Crist signs $9.5 million claims bill for family of boys raped in DCF care
by Dara Kam | June 3rd, 2009
Deception by state social service workers put Debbie and Jorge through a long nightmare — leaving them the adoptive parents of three sexually traumatized boys who went on to molest other children and kill the family’s pets.
Gov. Charlie Crist quietly signed a law Wednesday providing $9.5 million in compensation and relief to the couple, formerly of Boynton Beach, and their sons. The money will help pay for the boys’ education, along with treatment they have been receiving in nationally recognized programs.
Crist signed the claims bill (SB 58) as Debbie and Jorge and other relatives looked on, along with George Sheldon, secretary of the state Department of Children and Families.
“It’s inexcusable that the state fought this thing for so long when so much could have been done to prevent deterioration,” Sheldon said Wednesday.
The boys — now ages 17, 16 and 14 — had been raped, caged and starved in foster care before Debbie and Jorge adopted them in 1998.
The couple were unaware of the maltreatment the boys had suffered, and had told DCF officials they did not want to adopt children who had been sexually abused.
Not only did the department keep Debbie and Jorge in the dark, it even instructed a treatment center not to release records to the parents.
Meanwhile, the boys ran afoul of the law, set fires, were expelled from schools, attempted suicide and tried to poison Debbie.
Their plight, brought to light by The Palm Beach Post, spurred a separate bill approved by lawmakers this year and awaiting Crist’s signature. That bill (SB 126) would give prospective foster and adoptive parents the right to view the records of children they are considering taking into their care.
“When you’re going through 11 years of what we’ve been through, you feel like, ‘What was the purpose of this?’ ” Debbie said Wednesday. “And now you feel like there is a purpose.
“It maybe won’t help our situation, but if it helps years and years of children down the road, then it’s worth it.”
In 2007, the couple settled a lawsuit against the state for $10 million. Under state law, however, DCF could pay only $500,000 and lawmakers needed to approve the rest.
Under the bill Crist signed, the boys will each receive $256,666.66 a year for the next 10 years. Each parent will receive annual payments of $90,000.
The treatment has done a world of good for the brothers, who are separated, Debbie told Crist on Wednesday.
“It’s changing their lives and their outlooks,” she said.
“It’s nice to see goodness happen,” he replied.
Tags: Charlie Crist, Jeff Atwater
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June 3rd, 2009 at 1:59 pm
HE,S INSANE..
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Politics! The approval defies logic (budgets/economy = shambles) but eliminates a potential, controversial negative in Crist’s next campaign; where success means he can continue wasting our resources/future stability for his political gain. And the empire will eventually collapse under its own weight.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:23 pm
What percentage of the gross sum is applied toward legal fees? The sponsor of the bill just announced that he’s joining a law firm in Boca!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:57 pm
I guess everyone is too jaded to see the horror here the department of children & families or HRS or whatever they are called is as badly broken as these poor boys – I am just really glad they are having counseling out of state instead of using DCF’s usual self feeding therapists and counselors who are more inclined to worry about billable hours than actually saving kids lives – and these problems did not just manifest they were deliberately hidden from the adoptive family- shamefull!!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
DCF needs to be disbanded, there has to be a better system for these kids. We have serious issues with government run agencies. Anyone got any ideas? Taxpayers should NOT have to pay 10 million dollar settlements for things like this.
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 pm
This is a lovely, caring couple who wanted to keep these boys together and kept from the information that DCF had. Shame on DCF and shame on those who knew.
This couple deserves the best; they have truly put the children first and have never stopped trying to get them the help they so desperately need.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:31 am
THEY LOVE TO BREAK UP FAMILIES.. AND TURN THE CHILDREN OVER TO MONSTERS, WHO THEN BECOME MONSTERS. IT HAS ALWAYS GONE ON… THIS IS NOTHING NEW. THE SAD PART IS THESE CHILDREN HAVE PROBLEMS FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES AND NEVER FULL GET OVER IT. IF A CHILD IS TAKEN FROM THE PARENT.AND A FAMILY MEMBER IS WILLING TO TAKE HE , SHE, OR THEM AND THEY CANT AFFORD IT, THE STATE WONT GIVE THEM MONEY TO HELP KEEP THE FAMILY TOGETHER SO THEY GIVE THESE MONSTERS OVER A GRAND A MONTH PER CHILD PLUS FOOD STAMPS AND A CLOTHING ALLOWANCE ALONG WITH MEDICAL. THEY NEVER CHECK ON THE KIDS! WHICH SHOULD BE DONE DAILY!!! NO MATTER WHAT! KEEP THE KIDS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THEM! CHILDREN DESERVE TO BE LOVED AND TREATED WITH KINDNESS.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:41 am
BY THE WAY, YOUR RIGHT, TAXPAYERS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO PAY IT, BUT THEY NEED TO AND HOLD ALL THE WORKERS RESPONSIBLE AND HELD FINANCIALLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL OF THE ABUSE THAT COMES OUT OF THAT HORRIBLE SYSTEM. FOR THE KIDS THAT ARE LEGITIMATELY REMOVED BECAUSE OF ABUSIVE PARENTS, FIND SOMEONE IN THE FAMILY WHO LOVES THEM FIRST BEFORE YOU MAKE IT WORSE WITH FOSTER ABUSE.
June 4th, 2009 at 5:41 am
Thanks to DCF and other so called authorities, like this family, my life was turned into a living Hell when I adopted from the state. No matter who or how I cried for help, as it became apparent that something was definitely wrong with the teen placed in my home, it fell on deaf ears. I sought counselors and therapists too, but that went nowhere…, which was partially the teen’s doing, as no desire to engage in productive dialogue was exhibited. The system is broken, and children as well as families with good intentions to help these children will continue to suffer, as there is no interest at state or local levels to fix a badly broken process. I considered suing too, and I was told I had strong case, but I want to heal and get on with my life…while praying teen seeks help to fight demons hidden behind public mask.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:16 am
“It’s nice to see goodness happen,” says Crist.
Goodness, the boys weren’t guilty? The horror they inflicted is to be REWARDED? The abusers, were they punished? This is about money, the punished are the taxpayers who are thrown into this mess by a disfunctional and corrupt CPS. The boys need help, but also need now to accept responsiblity for their actions. Where is the culpability of the CPS workers? THEY should personally pay the fees, not the taxpayers.
Throwing money at the family will not give the boys back their innocence: that is the crime.
June 4th, 2009 at 8:33 am
What happened to this family and these children is tragic but the good that will come from the new law they helped change is huge. All future foster and adoptive parents in Florida will now be able see the case files of children they are considering for care for the fist time. What a difference this open and honest way to handle adoptions and foster care will make in the lives of children. The families it will help for years to come can’t be measured.
June 4th, 2009 at 10:28 am
While it is sad what happened to these boys and the DCF’s treatment of the foster parents was deploreable I see no reason to penalize the tax payors by awarding a winfall payday. The story also said that these boys abused other children. Perhaps the other children should now sue these boys now that they each have large sums of money.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Has it ever occured to anyone that perhaps we need to once & for all demolish DCF and invest lavishly in orphanages? Yes I said orphanages! I’m not suggesting anything like what we have seen in Oliver Twist, or Annie. Honestly I’m talking about a very large home-like structure where we pay the EDUCATED employees handsomely and make it a business that receives some government assistance. It is quite obvious that Big Government can not do this job properly as has been proven time and time again. The foster care system in this country is a joke, completely useless. Even when a child is fortunate enough to be with a good family, by the time they turn 18 they are tossed out with no skills, no place to go, and very little prospect of HOPE for a better future. We place these unfortunate kids in the care of welfare recipients who are more times than not only interested in the $$$$ and not the best interest of the kids. We could staff these group homes with people who are professionals in a number of areas, medical, education, therapy (of all kinds),and in the process teach the residents how to properly care for each other with respect, pride, and dignity. We can’t change this broken down system over night, but if we as a society don’t start making some serious advances toward taking care of our youth, then we better start building more prisons. The gang situation is out of control, as is the drugs. This all stems from a lack of responsible parenting. A concept that seems to elude most. The path of least resistance, giving in to our kids every whim is so rampant that there is a disconnect and nobody seems to know the difference between right & wrong anymore. Or if all of this seems like tooooo much trouble, perhaps we could just start forcing PARENTS to take responsibility for their childrens actions. You lock up a few parents whose kids under 18 are committing crimes, and I assure you parents will begin to do their job of parenting much better. Wake up AMERICA! Accountability is a must!!!!
June 15th, 2009 at 8:31 am
When will the responsible DCF employees go to prison?
July 1st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
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