HB 1395

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act for the relief of Jorge and Debbie Garcia-
3Bengochea and their adoptive children, Brian, Matthew,
4and James, by the Department of Children and Family
5Services; providing an appropriation to compensate
6them for injuries and damages sustained as a result of
7negligence by employees of the department or its
8predecessor agency; providing a limitation on the
9payment of attorney's fees and lobbying fees;
10providing legislative intent with respect to
11ratification of terms of the parties' settlement
12agreement and waiver of lien interests held by the
13state; providing an effective date.
14
15     WHEREAS, when Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea legally
16adopted Brian, Matthew, and James, on July 24, 1998, the boys
17had previously been under the care and supervision of the
18Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, the
19predecessor agency for the Department of Children and Family
20Services, and
21     WHEREAS, in November 1994, when the boys were ages 2 years
22and 9 months, 1 year and 9 months, and approximately 1 month,
23the department placed them in an emergency shelter because of
24evidence of physical and sexual abuse and neglect while under
25the care of the boys' biological mother and the father of
26Matthew and James, and
27     WHEREAS, Brian, Matthew, and James officially entered the
28department's foster care system in January 1995, following a
29departmental investigation indicating that they had been
30physically, mentally, and sexually abused and that their
31biological parents were mentally ill, had poor prognoses for
32improvement, and were abusing alcohol and illegal drugs, and
33     WHEREAS, from January 1995 to March 1997, the boys lived in
34two foster homes that were loving and provided them with
35nurturing care, and although both foster parents expressed
36interest in adopting the boys, the department did not bring the
37foster parents' requests to the attention of the dependency
38court, and
39     WHEREAS, in mid-March of 1997, the department reunified
40Brian, Matthew, and James with their biological mother against
41the advice and repeated warnings from social workers,
42counselors, therapists, and personnel of social service agencies
43who recommended against the reunification and advised the
44department that the boys' biological mother had married a man
45known for alcohol abuse and cocaine addiction, and
46     WHEREAS, after returning Brian, Matthew, and James to their
47biological mother, the department did not provide her with
48sufficient support and services despite warnings to the
49department by counselors, social service agencies, and
50therapists that Brian, Matthew, and James would be at risk of
51further harm absent such support and services, and
52     WHEREAS, on June 3, 1997, the boys' biological mother was
53arrested for child abuse and ordered to undergo treatment, and
54     WHEREAS, on August 4, 1997, the parental rights of the
55boys' biological mother were permanently terminated, and the
56parental rights of the boys' biological father had been
57terminated before that date, and
58     WHEREAS, over the next 2 years, the department placed
59Brian, Matthew, and James in various shelters and foster homes,
60and on various occasions Brian, Matthew, and James were abused
61and neglected by their caretakers, which included cruel
62discipline where they were locked overnight in a backyard
63chicken coop and underfed, and
64     WHEREAS, one of the boys' foster parents, Hector Rosa, was
65later convicted of sexual battery on each of the three boys and
66another foster child and is serving a life sentence in prison,
67and
68     WHEREAS, while the boys were living in the foster home of
69Hector Rosa, their therapist repeatedly expressed concern to the
70department regarding Hector Rosa's treatment of the boys,
71including a report to the department that while on an outing
72with the youngest child, he dropped to his knees and
73hysterically begged not to be returned to the Rosa foster home,
74but the department did not act on the report, and
75     WHEREAS, in March 1998, the department arranged for the
76introduction of Brian, Matthew, and James, then aged 6, 5, and
773, to Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, a couple who had
78expressed interest in adopting one or, if they were siblings,
79perhaps two children, but who had specified that they could not
80adopt children who had significant emotional problems or who
81were acting out sexually, and
82     WHEREAS, before this introduction, departmental records
83included medical reports concerning Brian, Matthew, and James
84which indicated a history of sexual abuse and also reports by
85foster parents and day care centers indicating that Brian,
86Matthew, and James were committing sexual acts on one another
87and on other children, but the records and the information
88contained therein were not shared with the Garcia-Bengocheas,
89and
90     WHEREAS, subsequent to adopting Brian, Matthew, and James,
91the adoptive parents saw that the boys had severe behavioral
92problems and were acting out sexually with one another and other
93children and later came to understand the reasons for these
94problems, and
95     WHEREAS, the boys soon became aggressive with one another
96and other children, attacked their adoptive mother, were
97expelled from school, and had to be separated from other
98children, and
99     WHEREAS, a departmental memorandum of August 11, 2000,
100described the Garcia-Bengocheas as "a family in crisis" and
101admitted, while making various recommendations, that the
102department had failed to protect the boys by stating that the
103adoptive parents "are attempting to parent children who were
104severely damaged while under [the department's] care," and
105     WHEREAS, in January of 2001, the adoptive parents and the
106three boys traveled to a treatment center in Colorado and, upon
107arriving there, learned that the department had failed to
108forward their records, and when the treatment center requested
109the records from the department, the treatment center was told
110that the department would send records only if the treatment
111center promised to conceal the records from, and not disclose
112the information contained therein to, the adoptive parents, and
113     WHEREAS, the adoptive parents learned from the staff at the
114treatment center in Colorado, and subsequently from records
115produced by the department during the civil litigation, that the
116department had not disclosed key material records concerning
117Brian, Matthew, and James and their biological parents during
118the preadoption period, and
119     WHEREAS, the additional records revealed a history of
120trauma, abuse, neglect, and resulting behaviors of their
121adoptive children which had not been previously disclosed to the
122Garcia-Bengocheas, and if full and complete disclosure of the
123history had been provided they would not have adopted the boys,
124and
125     WHEREAS, Brian, Matthew, and James, now 15, 14, and 12
126years of age, have each been diagnosed as having severe reactive
127attachment disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and
128oppositional defiant disorder, and
129     WHEREAS, among Brian, Matthew, and James there have been
130numerous instances of psychiatric hospitalizations, expulsions
131from school, acts of aggression, sexual acting out on each other
132and on other children, and running away from home, and
133     WHEREAS, defiant behavior of the two eldest boys has led to
134their recent involvement with the juvenile justice system, and
135     WHEREAS, Brian, Matthew, and James will need a variety of
136psychiatric or therapeutic services, and the adoptive parents
137will also require professional services, and
138     WHEREAS, the adoptive parents have filed a lawsuit against
139the Department of Children and Family Services seeking
140compensation for injuries caused by negligence in the care and
141supervision of Brian, Matthew, and James by departmental
142employees and agents and alleging wrongful adoption, based on
143negligent misrepresentations and concealment by departmental
144employees and agents, and
145     WHEREAS, during the discovery phase of the litigation, even
146the department's own retained expert witness, Bruce Perry, M.D.,
147admitted under oath during his deposition that the department
148was negligent and that he had recommended that the department
149settle the case, and
150     WHEREAS, the parties have reached a settlement in the
151amount of $10 million, with other terms of value, and the
152plaintiffs have been paid $500,000, or $100,000 per claimant,
153pursuant to the limits of liability set forth in s. 768.28,
154Florida Statutes, leaving a balance of $9.5 million to be paid
155pursuant to this agreed-upon claim bill, NOW, THEREFORE,
156
157Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
158
159     Section 1.  The facts stated in the preamble to this act
160are found and declared to be true.
161     Section 2.  The sum of $9.5 million is appropriated from
162the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Children and
163Family Services for the relief of Jorge and Debbie Garcia-
164Bengochea and their adopted sons, Brian, Matthew, and James, for
165injuries and damages sustained as a result of negligent acts by
166employees and agents of the Department of Children and Family
167Services or its predecessor agency, the Department of Health and
168Rehabilitative Services.
169     Section 3.  The Chief Financial Officer is directed to draw
170a warrant in favor of Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea and the
171trusts in place for each of the three boys in the sum of $9.5
172million upon funds of the Department of Children and Family
173Services in the State Treasury, and the Chief Financial Officer
174is directed to pay the same out of such funds in the State
175Treasury.
176     Section 4.  Any amount awarded under this act pursuant to
177the waiver of sovereign immunity permitted under s. 768.28,
178Florida Statutes, is intended to provide the sole compensation
179for all present and future claims arising out of the factual
180situation described in this act which resulted in injury to
181Jorge and Debbie Garcia-Bengochea and their adopted sons, Brian,
182Matthew, and James. The total amount paid for attorney's fees
183and lobbying fees relating to this claim may not exceed 25
184percent of the amount awarded under section 2.
185     Section 5.  It is the intent of the Legislature that all
186terms of the parties' settlement agreement are ratified by the
187passage of this act and all lien interests held by the state
188resulting from the treatment or care of Jorge and Debbie Garcia-
189Bengochea and their adopted sons, Brian, Matthew, and James, for
190the events described in this act are waived as provided for in
191the parties' settlement agreement.
192     Section 6.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.