FACE$ OF DCF ADOPTION$ FOR FEDERAL MONEY is a new series we’re starting to expose how the Florida Department of Families (DCF) rakes in federal money by removing kids from their families, placing them in state custody, and then adopting them out to others. This “system” was established after President Bill Clinton’s 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act established financial rewards for state’s which meet adoption quotas. This isn’t about any one particular case but rathers hundreds, perhaps thousands…
My name is Theresa. I am a mother in Pensacola, Florida. My children were permanently taken from me after I did everything DCF required. I am writing because what happened to my family was not just tragic—it was unjust, reckless, and systemic.
DCF became involved around 2022. My children were 13 years old and 3 years old when they were removed. I was accused of abuse and drug use. The abuse allegations were false and later proven wrong. The drug use—I admitted to, took responsibility for, and fixed.
What followed was not support. It was punishment.
I completed rehab, anger management, parenting classes, Pathways for Change, WISE/FIT, and every requirement on my case plan. I complied fully. I showed up. I did not miss appointments. I did not miss visits. For 11 months straight, I had perfect visits—both in person and virtual. No cancellations. No excuses. No failures.
None of it mattered.
Over the course of my case, I was assigned five different caseworkers. Each one changed expectations. Each one moved the goalposts. Stability was impossible because the system itself was unstable.
From the beginning, the Guardian ad Litem was against me. Not neutral. Not objective. Against me. Once that narrative was set, nothing I did could undo it.
My court-appointed attorney was no help. When I tried to ask questions or understand what was happening to my family, I was told, “This is my job, not yours. I know what I’m doing. You’re clueless.” I was silenced while my children’s lives were being decided without me.
During my termination of parental rights hearing, I watched the judge shop on Amazon instead of paying attention while my family was permanently severed. That is not hyperbole. That is what I witnessed as my rights as a mother were taken.
We were given no goodbye visits. No closure. No transition. We were alienated from the very beginning.
My oldest child was bounced from group home to group home, stripped of stability while being told this was for her protection.
My youngest child was subjected to overnight stays at the FFN building and placed in six different foster homes. She was abused, lied to, and neglected—and the court did not care. Those concerns were raised. Our pleas were ignored.
My children had only five sibling visits in nearly a year and a half. Five. While the system claims sibling bonds matter, ours were treated as disposable.
Every family member and friend we put forward for placement was picked apart and disqualified. The system found something wrong with everyone, because reunification was never the goal—termination was.
No one helped us.
No one listened.
No one cared.
I did everything right. I fixed my wrongs. I followed every rule. And I was still denied my children.
My parental rights were terminated.
My youngest child has been adopted.
I have no contact with my oldest child.
Florida claims its child welfare system prioritizes reunification. My case proves otherwise. It prioritizes speed over safety, adoption over healing, and silence over accountability.
If doing everything right still ends in losing your children forever, then the system is not broken—it is functioning exactly as designed.
This is just my story.
I have lots more I could say.
This is a warning.
We’ve got to stop the corruption.
EDITORS NOTE: Yes, some kids need to be removed from dangerous situations, obviously; however, the goal of this series is to share stories from families who temporarily or permanently lost their children into the system. Even death row inmates get jury trials and are still able to visit with and communicate with their loved ones, but many of these parents are not allowed afforded that! Unlike death row inmates, photos and videos are all that remain for many of these families whose children were adopted out with cash rewards.
The existing DCF system is based on financial rewards for terminating parental rights and adopting out children. Ca$h for Kid$.
Hundreds of families have reached out since we started uncovering problems with DCF in Northwest Florida. Many are afraid to speak out, and others cannot speak up because they’re under judge-imposed gag orders – despite Florida appellate courts consistently rejecting attempts to impose gag orders in dependency and related family court proceedings. These families are often unaware or unable to fight the imposed silencing.
Want to share your story? Email info@ssrnews.com. There is strength in numbers. Pls bear with us in replying. It’s going to take some time to respond to all of them.
South Santa Rosa News/Milton Post is especially grateful to volunteers, including Sherry Chapman, Cindy Smith and Jess Prescott, who are helping gather and process information with the goal of legislative-based DCF reform. There will be a peaceful assembly for DCF reform taking place at 8 a.m., Monday, Feb. 9 at Santa Rosa County Courthouse, located at 4025 Avalon Boulevard. Pls do not be loud or interupt the flow of vehicles or pedestrians.
Want to help? Ask for a DCF/foster care investigation and reform by emailing GovernorRon.DeSantis@eog.myflorida.com
Want to learn more about the issue? Highly recommend watching Take Care of Maya documentary on Netflix (a Florida case) and the Never in America documentary on YouTube: CLICK HERE TO WATCH NEVER IN AMERICA DOCUMENTARY ON NETFLIX
