Lawmakers burden Florida Child Protective Services with $70 million in ‘entitlement bills’

Senate Bill 18: The bill filed by Gruters would provide nearly $15 million to compensate HH, who was reportedly abused by her mother and stepfather when she was 18 months old. After DCF failed to conduct “thorough investigations,” HH was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and now suffers from permanent brain damage, including the inability to walk or talk, the inability to sit upright on her own, the need for a feeding tube, post-traumatic epilepsy and seizures, according to the bill.

Senate Bill 32: The bill was filed by Sen. Alexis Calatayud, R-Miami, and would provide $3.8 million in compensation for LE, who was returned to her mother's care after the agency determined the child would be in “'imminent danger' if left in the care of her parents,” the bill states. After DCF closed its investigation into LE's parents, the child was hospitalized, allegedly with injuries from child abuse. LE was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome, which causes seizures and cerebral palsy, as well as malnutrition.

Senate Bill 34: The bill, introduced by Calatayud, would provide nearly $300,000 in assistance to Michael Barnett, whose child, RB, was shot in the neck by her mother's estranged husband. In 2010, Patrick Dell shot RB's mother and four other siblings in their home, the bill says. The department did not see a significant danger to the children in the home, although police had responded to 34 911 calls to the home in four years. Eleven of those calls involved domestic violence, the bill says.

Ana Goñi-Lessanstate watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at [email protected].