Franklin County Sheriff A. J. Smith is again calling out the Florida Department of Children and Families for failing to serve abused and neglected kids in his jurisdiction. His prior complaints prompted a 2021 visit by DCF Secretary Shevaun Harris.
In a November 14th letter to Governor Ron DeSantis, Smith says the children of Franklin County are being “abandoned” by the state agency charged with protecting them.
He says the problems go back years, and that he was promised a full-time child protective investigator but that hasn’t happened. In a Thursday interview with WFSU, Smith says he’s asked DCF for help with child welfare cases several times but hasn’t gotten help from the agency.
“And we asked them to take this one kid when he was a juvenile, take him out of this environment," Smith said. "But they never did. You know where he’s at now? He’s 18, he spends a lot of time [points] I point like this because that’s the jail back there. He’s addicted to meth. I mean, the stories go on and on and on. And I’m not the only one. If the other sheriffs would tell the truth, they know. They’re having the same issues.”
Smith went into detail about what he’s encountering. And a note to our listeners: this description contains graphic and disturbing details.
“A 13-year-old who had been sexually abused by 4 different men in their 20s and 30s," he said. "My victim advocate, my investigators, me -- we felt like that child should be in a different environment. She should be in foster care or a program, and they refused to do it.”
In 2021, WMBB-TV reported that Secretary Harris traveled to Franklin County to meet with Smith. As Smith wrote recently to DeSantis, this month she didn’t respond until contacted by reporters. WFSU has reached out to DCF for an interview and is waiting to hear back.
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Dec. 8, 2021: https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/dcf-secretary-speaks-out-after-franklin-county-controversy/
