’t want you to read: Fraternal Order of Police endorses Blair in H-47

in The Bay and the 'Burg by

I imagine somewhere in the Fraternal Order of Police’s mission statement it probably says something about the organization and its members being dedicated to, you know, keeping people safe. Especially children. Especially children from abusive parents. In fact, on its website, it states that the FOP’s job is “to promote and foster the impartial enforcement of law and order.” It just makes sense: the police are the ‘good guys’ who arrest the ‘bad guys’ who hurt children. What I doubt…

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The post the Brian Blair campaign doesn’t want you to read: Fraternal Order of Police endorses Blair in H-47

in The Bay and the 'Burg by

I imagine somewhere in the Fraternal Order of Police’s mission statement it probably says something about the organization and its members being dedicated to, you know, keeping people safe. Especially children. Especially children from abusive parents. In fact, on its website, it states that the FOP’s job is “to promote and foster the impartial enforcement of law and order.” It just makes sense: the police are the ‘good guys’ who arrest the ‘bad guys’ who hurt children. What I doubt…

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