Wex Wimpy
October 21st 03, 06:30 PM
DCF returns girl to foster parents
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Less than a week after child welfare administrators took a
17-month-old baby from foster parents who wanted to adopt her,
sparking an outcry from lawmakers and child advocates, the baby was
returned Friday -- at least for now.
Carmen and Armando Alvarez raised the little girl for 16 months,
taking her into their Key Largo home after she was born prematurely
and drug-addicted. Within a few months, the family said, Department of
Children & Families officials asked the couple if they wanted to adopt
the baby. They did.
But on Monday, DCF asked the Alvarezes to bring the baby to its
Tavernier office. From there, she was taken to live with a maternal
uncle in the Daytona Beach area. Several lawmakers expressed concern
over the decision, and on Wednesday, DCF Secretary Jerry Regier
announced that he would convene a committee to recommend what was
thought was best for the baby.
''We are continuing to conduct an adoption review to make sure the
best interests of the child are served,'' Bill Spann, a DCF spokesman
in Tallahassee, said Friday.
State Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston, who has spoken with DCF administrators
about the case, expressed relief that the baby was returned to the
family that had cared for her since birth.
But Rich continued to criticize the agency for removing her from the
home in the first place.
The removal, Rich said, was in violation of a court order requiring
DCF to seek permission from a judge before relocating the baby.
''Nobody bothers to read what is in the file,'' Rich said Friday.
``Nobody knows what's going on."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7041746.htm
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Less than a week after child welfare administrators took a
17-month-old baby from foster parents who wanted to adopt her,
sparking an outcry from lawmakers and child advocates, the baby was
returned Friday -- at least for now.
Carmen and Armando Alvarez raised the little girl for 16 months,
taking her into their Key Largo home after she was born prematurely
and drug-addicted. Within a few months, the family said, Department of
Children & Families officials asked the couple if they wanted to adopt
the baby. They did.
But on Monday, DCF asked the Alvarezes to bring the baby to its
Tavernier office. From there, she was taken to live with a maternal
uncle in the Daytona Beach area. Several lawmakers expressed concern
over the decision, and on Wednesday, DCF Secretary Jerry Regier
announced that he would convene a committee to recommend what was
thought was best for the baby.
''We are continuing to conduct an adoption review to make sure the
best interests of the child are served,'' Bill Spann, a DCF spokesman
in Tallahassee, said Friday.
State Rep. Nan Rich, D-Weston, who has spoken with DCF administrators
about the case, expressed relief that the baby was returned to the
family that had cared for her since birth.
But Rich continued to criticize the agency for removing her from the
home in the first place.
The removal, Rich said, was in violation of a court order requiring
DCF to seek permission from a judge before relocating the baby.
''Nobody bothers to read what is in the file,'' Rich said Friday.
``Nobody knows what's going on."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/7041746.htm