Policy regarding children and families can generally be split into two categories: child and family affairs and K-12 education. Child and family affairs also cover the extensive policies that regulate the child welfare system. Policy regarding children and families can generally be split into two categories: child and family affairs and K-12 education. Child and family affairs also cover the extensive policies that regulate the child welfare system.
Child Welfare in Florida:
The Florida Department of Children & Families is responsible for Child and Family Well-Being. The community-based care initiative is responsible for redesigning the Florida Child Welfare System as we see it today. This initiative describes how DCF must “negotiate and contract with respected local, non-profit agencies to provide child welfare services in local communities for children who have been abused, neglected and/or abandoned.”
In Leon County, FL DCF contracts with the North West Florida Health Network (NWF Health Network), who contracts with service providers for the various services they have. For example, in Leon and Jefferson County, NWF Health Network contracts with Camelot Community Care for case management services for children and families. Camelot has several programs, including an adoption/adoption support program, a child protection team, foster home recruitment and licensing, and more.
In addition to Florida legislature, the Department of Children and Families Operating Procedure (CFOP) and the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure also police child welfare proceedings. CFOP is an extensive and comprehensive handbook for child welfare centers to operate within the system. The Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure are essentially a rulebook for juvenile courts.
Link to the Florida Rules of Juvenile Procedure:
Example of Florida child welfare policy: HB 1083- Permanency for Children
This bill was introduced, passed, and signed during the 2024 Legislative Session and was effective on July 1, 2024.
HB 1083 “revises & creates provisions relating to dependent children, including criminal history records checks, removing children from court-ordered placement, evidence required to amend case plans, Guardianship Assistance Program, notice requirements, review of DCF denial of application to adopt, home studies, adoption assistance services, adoption fees and court orders, required reports, advertising adoption services, & photo listing component of statewide adoption exchange.”
Controversies with DCF:
Florida DCF has faced controversy on several occasions due to a lack of sufficient action leading to catastrophe. For example, Florida DCF faced major criticism for a case worker’s lack of action, leading to the death of Gabriel Fernandez.
In an effort to increase accountability, Florida DCF launched a Child Fatality Prevention online report that details every child fatality reported to the hotline. The report also tracks the causal factors of each fatality and any prior involvement the family had with DCF.
https://www.myflfamilies.com/childfatality
They have also found themselves in hot water for doing more than what the situation warranted, thus doing more harm than good. A case of this that has recently made headlines is the Maya Kowalski case. Maya’s mother, Beata Kowalski, was falsely accused of Munchausen by Proxy at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, leading to Maya being sheltered in the hospital and not being able to see her mother for over 80 days. The stress and extreme nature of the case lead to Beata committing suicide after going 87 days without seeing Maya.
Federal Involvement in Child Welfare:
Though a large amount of child welfare policy and implementation is delegated to State and Local government, there are some significant Federal policies.
Here is a link to major federal legislation that has impacted child welfare in the US
K-12 educational policies dictate what and how Florida public schools educate youth.
The Florida Board of Education is the governing body that is responsible for the state’s education system. The Board is made up of the Commissioner of Education and seven governor-appointed members who are approved by the Senate. The Board is responsible for curriculum and other standards/guidelines.
Example of a K-12 Education policy: SB 7032- Education
SB 7032 establishes “the Graduation Alternative to Traditional Education (GATE) Program within the Department of Education; revising the services to which the one-stop delivery system is intended to provide access; requiring a student’s certified school counselor or other school personnel to inform the student of opportunities in the GATE Program; requiring district school boards to notify all candidates for the high school equivalency diploma of adult secondary and postsecondary education options, including specified eligibility requirements; creating the GATE Scholarship Program; requiring the department to administer the program, etc.”
Federal Involvement in K-12 Schools:
Though a large amount of K-12 policy and implementation is delegated to State and Local government, there are some significant Federal policies. The Federal government has a Department of Education where the Secretary of Education advises the president on all policies, programs, and activities related to education.
Example of general policy regarding children/families, but not necessarily child welfare/DCF related: HB 3: Online Protections for Minors
HB 3 will require “social media platforms to prohibit certain minors from creating new accounts; requiring social media platforms to terminate certain accounts and provide additional options for termination of such accounts; providing conditions under which social media platforms are required to prohibit certain minors from entering into contracts to become account holders…”
About community-based care (CBC). Florida Department of Children and Families. (n.d.). https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/child-and-family-well-being/community-based-care/about
Florida State Bill HB 1083, 2024 Leg. (Fla. 2024). https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=79742#:~:text=Permanency%20for%20Children%3A%20Revises%20%26%20creates,of%20application%20to%20adopt%2C%20home
Florida State Bill HB 3, 2024 Leg. (Fla. 2024). https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/3
Florida State Bill SB 7032, 2024 Leg. (Fla. 2024). https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2024/7032
Kuizon, K. (2023, October 23). “take care of maya” trial: Munchausen by proxy suspected by doctor testifying for defense in $220M case. FOX 13 Tampa Bay. https://www.fox13news.com/news/take-care-of-maya-trial-munchausen-by-proxy-suspected-by-doctor-testifying-for-defense-in-220m-case
Laws & guidance. ED.gov. (n.d.). https://www2.ed.gov/policy/landing.jhtml?src=ft
School Board / Home. (n.d.). https://www.leonschools.net/schoolboard
Tremoglie, C. (2022, August 15). The failures of Florida’s Department of Children and families continue to endanger children - washington examiner. Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/803476/the-failures-of-floridas-department-of-children-and-families-continue-to-endanger-children/
Who We are. NWF health network. (n.d.). https://nwfhealth.org/about-us/who-we-are/
Scandalous Politics by
Little work has been done to systematically analyze how high-profile incidents of child neglect and abuse shape child welfare policymaking in the United States. In Scandalous Politics, Juliet Gainsborough presents quantitative analysis of all fifty states and qualitative case studies of three states (Florida, Colorado, and New Jersey) that reveal how well-publicized child welfare scandals result in adoption of new legislation and new administrative procedures. Gainsborough's quantitative analysis suggests that child welfare policymaking is frequently reactive, while the case studies provide more detail about variations and the legislative process. For example, the case studies illustrate how the nature and extent of the policy response varies according to particular characteristics of the political environment in the state and the administrative structure of the child welfare system. Scandalous Politics increases our understanding of the politics of child welfare at both the state and federal level and provides new insights into existing theories of agenda-setting and the policy process. It will be of interest to everyone involved with child welfare policymaking and especially public policy and public administration scholars.
Fostering Accountability by
Fostering Accountability presents a model of child welfare decision making that holds public officials answerable for the integrity and validity of the actions they take on behalf of the children and families in their care. It operationalizes the concept of results-oriented accountability, which demands that administrators and practitioners show valid evidence of their success in improving child and family outcomes, not merely demonstrate mechanical procedural compliance. Drawing on the experiences of directors, staff, and evaluators, this timely and practical book describes the emergence of results-oriented accountability in child welfare with a special focus on the editors' role in establishing a university-agency research partnership under a federal consent decree. Chapters elaborate on the five successive stages of the results-oriented accountability framework-outcomes monitoring, data analysis, research review, evaluation, and quality improvement-and provide examples of applications of each stage for agency managers. By refocusing the emphasis on developing policies based on agency data, instead of purely reactive approaches that grasp at solutions and often fall short, Fostering Accountability guides administrators in monitoring outcomes, using evidence to select interventions to enhance results, and applying management strategies to evaluate and improve these efforts.The result is a pragmatic implementation guide for administrators seeking to bring safety, stability, continuity, permanence, and well-being to the lives of abused and neglected children in the United States.
Savage Inequalities by
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * "An impassioned book, laced with anger and indignation, about how our public education system scorns so many of our children."--The New York Times Book Review In 1988, Jonathan Kozol set off to spend time with children in the American public education system. For two years, he visited schools in neighborhoods across the country, from Illinois to Washington, D.C., and from New York to San Antonio. He spoke with teachers, principals, superintendents, and, most important, children. What he found was devastating. Not only were schools for rich and poor blatantly unequal, the gulf between the two extremes was widening--and it has widened since. The urban schools he visited were overcrowded and understaffed, and lacked the basic elements of learning--including books and, all too often, classrooms for the students. In Savage Inequalities, Kozol delivers a searing examination of the extremes of wealth and poverty and calls into question the reality of equal opportunity in our nation's schools. Praise for Savage Inequalities "I was unprepared for the horror and shame I felt. . . . Savage Inequalities is a savage indictment. . . . Everyone should read this important book."--Robert Wilson, USA Today "Kozol has written a book that must be read by anyone interested in education."--Elizabeth Duff, Philadelphia Inquirer "The forces of equity have now been joined by a powerful voice. . . . Kozol has written a searing exposé of the extremes of wealth and poverty in America's school system and the blighting effect on poor children, especially those in cities."--Emily Mitchell, Time "Easily the most passionate, and certain to be the most passionately debated, book about American education in several years . . . A classic American muckraker with an eloquent prose style, Kozol offers . . . an old-fashioned brand of moral outrage that will affect every reader whose heart has not yet turned to stone."--Entertainment Weekly
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