The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) is a state agency of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Its headquarters are at 2415 North Monroe St., Ste. 400 in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

. The department provides

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

to children, adults, refugees,

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

victims,

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

victims, the homeless community, child care providers, disabled people, and the elderly.

History

The department was created in 1996 when the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

split the former Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services (HRS) into two new departments: DCF and the

Florida Department of Health The Florida Department of Health is responsible for protecting the public health and safety of the residents and visitors of the state of Florida. It is a cabinet-level agency of the state government, headed by a state surgeon general who reports ...

. The department operates the Florida Civil Commitment Center, in

Arcadia, Florida Arcadia is a city and county seat of DeSoto County, Florida, United States. Its population was 7,637 as of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 7,722 in 2014. Arcadia's Historic District is listed on the National Register of Histor ...

Appointed Secretaries

Health and Rehabilitative Services (1969–96)

*James A. Bax – 1969–1971 *Emmett S. Roberts – 1971–1974 *Oliver James Keller Jr. – 1974–1975 *Emmett S. Roberts – 1975 *William J. Page – 1975-1978 *Emmett S. Roberts – 1978-1979 *David H. Pingree – 1979-1980 *Alvin Taylor – 1980–1981 *David H. Pingree – 1981–1987 *Gregory L. Coler – 1987–1991 *Bob Williams – 1991–1993 * Buddy MacKay (acting) – March–July 1993 *

Jim Towey Harry James Towey II (; born October 1, 1956) is an American former government official and academic administrator. Towey was appointed secretary of the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services by Governor Lawton Chiles in 1993, ...

– 1993–1995 *Ed Feaver – 1995–1996

Department of Children and Families (1997–present)

*Ed Feaver – 1997–1999 *Kathleen Kearney – 1999–2002 *

Jerry Regier Jerry Regier is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Human Services Policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services . He provides leadership on policy analysis and development in human services and on research under the Assistant Secret ...

– 2002–2004 * Lucy Hadi – 2004–2006 *

Bob Butterworth Robert A. Butterworth Jr. (born August 20, 1942) is an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Florida. Early life and career Butterworth was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and moved to Florida with his family as a child. He re ...

– 2006–2008 * George Sheldon – 2008–2011 *David Wilkins – 2011–2013 *Esther Jacobo (interim) – 2013–2014 *Mike Carroll – 2014–2018 *Rebecca Kapusta (interim) – 2018-2019 *Chad Poppell – 1/15/2019 – 2/19/2021 *Shevaun Harris – 2/20/2021 – present

Community-Based Care

Community-Based Care is an initiative of DCF to improve its

Child Welfare Child protection is the safeguarding of children from violence, exploitation, abuse, and neglect. Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child provides for the protection of children in and out of the home. One of the ways to e ...

and

Foster Care Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family mem ...

Services by contracting with local not-for-profit social services agencies through a competitive procurement process designed to engage community stakeholders. Its goals are to increase accountability, resource development, local community ownership, and system performance.

Lead Agencies

Notable cases

Nikolas Cruz

Before the 2018

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

in which 19-year-old former student

Nikolas Cruz On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at th ...

murdered 17 people, and injured 17 others, a

Broward County Sheriff's Office The Broward County Sheriff's Office (BSO) is a public safety organization With 5,400 employees, it is the largest sheriff's department in the state of Florida. Sheriff Gregory Tony heads the agency. BSO was one of the United States' largest fully ...

deputy had an investigator for the Florida Department of Children and Families speak to Cruz in 2016. However, Cruz's therapist said that he was “not currently a threat to himself or others” and did not need to be committed, a mental health counselor said Cruz did not meet the criteria under Florida law that allows the police to commit a mentally ill person against their will, Stoneman Douglas High School conducted a “threat assessment” on Cruz after the counselor’s report, and the Florida Department of Children and Families ultimately concluded that Cruz was not a threat because he was living with his mother, attending school, and seeing a counselor.

References

External links

* {{authority control Child abuse in the United States Child welfare in the United States State agencies of Florida 1996 establishments in Florida Government agencies established in 1996