Bill > S0032

Introduced Session

An act for the relief of L.E. by the Department of Children and Families; providing an appropriation to compensate L.E. for injuries and damages sustained as a result of the negligence of the department; providing a limitation on compensation and the payment of attorney fees; providing an effective date. WHEREAS, L.E. was born on July 29, 2019, and, at birth, tested positive for amphetamines, and WHEREAS, L.E.’s biological mother tested positive for amphetamines after the delivery of L.E., and WHEREAS, while at the hospital, L.E.’s biological mother and father engaged in a violent altercation with each other, and WHEREAS, shortly after L.E.’s birth, the Department of Children and Families received two child abuse hotline reports, one alleging intrafamily violence threatening L.E. and the other alleging drug exposure of newborn L.E., and WHEREAS, the department is charged under s. 39.001, Florida Statutes, with conducting child protective investigations to ensure child safety and prevent further harm to children and owed L.E. a duty to ensure her safety and prevent further harm, and WHEREAS, the department sent a child protective investigator to the hospital to initiate an investigation into the reported abuse, and WHEREAS, the department discovered that L.E.’s mother had a history of substance misuse, untreated mental health issues, and a criminal history involving violence, and WHEREAS, the department discovered that both L.E.’s mother and father had an extensive history of involvement with the department, including, collectively, at least 20 prior child abuse hotline reports, and WHEREAS, one of those prior reports involved egregious abuse of L.E.’s biological father’s other daughter when she was not yet 6 months old, resulting in long-bone fractures, and WHEREAS, the department removed that daughter from the father’s care, and WHEREAS, L.E.’s mother’s other two biological children had previously been removed from her care due to verified child abuse, and WHEREAS, as L.E.’s mother placed her third child for adoption, she was also planning to place L.E. for adoption and made such arrangements prior to L.E.’s birth, and WHEREAS, shortly after L.E. was born, L.E.’s mother abandoned L.E. at the hospital and, against medical advice, left the hospital with L.E.’s father, and WHEREAS, an adoption specialist arrived at the hospital to visit L.E., and WHEREAS, while L.E. was still in the hospital following her birth, the department determined that L.E. was in “present danger” if left in the care of her parents and that immediate action was necessary to protect L.E. from further abuse or neglect, and WHEREAS, the department contracted with a child welfare agency and, instead of removing L.E. from her parents’ care through a judicial process, the department and its subcontractor developed an out-of-home safety plan to place L.E. with a friend of L.E.’s mother, and WHEREAS, within 3 weeks after that placement, the friend realized that she could no longer care for L.E. and informed the department of this, and WHEREAS, despite a reassessment that established that there was still a “present danger” to L.E. if left in the care of her parents, the department relied upon information from its subcontracted agency, and the joint decision was made to place L.E. into her parents’ care, and WHEREAS, on August 21, 2019, L.E. was placed into her parents’ home, and WHEREAS, on or about, September 17, 2019, less than 4 weeks later, the department determined that it would be closing its investigation, despite acknowledging that L.E.’s home situation was volatile and unstable and that L.E.’s mother remained violent and impulsive, and WHEREAS, the subcontractor planned to decrease its monitoring of L.E. and the home upon the department closing its investigation, and WHEREAS, on September 18, 2019, the subcontractor transitioned its services from safety management to nonjudicial in-home services, which inherently decreased monitoring of L.E. by child welfare professionals, and WHEREAS, on September 24, 2019, the department closed its investigation, despite the fact that there was no evidence of change or progress with L.E.’s parents, and WHEREAS, despite the subcontractor’s claims that it had provided services to the parents, the department expressly acknowledged in its own investigative summary that, at the time of closing its case, “[t]he home environment continues to be volatile and unstable on a normal basis. The fighting in the home will stabilize for a period of time but will always return to a chaotic and aggressive environment... [violent and impulsive behaviors] are clearly evident and severe... there has been no clear changes made to their behaviors and the patterns continue... [and] all of the children [including L.E.] are vulnerable,” and WHEREAS, the very next day, on September 25, 2019, L.E. was brought to Rockledge Regional Hospital in distress and experiencing seizures, and WHEREAS, medical staff at Rockledge Regional Hospital found makeup covering obvious bruising across her forehead, and WHEREAS, doctors determined that L.E. had suffered catastrophic injuries from child abuse which had occurred over a period of time, including a parietal calvarial skull fracture; a left frontal parietal subdural hematoma with bilateral frontal, temporal, and parietal cortical edema and encephalomalacia; healing fractures of the left sixth and seventh ribs; a healing fracture of the right eighth rib; acute fractures to the right tenth and eleventh ribs; a pelvic fracture–left acetabular cortical avulsion fracture; cortical buckling of the right proximal tibial medial metaphysis; and multiple ecchymotic lesions to the forehead, and WHEREAS, L.E. was immediately transferred to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Orlando and admitted in critical condition, due to severe organ system injury and dysfunction, and was diagnosed as being at risk for hypoxia, hypercarbia, hypotension, sepsis, shock, cardiorespiratory arrest, intracranial hypertension, cerebral edema, stroke, and death, and WHEREAS, L.E. was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome causing traumatic brain injury, seizures, and cerebral palsy, as well as malnourishment, and WHEREAS, between August 21, 2019, and September 25, 2019, L.E. was subjected to repeated and severe child abuse and neglect while in the care of her parents, and WHEREAS, L.E.’s parents were arrested, charged, and convicted of aggravated child abuse based upon their abuse of L.E. while she was in their home between August 21, 2019, and September 25, 2019, and WHEREAS, L.E. was subsequently adopted by her maternal grandmother and relocated to Chicago, where she is followed by a medical team at Lurie Children’s Hospital, and WHEREAS, L.E. has received, and will continue to receive, therapeutic services across a host of disciplines, including occupational, physical, speech, nutritional, vision, and cognitive therapy, and WHEREAS, L.E., who just turned 5 years old, is currently under an individual educational plan at school for her disability, which has been formally classified as traumatic brain injury, and WHEREAS, L.E. requires and will continue to require constant care, monitoring, supervision, various therapies, multiple specialist services, and supportive care throughout the remainder of her life, which may include admission to a skilled residential home if her adoptive parent is no longer able to care for her, and WHEREAS, the department, charged with operating Florida’s child welfare system, failed in its duties to ensure L.E.’s safety and protect her from harm, and WHEREAS, the department’s negligence, in combination with the failures of its subcontracted agency, caused catastrophic brain injury that will have a significant impact on L.E. for the remainder of her life, and WHEREAS, the department agreed to resolve L.E.’s claims against the department through a negotiated settlement in the Circuit Court for the 18th Judicial Circuit in and for Brevard County, under case number 05-2022-CA-033685, in the total amount of $4 million, and WHEREAS, the settlement agreement required that the department make an initial payment of $200,000, which is the maximum amount allowed under the sovereign immunity limitations imposed under s. 768.28, Florida Statutes; and that the remaining $3.8 million be paid contingent upon the passage and funding of this claim bill, which the department has expressly agreed it does not, and will not oppose, and WHEREAS, on July 9, 2024, the settlement agreement was approved by the circuit court, and, with the department’s agreement and consent, a final judgment was entered against the department in the amount of $4 million pursuant to the negotiated settlement, and WHEREAS, L.E.’s civil claims against the subcontracted child welfare agency remain pending, NOW, THEREFORE,

Alexis Calatayud (R)*, 

Indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration (on 05/03/2025)

Official Document