Grand jury report accuses DCF of ‘failing catastrophically’ in several Central Florida counties
MARION COUNTY, Fla. —
A grand jury report released Friday accuses the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) Circuit 5 — which covers Lake, Marion, Sumter, and Hernando counties — of catastrophic failures in protecting children and vulnerable adults.
The report states it is not a “routine administrative review” but aims “to sound an alarm,” alleging that “DCF in Circuit 5 is failing catastrophically in that duty.” It describes “heartbreaking, systemic patterns of neglect and abuse” and operational failures, based on information gathered from law enforcement, firefighters, lawyers, and service providers.
The report highlights failures to protect vulnerable adults, including in Marion County, where “DCF’s operational gaps are so severe” that local law enforcement, medical professionals, and others have formed a group that meets weekly to review cases and create safety plans for vulnerable adults the report says are left unprotected by DCF.
It also examines roughly half a dozen cases involving children and the elderly, alleging that “systemic inaction allowed severe trauma and preventable fatalities to occur among vulnerable adults and children,” including multiple deaths of young children. One case appears to reference the death of 15-month-old Daltin Miller in Marion County.
Daltin was removed from his mother’s custody after birth and placed with a relative. Despite “warnings from both the caretaker and a case management employee regarding concerns of the parents’ ongoing drug use and criminal histories,” Daltin was reunified with his father. He later died of a fatal overdose after ingesting drugs. Both parents were charged with aggravated manslaughter.
The report details other cases, including a mother with a “17-year record of documented abuse and violent behavior” who was reunified with two of her children before one died from abusive head trauma. Another case involved a daughter who shot and killed her father after years of reporting sexual and physical abuse.
In another instance, eight children placed in foster care were adopted by their foster family despite 18 DCF investigations involving them. After the adoption, the report states, “There were an additional 37 DCF reports which involved concerns relayed by relatives, medical professionals, counselors, and school employees.” The adoptive father was later arrested for “sexual offenses against the eldest child.”
The grand jury also learned of 12 cases where “DCF or case management workers were accused by law enforcement of falsifying reports/records.”
The report alleges that DCF leadership repeatedly failed to address these issues despite years of evidence presented by multiple local agencies.
“Meetings were held. Assurances were given. Promises were repeatedly made—and routinely broken,” the report states.
When asked for comment, DCF said, “The Department takes these findings seriously. Any case in which a child or vulnerable adult may not have been adequately protected warrants careful examination, and when opportunities to improve our practice are identified, we have an obligation to act.”
“The cases highlighted in the report span approximately a decade, during which Florida’s child and adult protection systems underwent significant changes in law, policy, and practice,” DCF’s statement reads. “Many of the report’s recommendations reflect safeguards and reforms already in place today, while others would require legislative action, additional funding, or further legal review.”
The report outlines 34 recommendations to address the crisis, including mandating body cameras for all abuse or neglect interviews, home studies, and home visits; basing determinations on an accumulation of reports rather than just the most recent allegation; and requiring at least two random drug screens per month for individuals actively involved in DCF investigations.
The report alleges that the issues identified represent only a fraction of the scope of the problems within DCF Circuit 5.