State Examines Services For Foster Kids In Trouble With The Law
May 5, 2016
Thousands of youths in Florida’s child-welfare system have gotten in trouble with the law — and when they do, their caregivers often refuse to take them back.
Now policymakers are trying to improve services to the teens, saying those children had already been abused or neglected when they began acting out in foster care. A work group of the Florida Children and Youth Cabinet has been developing policy recommendations for so-called “crossover youth,” and a meeting on the subject is expected to take place in June.
The policymakers say these young people are among the most challenging in any state system — and the most at risk to spend their lives behind bars or on public assistance.
“We’ve got to get past the rhetoric and sit down and figure out what’s best for these youths, because if we don’t get it right, they’re going to be in our adult prison system when they’re 20 years old,” said Mark Jones, chief executive officer of the Community Partnership for Children, the private agency in charge of placing foster children in Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties.
According to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, 3.4 percent of the 42,211 youths arrested during fiscal year 2014-15 were living with foster families, other caregivers or in group homes at the time of their offense. That’s 1,428 kids, who averaged 2.4 arrests apiece over 12 months.
“The population isn’t great (in size),” DJJ Secretary Christy Daly said. “It’s just that this population is very, very high-need — and very challenging.”
Many caregivers simply can’t cope with troubled teens after a certain point, said Christina Spudeas, executive director of the advocacy group Florida’s Children First.
“I’ve seen them tell the judge, ‘I’ve got six other kids. I can’t keep missing work. I’m going to lose my job, I’m going to lose my home — because of him,’ ” Spudeas said. “Then they call (the Department of Children and Families).”
Fed-up foster parents may refuse to care for the youth any longer. Sometimes the caregiver is willing to retrieve the youth following an arrest, but the judge has imposed a no-contact order due to the youth’s previous battery of the caregiver.
These teens are known as “lockouts.” A second category of crossover youth has no caregiver available due to a death, hospitalization or incarceration.
According to the Department of Children and Families, 14 of Florida’s 17 community-based care lead agencies — which handle foster-care placements — spent $7.7 million on services for 610 crossover kids between July 2014 and March 2015. Of the youth who were identified, 326 were lockouts and 284 had no caregiver available.
What’s more, advocates say, teens who have been arrested face harsher penalties without an adult to support them in court.
“The data shows that children who are accompanied by a parent or caring adult get a lesser sentence and the least-restrictive consequences,” Spudeas said.
Child-welfare professionals say that the kids are challenging because they’ve been traumatized. But it’s unclear how the state can improve its services to them, given the complexities of a system that crosses state agencies — and not just DCF and DJJ.
“The root of the issue for a lot of these kids is behavioral health,” DCF Secretary Mike Carroll said. “A lot of times, we’re not dealing with these kids until they have to come into residential care. … We need to be doing more upstream, so these kids and these families don’t get to that point.”
That means early identification and the coordination of services at the local level. Jones said it could also mean an enhanced placement, such as a specially-trained foster family or a houseparent-style group home with specialized intervention services.
State Rep. Gayle Harrell, the Stuart Republican who chairs the House Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee, said placement is crucial in such situations.
“Going back into the foster-care system is very problematic because you can’t find a foster family that’s capable of handling them or will handle them,” Harrell said. “And most of them wind up in group homes. And you need to make sure that you have the right type of group home for them.”
What’s more, said Florida Children and Youth Cabinet Chairwoman Wansley Walters, the funding for such services isn’t always available.
“One of the main impediments, when you have kids going between systems, is that it starts breaking down on who pays for what,” said Walters, a former DJJ secretary. “We need the money to follow the child. But we’re not structured to have the money follow the child. And it gets very complex when you’ve got a kid being served in both systems.”
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
One Injured In Highway 29 Guardrail Crash
May 5, 2016
One person was injured in a single vehicle crash late Wednesday night.
The driver of a pickup truck lost control and struck a guardrail on Highway 29 near Quintette Road about 11:40 p.m. The driver was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with injuries that were not considered critical.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia EMS Receives Florida Excellence Award
May 5, 2016
Escambia County Emergency Medical Services was selected as a Best Practices winner for the 2016 Florida Excellence Awards for the implementation of a customer satisfaction survey. The award will be presented to Escambia County EMS at the 2016 Florida Excellence Awards Best Practices Conference in Orlando on May 12 and 13.
Customer satisfaction surveys have been conducted by Escambia County EMS for a number of years, but they recently switched to a new service which allows staff to easily review the specifics on caregivers, feedback includes the patient’s perception of EMS’s quality of customer service.
The survey evaluates service from the 911 call to transport to billing performance of Escambia County EMS. The complaints EMS receives are typically not related to a patient’s care, but their perception on what could have been done differently during the encounter.
Additionally, Escambia County EMS shares data via ESO’s Health Data Exchange program, which allows medics to see their patient’s emergency room outcomes at West Florida Hospital. Escambia County EMS hopes to implement this data share with Sacred Heart and Baptist hospitals.
National Day Of Prayer Events Today
May 5, 2016
National Day of Prayer events are planned today in Atmore, Century, Pensacola and Molino:
Atmore
Events will be held as follows:
5:30 p.m. – Community Prayer Service, Escambia County High School Gym
5:30 – 6:45 p.m. – Children’s Prayer Service, K-6, accompanied by an adult ECHS, RPM trailer
6:15 p.m. – Bible Reading – ECHS Gym
Century
A National Day of Prayer event will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center on West Highway 4. Everyone is invited to attend.
Molino
The sanctuary at Highland Baptist Church will be open for prayer from 6 a.m until 7 p.m.
Pensacola
Pensacola’s 25th National Day of Prayer will be held at the Pensacola City Hall at 222 West Main Street from noon until 1 p.m. Special worship from Leah Bridge Taylor of Calvary Chapel of Gulf Breeze.
Pictured: A National Day of Prayer event in Atmore this morning. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat Biloxi
May 5, 2016
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound right-handed Sal Romano looks like a menacing pitcher, especially when he throws a fastball in the mid- to upper-90s off the mound.
But believe it or not, his first Double-A victory came in his 12th start between last season and this season as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos rolled over Biloxi, 8-3, in the series opener Wednesday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola gained a game on Biloxi, improving to 15-11, while the first-place Shuckers dropped to 17-8.
Romano is now 1-1 in five starts this season with a 3.86 earned-run average. He gave up three runs, two earned, to Biloxi in the first inning and then settled down. He allowed five hits, two walks and struck out eight. Last year, for Pensacola the big righty was 0-4 in seven starts with a 10.96 ERA.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said the difference is a smarter Romano.
“We’re seeing his maturation,” Kelly said. “He started getting his curveball over the strike zone instead of burying it all the time. He’s still a thrower, though.”
Romano said he had to put the first inning out of his mind after walking to the dugout.
“My fellow staff and guys told me to leave it out there,” said Romano, who committed himself to becoming a Major League pitcher at 15 years old. “I said in my head, ‘Sal, let’s restart this.’”
And getting that first victory in the Southern League?
“Wins are wins, but obviously it’s nice to get one here in Double-A,” Romano said. “That is nice.”
In the first inning, Biloxi jumped out to a 3-0 lead when third baseman Javier Betancourt smashed a two-out, 3-2 pitch down the left field line clearing the bases for all three runs.
Pensacola came back, though, in the second inning when catcher Chad Wallach hit a two-run bomb over the left field fence with two outs that also scored shortstop Calten Daal. Daal, who was 3-4 and scored twice Wednesday, had got on base with a low line drive to left field to extend his hitting streak to seven games.
Wallach was also 3-4 and scored twice, hitting in the No. 8 spot in the lineup. He raised his average to .209 on the season and leads the team in walks with 13.
“It felt good,” said Wallach, who hit his second homer of the year. “I’ve been struggling a little bit, so it was nice to square up on the ball.”
Kelly said Wallach’s homer changed the complexion of the game.
“Wallach’s blow was big,” Kelly said. “The big key was Wallach getting that two-run home run. We didn’t have that three-run deficit.”
Blue Wahoos fans were being treated to a pitching duel when all of a sudden the force was with Pensacola hitters in the bottom of the fifth inning.
The flood of runs started with a dribbler by shortstop Calten Daal and ended with Pensacola sending all nine batters to the plate and scoring six runs on six hits to go up, 8-3.
The first five batters of the inning all got on base-on four singles and a fielder’s choice-against Adrian Houser, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 17 prospect according MLB.com. Houser struck out nine in four innings, retiring seven in a row at one point, but gave up seven earned runs on seven hits. Houser’s earned-run average jumped from 7.20 to 8.63, as he fell to 1-3 in five starts this season.
The biggest hit that inning came on a line drive triple by Phillip Ervin past a diving right fielder that cleared the loaded bases, giving Pensacola a 7-3 lead. Ervin then scored the final run of the game, when Biloxi catcher Jacob Nottingham dropped the ball trying to tag him out.
Ervin extended his hitting streak to seven games. In the last 11 games, after working with hitting coach Alex Pelaez, is 11-34 for a .294 average, with three home runs, 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored. He’s raised his average from .179 to .244.
Escambia County Releases April 2014 Flood Report
May 4, 2016
Just over two years after the April 2014 flooding event that severely impacted Escambia County and its residents, the county has released the April 2014 Flood Recovery Report to provide citizens with updates about transportation and drainage mitigation projects and repairs in their neighborhoods and communities.
The report highlights Escambia County’s ongoing efforts to make repairs to 2,300 damage points to county roadways, bridges, drainage systems and ponds as a result of the April 2014 flood, along with recommendations from the Stormwater Advisory Team and efforts to improve stormwater standards county-wide. Also outlined in the report are the many sources of funding the county is utilizing to help fund approximately $25.8 million in transportation and drainage repair and improvement projects throughout Escambia County.
“With such staggering destruction, recovery is neither fast nor easy; it must be a strategic, multi-year commitment…While we can never take away the suffering our residents endured as a result of this natural disaster, we can continue to identify and invest in solutions to reduce the threat of flooding and protect our citizens,” County Administrator Jack Brown wrote in the report.
Escambia County has completed 150 of 182 total count infrastructure project related to the flood. There are 15 project in the bidding or design phase and 17 more under construction.
To read the full report, click one of the links below:
In District 5, there are 18 completed projects totaling $1.9 million:
- Alysheba Drive
- Ashford-Turnberry Ponds (2)
- Chemstrand Road CR749
- Copper Forrest Drive & Man O-War
- CR297A at Ditches
- CR297A at Box Culvert
- Devine Farm Road
- Emergency Bridge Inspections & Repair
- Emergency Repairs
- Gonzalez Zone Ponds (12)
- Guidy Lane Bridge
- Hillview Drive East
- Meadowbrook
- Pavement Rehab – Rosedown
- Stillbrook Bridge Repair
- Tecumseh/ Clear Creek Farms
- Water Oaks
- Pavement Rehab – Basin Street/Creekside Court
Additional North Escambia projects
Days Of Sunshine, Comfy Temps
May 4, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 73. Northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 48. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 78. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 81. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 59. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 84. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
Escambia Man Gets 30 Years For Abusing Two Young Children
May 4, 2016
An Escambia County man is headed to prison for three decades for abusing two young children.
James Ard, age 28 of East Ten Mile Road, entered a guilty plea to multiple child sexual abuse charges and resisting and officer without violence. Escambia County Circuit Judge Darlene Dickey sentenced Ard to 30 years in state prison. After his release from prison, Ard will be on lifetime sexual offender probation. Ard was designated a sexual predator and will be required to register as a sexual predator and comply with all statutory requirements.
The case involved Ard’s sexual abuse of two young children. On October 3, 2015, the children disclosed the abuse to their mother, and she notified the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. When they arrived on scene, deputies detained Ard in a cruiser. While deputies interviewed witnesses, Ard escaped from the back of the cruiser and fled on foot. He was located with the use of a K9.
Woman Pleads Guilty To ‘Brutal’ Murder Of Stepfather Near Munson
May 4, 2016
A young woman accused of the 2014 murder of her stepfather near Munson has now pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second degree manslaughter. She will be sentenced next month.
Taylor Lynn Crongeyer previously pleaded not guilty to a homicide charge. Prosecutors said she shot 40-year Aubrey Dewayne Cooley who was found dead December 26, 2014, with a gunshot wound to his head at his Dale Hall Road home. He was tied to the trailer hitch of a pickup truck with a rope around his ankles.
When they arrived on scene, Crongeyer exited the residence with a large amount of blood on her clothing, according to an arrest report. When deputies walked through the residence, they found blood spots on the floor, a bedroom mattress and outside on the front and back porch areas. They also found a rifle on the floor at the foot of a bed in the master bedroom.
A spokesman for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office called incident a “brutal homicide”, arresting Crongeyer just hours after the shooting.
She remains in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
Jim Allen Elementary Shines At Math Competition
May 4, 2016
Teams from Jim Allen Elementary School took part in the his past weekend’s Sunshine Math Competition at Washington High School.
One of Jim Allen’s third grade teams took second place with team members -Leslee Brooks, Harlie Davidson, Kyleigh Soto and Desmond Tucker. And a Jim Allen fourth grade team took third place with team members Abigail Arnette, Damian Cullen, Grayson Jackson and Audrey Rudd.
For an earlier story with complete Sunshine Math Competition results and additional photos, click here.
Pictured: Jim Allen Elementary School’s Sunshine Math Teams. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
