Florida Senate - 2015 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 58
Ì359438LÎ359438
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
03/04/2015 .
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The Committee on Judiciary (Simpson) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete line 110
4 and insert:
5 this claim, the remaining funds shall be placed into an
6 irrevocable trust created for C.M.H. for
7
8 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
9 And the title is amended as follows:
10 Delete lines 29 - 99
11 and insert:
12 and which C.M.H.’s parents did not receive, and
13 WHEREAS, the testimony of the DCF caseworker confirms that
14 DCF was aware that 10-year-old J.W. and C.M.H., who was then 8
15 years old, were sharing the same bedroom, and
16 WHEREAS, on October 31, 2002, J.W. sexually assaulted a 4
17 year-old child who was visiting C.M.H.’s home, and
18 WHEREAS, although DCF knew that J.W. was a sexual offender,
19 the agency did not remove him from the home, and
20 WHEREAS, DCF failed to implement a written safety plan as
21 required by DCF Operating Procedure 175-88, and
22 WHEREAS, after November 2002, J.W.’s behavioral problems
23 escalated, and he deliberately squeezed C.M.H.’s pet mouse to
24 death in front of C.M.H. and made physical threats toward
25 C.M.H., and
26 WHEREAS, C.M.H.’s parents decided to begin the process of
27 adopting J.W., whom they considered a part of their family, and
28 WHEREAS, the family subsequently became aware that J.W.
29 needed significant mental health treatment, including placement
30 in a residential treatment facility, and
31 WHEREAS, the family was informed by DCF that they would not
32 be granted visitation privileges if J.W. was removed from their
33 home and placed in a residential treatment facility, and
34 WHEREAS, in January 2004, the family began taking classes
35 to train to be therapeutic foster parents to better meet J.W.’s
36 needs, and
37 WHEREAS, in March 2004, after C.M.H.’s mother was diagnosed
38 with Stage 4, terminal, metastatic colon cancer, which had
39 spread to her liver, C.M.H.’s father, contacted DCF to postpone
40 the adoption, and
41 WHEREAS, in April 2004, DCF closed out J.W.’s dependency
42 file, leaving J.W. in the custody of the family without any
43 subsidies or assistance, and
44 WHEREAS, in April 2005, C.M.H.’s father wrote DCF and the
45 juvenile judge assigned to the case to request help in placing
46 J.W. in a residential treatment facility, however, DCF provided
47 no assistance, and
48 WHEREAS, on July 28, 2005, after a physical altercation
49 between J.W. and C.M.H., C.M.H. disclosed to his parents that
50 J.W. had sexually assaulted him, and J.W. was immediately
51 removed from the home, and
52 WHEREAS, C.M.H. sustained severe and permanent psychiatric
53 injury, including posttraumatic stress disorder, as a result of
54 the sexual and emotional abuse perpetrated by J.W., and without
55 immediate interventions will face a lifetime of dysfunction,
56 trauma, and tragedy, and
57 WHEREAS, the sexual assault of C.M.H. by J.W. was
58 predictable and preventable, and
59 WHEREAS, on April 14, 2006, a lawsuit, Case No. 2006 CA
60 003727, was filed in the 15th Judicial Circuit in and for Palm
61 Beach County on behalf of C.M.H., by and through his parents,
62 alleging negligence on the part of DCF and its providers which
63 allowed the perpetration of sexual abuse against and the
64 victimization of C.M.H. by J.W., and
65 WHEREAS, DCF aggressively defended and denied the
66 allegations in the claim and a jury trial was set in Palm Beach
67 County, and
68 WHEREAS, on January 2, 2014, after a jury trial and verdict
69 for $5 million, the court entered a judgment against DCF for
70 $5,176,543.08, including costs, and
71 WHEREAS, the Division of Risk Management of the Department
72 of Financial Services has paid $100,000, as allowed under s.
73 768.28, Florida Statutes, for costs, less than half of the total
74 amount of litigation costs expended by plaintiff’s counsel to
75 litigate this case and to complete the trial, and
76 WHEREAS, C.M.H., now 21 years of age, is at a vulnerable
77 stage in his life and urgently needs to recover the balance of
78 the judgment awarded him so that his psychiatric injuries may be
79 addressed and he may lead a normal life, and
80 WHEREAS, the balance of the judgment is to be paid into an
81 irrevocable trust through the passage of this claim bill in the
82 amount of $5,076,543.08, NOW, THERFORE,