When providing foster care for children in the dependency system, there is a high level of risk taken. The risk of injury, both physical and emotional, the risk of exposure (trauma, illness, the system) to the foster parents and their own children, and the risk of being accused of abuse and neglect. Florida has a foster parents bill of rights that is beneficial but is lacking some major protections such as:

A foster parent should be afforded the right to due process and the right to defend themselves against false allegations.

DCF should not have the authority alone to determine findings, without a requirement for contested positive findings to be proven in a court of law.

Foster parents, when accused of abuse or neglect should be afforded an attorney, just as biological parents are to defend them in a court of law, if a placement change or removal of foster children from their home occurs.

If the Office of Inspector General will not investigate DCF misconduct and DCF is granted sovereign immunity, there needs to be an oversight committee with elected members to hear and determine ethical and negligent investigation allegations. This committee should have no affiliation with DCF or be employed by the State.

If staffings are to occur discussing a foster home’s allegations, the foster parents should be afforded an invitation to a minimum of one of those staffings to present their side.
 

We as foster parents, weren’t afforded any of these protections and now have false positive findings on us. What’s worse is the verified findings made against our own biological child, by these corrupt, unethical, incompetent criminals. That’s exactly how I see these people. No one stood up for us or our children during this witch hunt and allowed someone with less than a year’s experience to be orchestrated, in order to retaliate on a former employee (I used to work for DCF, for and with those investigating me).

We called numerous agency’s employees that worked with us for assistance or guidance and were told by everyone, they couldn’t talk to us and to contact the CPI. We were not invited and intentionally left out of staffings regarding our home and family. We appealed the findings, reported these employee’s conduct to the OIG and nothing has been investigated or corrected. The OIG has sent our complaints back to DCF for an internal review, sent it to DOH OIG to review, declined to investigate because there is a civil suit (so it is being handled by other legal means) or just closed our complaint out as already addressed.

We have provided hundreds of documents as evidence, requested emails through the Sunshine State Act, only to see the unprofessional callous comments made about us, by people supposed to be unbiasedly, reviewing the investigation and findings for us. Where is the ethical standards State employees are to abide by? This entire chain of events, is the definition of government corruption. Agencies and employees covering up their wrongs to save their own, while knowing all of it should have been corrected when the appeal was made. Now no one can be bothered. I have every shred of evidence, I can possibly provide to show everything we have said from the beginning is true. Now if only I can find a decent, honest human being willing to do what is right.

The OIG has discretion to choose what to investigate, but when they choose not to investigate a case with supervisor/manger misconduct, falsification of documentation and breach of confidentiality due to manager negligence and malfeasance one should have an answer as to why. Especially when the evidence has been provided to them. Simply because the previous employee has filed a civil suit should not bar the OIG’s investigation of state employee’s misconduct.

 If we want good foster homes, more foster homes, then we have to provide the necessary protections for those taking that risk! Would you put your family, your children at risk?