09/09/2026
"IT'S ABOUT TO GET REAL UNCOMFORTABLE FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE" - SENATOR JASON PIZZO ON FLORIDA DCF FAILURES
September 4, 2026 - Santa Rosa County, Florida
At a press conference outside the Santa Rosa County Courthouse, State Senators Don Gaetz and Jason Pizzo addressed a newly released Grand Jury report exposing failures inside the Florida Department of Children and Families.
"We have a systemic failure of the governmental agency that is supposed to protect and support Florida's children and Florida's families," said Senator Don Gaetz.
He was reacting to a 10-page report that had been released on Aug. 31 from the 5th Judicial Circuit. In that report, the Grand Jury described what they found as "heartbreaking, systemic patterns of neglect, abrogation of statutory responsibilities, as well as operational failures within DCF."
While the report was done in Marion, Lake, Sumter, Citrus and Hernando counties, Senators say this is a statewide issue.
On the very day this Grand Jury was sworn in, they indicted a defendant for first-degree felony murder of a child. They found DCF had investigated and visited that family 14 times before that child was murdered.
That case triggered the 7-month review of the abuse hotline, child and adult investigations, and the private contractors DCF hires.
The report exposes the following:
• They fake paperwork. 12 cases of logging home visits that never happened. 8 led to criminal charges for falsifying records.
• They close cases early. Cases are closed prematurely without thorough review to avoid responsibility.
• They are unprepared in court and ignore court orders. The Grand Jury said DCF doesn't follow orders and doesn't use laws that could protect kids.
• They remove first, offer services never. The Grand Jury found DCF jumps to removal without offering prevention services that could keep families together, violating the requirement to make reasonable efforts to prevent removal.
• They send kids hundreds of miles away. Children are removed from their local judicial circuit and placed far from home, creating a huge barrier to reunification.
• Your rights depend on what county you live in. In Circuit 5, the Grand Jury found DCF not doing enough to protect kids. In the Panhandle, families say the opposite, DCF removes kids too aggressively on too little evidence and sends them hours away.
• They hide evidence from parents. Families aren't given the evidence, case plans, or full records in time to defend themselves in court.
• They coach elderly people to pass tests to close the case. Investigators coach people through capacity tests so they can legally walk away.
• They dump elderly people at the hospital and don't show up after 5 p.m. With no safety plan, vulnerable adults get stuck in hospital beds for months, one up to a year. And if a call comes in about an elderly or disabled adult being abused at night or on a weekend, DCF routinely doesn't respond at all.
• They don't track if kids are actually safer. The Grand Jury found no real data tracking whether children are better off after DCF intervention, no outcome measurements.
• They assign unqualified workers to life and death decisions. High caseloads, low training, and no licensed clinical oversight on decisions that can terminate families.
• Cops had to create their own program to do DCF's job. Marion County law enforcement built a Co-Responder Program because DCF wouldn't respond.
This is not the first time DCF has been exposed. There have been three prior statewide Grand Jury reports:
• 2002: The first report that exposed DCF record falsification and an inability to prosecute staff.
• 2011: The Miami-Dade Grand Jury after the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona.
• 2014: A follow-up Miami-Dade Grand Jury that accused DCF of intentionally and deliberately manipulating child death investigations to make it appear fewer children were dying.
Three reports. Over 20 years. Same problems.
At the press conference, Gaetz addressed that history directly.
"If DCF and some of its contractors have failed, so has the Florida legislature, and so have I," said Senator Don Gaetz.
AND DCF'S RESPONSE WHEN CAUGHT:
"The agency delayed, denied, lied, and did nothing when confronted with its failures," said Senator Don Gaetz.
He also called out how easily parental rights are being destroyed.
"The decision by DCF to ask the court to terminate parental rights should not be made by a low-level bureaucrat," said Senator Don Gaetz. He went on to say "a termination of parental rights decision is second in severity only to the death penalty." His bill would require the DCF Secretary to personally approve it.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW - THE 10 REFORMS:
Senator Don Gaetz is drafting legislation with Senators Jason Pizzo, Jennifer Bradley and Erin Grall. All four senators are working together on one or more bills for the 2027 session that will incorporate many of the Grand Jury's 34 recommendations.
Gaetz outlined 10 provisions likely to be included:
1. DCF can contract out services but not accountability. Contracts should be performance based and overseen tightly by DCF, which itself should answer to the governor and legislature.
2. A family's rights should not depend on which county they live in or which contractor holds the local contract. Standards should be uniform statewide.
3. Legal consequences for agency staff or contractors who falsify records or give false testimony to the court.
4. Stronger due process protections for parents to present evidence and dispute agency findings without fear of retaliation.
5. An end to unnecessary removals and placements hundreds of miles from a child's home community.
6. A requirement that DCF and its contractors employ qualified, licensed therapists and medical providers, with fines and contract cancellations for agencies that don't verify credentials.
7. A requirement that the DCF secretary, not a low-level bureaucrat, personally review and approve any decision to seek termination of parental rights.
8. A stronger role for judges as a check on DCF in dependency cases.
9. Legislative follow up on a forensic audit that found one lead agency had excessive executive compensation and improper procurement practices. Child welfare funds should be spent for child welfare.
10. Repeal of sovereign immunity for DCF contractors and providers, so there are enforceable legal consequences for misconduct, negligence or false information that harms children or families.
"There will be considerable forces who will oppose any kind of change, because there are people making a great deal of money off the system the way it works right now," said Senator Don Gaetz.
"I wish I had known more and done more, but now I will," said Senator Don Gaetz.
Pizzo's warning: "Give us a few months. You're going to see a real uncomfortable situation for a lot of people."
If you have a case or experience with DCF, the Senators say they want to hear from you. Over the next few months they will be writing legislation for the 2027 session based on this Grand Jury report.
There is no official submission portal announced yet, but they encouraged families and impacted individuals to contact their offices directly to share what happened.
For WTPP News, on the Legislature Accountability beat.
