Proposed language protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in a DCF rule was opposed by the Florida Baptist Children’s Home and the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, so it was deleted.
Children and Families
“We Live Without My Son”: A Mother’s Story of Her Teen’s Suicide Frames Town Hall Meeting
Barbara Coxwell, who lost her 15-year-old son to suicide in 2013, and School Board Chairman Colleen Conklin, led the virtual town hall as a first step in a countywide effort to broaden attention to suicide-prevention across all age groups.
Flagler’s Family Life Center Now a Certified Rape Crisis Center, Ensuring Critical Services
Until Family Life took over the service in an arrangement with the sheriff’s office in March 2014, Flagler County had been without a reliable crisis center because the Children’s Advocacy Center had quit providing that service.
Conklin Will Lead Suicide Awareness Town Hall Sunday: #FlaglersuicideASK4HELP
In the wake of two recent and related suicides in Palm Coast, the town hall will feature Barbara Coxwell, whose son took his life in 2013. The Legislature is considering bills related to increased suicide awareness.
Two Young Women’s Suicides, In Close Proximity, Stun and Mobilize Community
Lindsay Brockhaus, 20, killed herself on Tuesday, a month after her friend Cora Ann Engel, 18, committed suicide by the same method, two years almost to the day after Dalton Coxwell, also a Matanzas High student, had killed himself the same way.
Family Life Center Welcomes Board Members Maria Scarol and Sallie Brinkley
The Family Life Center announced this week that Maria Scarol and Sallie Brinkley have joined the Family Life board of directors.
Two Sweeping Supreme Court Cases Set to Redefine Abortion and Contraceptive Rights
As devastating to abortion rights as 2015 proved to be in state legislatures, 2016 is shaping up to be even more turbulent — perhaps the most momentous year for reproductive issues in a generation.
“My Concern Is The Christian Kids”: A Pastor Raises Objections to Yoga in Flagler Schools
A local pastor complained to the school board that yoga and meditation in a wellness program at three Flagler County schools is a violation of the separation of church and state. The pastor largely misunderstands the $30,000 program, a grant through State Farm Insurance.
Florida Picks 5 Nurseries to Grow and Distribute Medical Marijuana for Select Patients
Parents of children with severe epilepsy pushed for a 2014 law to legalize the purportedly non-euphoric marijuana — low in THC, high in CBD — as it can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures.
Stewart Marchman-Act Foundation Launches Bouquets of Hope Campaign for Thanksgiving
The Stewart Marchman-Act Foundation is launching the Bouquets of Hope & Classic Chocolates fundraiser to support mental health awareness in our community.
Senate Bill Would Overhaul Florida’s Foster-Care Placements to Child-Centered Approach
The bill, aimed at reducing instability for foster children, would match children with their best placement options — rather than, as critics charge, the first beds that are handy.
AJ Fernandez, Felled by Schizophrenia, Is Celebrated With a Skateboard Competition at Wadsworth Park
24-year-old AJ Fernandez of Palm Coast, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2010, took his life on Aug. 26. The Nov. 8 skate competition is a memorial benefit event for the Johns Hopkins Schizophrenia Center in Baltimore.
Gail Wadsworth: Florida’s Court Clerks Spotlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, there were more than 106,000 cases of domestic violence reported in Florida last year. While this statistic is alarming enough, the numbers only continue to increase when factoring in the countless incidents of domestic violence that go unreported by victims.
Florida Teens’ Taste for E-Cigarettes Now More than Double That of Tobacco Sticks
Some 6.9 percent of Florida high-school students smoke cigarettes, but 15.8 percent use electronic cigarettes, which allow inhalation of vaporized nicotine.
Florida’s Foster Children Are Still Being Medicated Without Proper Oversight
Just a fifth of the 2,434 children in state foster care had proper consent-form and other requirements to be subjected to psychotropic drugs, according to UF research.
“Somber” Board Severely Cuts Flagler’s Adults With Disabilities Program So It Can Survive
The program served 85 mostly full-time clients until it lost half a million dollars in state aid, forcing staff cuts and deep reductions in services. But unlike other districts, Flagler chose to keep its program going.
Florida Doubles Rates For 36,000 KidCare Full Pay Children, and Blames Obamacare
Thousands of parents were slammed with new rates with less than a month to pay, though they’ll have a chance to leave Florida’s plan for Obamacare in a special enrollment period.
With Florida Leading U.S. in Child Drownings, States Are Pressed to Improve Prevention
Florida had 50 drownings of children 15 or younger last year, by far the most in the nation. California was second with 36. Better pool-safety regulations help.
Scott Administration Intensifies Battle Over Planned Parenthood Clinics in Florida
State health officials say three clinics can continue to operate but remain under investigation for allegedly performing illegal second-trimester abortions.
“Defunding” Planned Parenthood: Beyond GOP Posturing, It Wouldn’t Be Easy To Do
Jeb Bush claims he defunded Planned Parenthood while governor in Florida. Other GOP presidential candidates make similar claims or promises. They’re being dishonest.
Sunburned Child at Flagler Camp Exposes a Florida Paradox: Paddling Is OK. Applying Sunscreen Is Not.
The Palm Coast mother of a 5-year-old child who got sunburned while in care of Flagler camp counselors was surprised to find the strict limitations on school employees touching children.
Rethinking Restrictions on Food Stamps and Welfare Benefits for Drug Felons
The bans on welfare and food stamps assistance apply only to drug felons, in accordance with a 1996 federal law, unless states choose to waive them.
Florida’s Lagging Early-Childhood Education Programs Again Fail to Win More Legislative Support
Florida’s voluntary pre-kindergarten and school-readiness programs are funded below national averages. Advocates turn their hopes toward federal support.
Reported Runaway, 14, Is Found at Her Father’s as Family Custody Issues Emerge
Ashley Martin, 14, had left home her mother’s June 20 and was found at her father’s June 26, where police were told of family conflicts and custody issues.
Lawmakers Again Refuse to Extend KidCare Coverage to Children of Legal Immigrants
The proposal in the Florida Legislature would have eliminated a 5-year waiting period for lawful immigrants to qualify for the subsidized insurance program that serves children from low- and moderate-income families.
To Fight Obesity, Get Government Involved: Taxes, Regulations, Education
Successful efforts to improve public health — smoking bans, seat-belt laws, and speed limits–have always involved legislation and regulation supplementing education, argues Harvard’s Kenneth Rogoff.
ACLU and Women’s Health Center Sue Florida Over 24-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
The lawsuit contends that for women — especially low-income women who must arrange for child care, time off work and overnight travel — the law can push them past the time it is legal to have abortions.
Administrator Patrick Johnson Calls It Quits as Flagler Health Department Endures Big Changes
Flagler County Health Department Administrator Patrick Johnson is resigning at the end of the month to take a public health post in North Carolina as county departments in Florida see their roles shift and diminish.
As Mom Struggles to Recover From Burns, Community Rallies Around a Family Made Homeless
As Jessica Johnson, mom to three young children, remains in intensive care, Flagler Beach has rallied around her family to raise money and collect furniture and toys.
Gov. Scott Seeks Court-Ordered Injunction Against Federal Government in Health Fight
Lawyers for the state asked Thursday for a federal judge to immediately bar the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from considering whether the state has expanded Medicaid as the agency weighs a decision on $2.2 billion in funding for hospitals and other health-care providers in Florida.
Legislators Set Special Session For June 1 But $2.2 Billion in Health Aid for Poor at Risk
Florida House and Senate leaders did not put out a list of topics that would be discussed during the special session, leaving room for disagreement over the final “call” that will be issued to lawmakers.
Federal Judge to Florida: Your Children Medicaid Program Is Still in the Poorhouse
Florida Medicaid’s system delays care and outreach to Medicaid-eligible children is inadequate, the federal lawsuit claims. A judge ruled the lawsuit can continue despite a Supreme Court decision Florida cited to dismiss the case.
Cage-Free Parenting: I Let My Boys Walk Home Alone. Go Ahead, Cuff Me.
Until she heard about parents getting arrested for letting their children roam free, Catherine Robinson had never let her children walk home alone. That just changed.
Rep. Jason Brodeur: My Religious Freedom Bill Will Encourage More Adoptions
Rep. Jason Brodeur, the Sanford Republican, sponsored the controversial bill that would allow adoption agencies to discriminate in their decisions on whom to place where, even on behalf of the state’s foster system. Brodeur defends his bill.
Will Florida Senate Recognize That Every Child Has the Right To Be Loved?
The choice is not whether church-sponsored agencies have a right to practice their religion. Of course they do. The issue is whether they have a right to enforce their beliefs against others when acting as agents of the state. They do not.
Florida House Advances ‘Conscience Protection’ Bill That Discriminates Against Gay Adoptions
Three hours of debate and numerous attempts to diminish the ability of private, religious adoption agencies to deny placement among gay couples failed as the bill now appears headed for approval Thursday.
In Reversal, Scott Opposes Expanding Poor’s Health Insurance and Opens $2.2 Billion Budget Hole
Scott’s opposition means Florida would again forego $47 billion in federal aid over the next 10 years while fewer poor Floridians would have health coverage–and the state’s budget would lose $2.2 billion in current aid that federal officials will no longer provide to the state under its existing medicaid system, which falls short of federal standards.
Florida Lawmakers OK Discriminating Against Gay Adoptions on “Religious” Grounds
Despite warnings that Florida would follow Indiana into a controversy with statewide economic implications, the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a bill that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
The Secret to Colorado’s Plummeting Teen Birth Rate: Give Girls Easy Access to Contraception
The state’s teen birthrate dropped 40 percent in four years as low-income young women get access to long-acting contraceptives such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) and hormonal implants, with state subsidies.
Gripes Aside, 6,000 Palm Coast and Flagler County Residents Enrolled in Obamacare as Deadline Approaches
Brisk enrollment in Flagler County and Palm Coast is nevertheless accompanied by individuals’ continued struggles, financial and ideological, over the Affordable Care Act even as Florida leads the nation in Obamacare enrollments, with 1.3 million people, and more expected ahead of the deadline.
DCF Abuse Hotline Refused 2 Calls Before Phoebe Jonchuck Was Thrown Off Bridge
DCF did not deem urgent a message from a lawyer for the girl’s father the day before the killing warning that Jonchuck was “driving all over town in his pajamas with Phoebe” and “seems depressed and delusional.”
More States Lean Toward Medicaid Expansion, But Florida Remains a Holdout
The biggest nonexpansion states are Florida and Texas, where expansion would add a total of 2.6 million uninsured residents to the Medicaid rolls. But both the Florida and Texas legislatures are dominated by Republicans, and expansion remains a long shot.
Child Thrown From Bridge in Tampa Prompts New Look at DCF’s Porous Safety Net
Records of the case reveal that many answers were already available — in the form of arrests that could have raised alarms at the state abuse hotline operated by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Group Homes for Children: More Expensive, Less Beneficial Than Foster Parents
Group homes, considered less effective than foster homes, cost taxpayers more than $37,000 per child, compared to $6,180 per year in a foster home, a study found.
Flu Visits to Flagler ER Spike 33% Over Last Season, But Officials Aren’t Calling It an Epidemic
Flu visits to the ER were especially pronounced in November. They leveled off a bit in December. But the first week of January saw the numbers spike again, especially compared to last year,
With 800,000 Floridians in Health Insurance Limbo, Hopes Return for Medicaid Expansion
A coalition of businesses groups, local officials and healthcare industry representatives has rolled out a plan to insure nearly one million low-income Floridians who fall in the so-called Medicaid coverage gap.
Flagler Opens 1st Secure Site For Supervised Children’s Visits in Sally’s Safe Haven
It took three years and $400,000 from a federal grant, but on Monday county officials dedicated the safe haven in the old Bunnell Post office location, ensuring that parents don’t have to travel to Volusia or St. Johns to execute court-ordered, supervised children’s visitations.
Florida Tries Again to End Decade-Old Lawsuit Calling State’s Children’s Health Care Inadequate
The state Agency for Health Care Administration is making a renewed attempt to scuttle a nearly decade-old lawsuit alleging the state’s Medicaid program has not provided adequate care for low-income children.
Advocates Call for DCF to Give Up Child Safety Oversight to Local Cops After Mass Murders
Roy Miller, spokesman for the Children’s Lobby, said last month’s mass murder-suicide involving six children in Gilchrist County amounted to the last straw in the department’s response to a series of child deaths stretching back many years.
Despite 18 Investigations, DCF Claims Man’s 7 Murders in Bell Couldn’t Have Been Foreseen
The murders drew national attention to the small town of Bell and led to questions about whether the Department of Children and Families could have done more to protect the children. The department and the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office visited the family’s home as recently as Sept. 2.