MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A grand jury report is sharply criticizing Florida’s Department of Children and Families, accusing the agency of serious failures in how it handles cases involving children and seniors in Marion, Lake and Sumter counties.
The report describes the situation as “failing catastrophically” and points to several cases that jurors say raise questions about how DCF investigators handled reports of abuse and neglect.
One of the cases highlighted involves a family connected to an accused child murderer.
According to the grand jury, DCF visited the family 14 times before the child’s death.
The report also alleges broader problems within the agency.
Jurors say caseworkers regularly fail to return or answer calls and, in some instances, close cases prematurely. The report also raises allegations that some workers falsified reports.
Those findings, according to the grand jury, contributed to concerns about whether vulnerable children and seniors were receiving adequate protection and services.
The report says the grand jury sought answers directly from DCF but received no response to its questions.
The allegations outlined in the report have not been independently established by the grand jury’s findings alone, and the report does not necessarily reflect DCF’s position on the individual cases.
The report puts a spotlight on the challenges facing the agency as it investigates allegations involving some of the state’s most vulnerable residents.
It also raises questions about whether repeated contacts with families are translating into effective intervention when warning signs emerge.
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