Kenlee's Law: A Bold New Bill to Protect Florida Children and Families from Overreach

The video of Kenlee Zuraff's armed DCF abduction shocked the nation. Kenlee's story has resonated deeply with countless Floridians, highlighting significant challenges within the Department of Children and Families (DCF) regarding child protective investigations. Kenlee’s experience of being separated from her mother has brought to light troubling issues, such as lack of transparency and accountability within the system.

Kenlee's plight could change Florida, and change America. Introducing the "Save America's Children" Act.

Her story has become a catalyst for change, leading to the proposal of a new Florida legislative initiative known as Kenlee’s Law. This law, which we call the Save America's Children Act, is also being crafted into a federal bill that restricts DCF and CPS access to federal funds when these agencies violate the rights of families.

Learn about Kenlee's ongoing fight here, and visit FreeKenlee.com to support efforts to reunite a family that has been tortured by a broken legal system that is financially incentivized to take children from loving homes.

Kenlee’s Law seeks to level the playing field for families caught in a bureaucratic process that often seems financially incentivized against them, rather than in the best interest of the children they aim to protect. The bill's primary intent is to implement comprehensive reforms that ensure families are treated justly and that DCF operates with greater scrutiny and responsibility. 

Our current system often neglects the rights of families, as it allows for the removal of children without stringent checks and balances, sometimes based on questionable investigations. In many cases, these actions can traumatize children and fracture families unjustly. Kenlee’s Law aims to introduce clear standards and processes that will hold the DCF accountable, establish transparent procedures for child investigations, and create a support system for families navigating these turbulent times.

By signing this petition, you are showing your support for a legislative change that champions fairness and justice for families across Florida. You are advocating for the establishment of a system that not only protects children but also respects the integrity and rights of families.

Join us in urging the Florida Legislature to pass Kenlee’s Law. Let’s stand together to ensure that no family has to endure what Kenlee and her mother did and that every child in Florida is protected in a manner that truly prioritizes their welfare and safety. Sign this petition and be a part of this crucial movement for justice and reform.

"She's coming with me tonight". Watch the Bodycam That Shocked a Nation. 

What KENLEE’S LAW Would Do

Here is a clear summary of the key provisions:

Body-Worn Cameras for DCF Workers
All DCF employees, contractors, and agents would be required to wear and activate body cameras during home visits, investigations, child removals, and in-person family interactions. Recordings would be kept for at least 5 years and made available to families and courts, creating an unbiased record of what actually happens.

Recording Rights for Families
The bill updates Florida’s wiretapping law so that parents, family members, and observers can legally record interactions with doctors, nurses, DCF workers, and other public officials without needing everyone’s consent. This change applies retroactively for the past 12 years and provides full immunity for past good-faith recordings.

Keeping Children Close to Home
Unless a judge finds clear and convincing evidence it is not in the child’s best interest, children removed from their homes could not be placed in foster care more than 30 miles away from their original residence. The bill also prioritizes placement with relatives (kinship care) to preserve family bonds.

Stronger Accountability for False Statements
Qualified immunity would be removed for anyone — including DCF workers, judges, or medical professionals — who knowingly makes false statements or commits perjury in child welfare cases. Medical doctors, nurses, or hospital administrators found by a court to have provided materially false information would face immediate probation and investigation by the State Surgeon General.

Public Transparency Through Statistics
Hospitals, doctors, and nurses would have to publicly post simple, de-identified annual statistics on how many child abuse reports they file with DCF.
DCF itself would publish clear statewide and regional statistics each year on how many children are removed, how many are reunified with their families, and how many end up in permanent state custody.

Open Courtrooms and Limited Gag Orders
Judges in dependency cases would generally not be allowed to issue broad gag orders or close hearings to the public, except in narrow cases involving sexual abuse where a child’s safety requires it. This promotes public trust and allows families and advocates to speak more freely about systemic issues.

Parental Legal Assistance Fund
Fifty percent of the federal Title IV-E funds received by DCF would be dedicated to a new “Parental Legal Assistance Fund.” This money would help parents afford quality, independent legal representation in dependency and termination cases — leveling the playing field so families are not overwhelmed by state resources.
Additional supports would include legal aid referrals, independent advocates, and counseling services for families facing removal proceedings.

For more information on this law and the exact provisions in the proposed bill, click here. 

Taking Children from Homes is a $9.5 Billion Industry

Big money flows mainly when kids are removed 

— The largest share of Title IV-E dollars (foster care maintenance payments and related admin costs) is only reimbursed after a child is physically or legally taken from their home via court order or voluntary agreement. No removal usually means no big federal payout for that case.

Court must officially declare the home “contrary to the welfare” of the child
— Judges have to make this specific finding (plus “reasonable efforts” to prevent removal) for the state to start claiming federal money. Critics argue this creates a built-in incentive to document problems aggressively rather than fix them.

Financial incentive for removals 
— States and agencies get open-ended federal reimbursement (often 50-80% of costs) for every eligible child placed in foster care. Many parents’ rights advocates claim this turns child welfare into a funding-driven system where “more removals = more money.”

“Reasonable efforts” to prevent removal is required — but often just paperwork
— Agencies must claim they tried to keep the family together, yet if the court signs off within 60 days, funding unlocks anyway. Skeptics say this requirement is frequently rubber-stamped.

Prevention funding exists but is tiny and optional
— The 2018 Family First Act allows some Title IV-E money for services to keep kids at home (mental health, parenting programs, etc.), but it’s time-limited (up to 12 months), evidence-based only, and still a small fraction of total spending compared to foster care.

Adoption and guardianship subsidies continue the payments
— Once a child has been removed and becomes “special needs,” the state can keep getting federal money for years through adoption or kinship guardianship subsidies — even after the child is no longer in foster care.

Outdated 1996 poverty rules still control eligibility
— A child must meet old AFDC “needy” standards from 1996 (not updated for inflation), which critics call arbitrary and disconnected from today’s realities.

An inability to pay extreme legal fees should not be what prevents children from being forced into the foster/adoption system. Families are outgunned by this system.

Please sign and show your support to give families in Florida, and across the nation, a fighting chance to stay together.