Florida Senate President Don Gaetz says the Department of Children and Families faces a groundbreaking legislative session after a series of child deaths earlier this year.
Meeting with reporters Thursday, Gaetz said he's encouraged by what he's heard at DCF after a tumultuous period when at least 20 Florida children already known to the department died of abuse or neglect. That includes a Jacksonville girl who authorities say was raped and murdered by a just-released sex offender in June.Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, says a bipartisan group of senators will file legislation before Christmas to overhaul the laws governing the treatment of sexually violent predators – a program housed at DCF."We need to make some changes in statutes in terms of a broad range of changes", Gaetz said. "Everything from sentencing to civil commitments in the sexually violent predator world."
He also said the Senate will move to protect abused and neglected children in the state's child welfare system. Other changes could come. Gaetz says he wants to make it harder for Florida to repeat yet another cycle of child deaths and administrative fixes.
"DCF, left to its own devices, has lurched between crisis, trouble, solutions; crisis, trouble, solutions, whether Democrats have been in charge or Republicans have been in charge", said Gaetz.
Both Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford say they'll make DCF-related bills a priority in the spring legislative session.