One Hope United / Hillsborough Kids Inc

TAMPA — The homegrown, nonprofit agency Hillsborough Kids Inc charged with protecting 2,500 of Hillsborough County's most vulnerable at risk children loses contract of its $65.5 million state contract because of eight dead kids, overwhelming case worker complaints and countless lawsuits.

one_hope_united_tampa One Hope United will now be over taking cases once handled by the doomed Hillsborough Kids Inc. - But there is one catch; the same staff and case workers who once made up Hillsborough Kids Inc that was plagued with problems, case mishandling and lawsuits is leading working force of the newly appointed State agency One Hope United.

The eight stood out in a Department of Children and Families study of child deaths statewide. Seven of the eight children were under supervision because of reports of abuse, neglect or abandonment. DCF said no other agency in Florida had so many deaths as Hillsborough Kids Inc.

David Wilkins, state secretary for the Department of Children & Families, has accepted a committee's recommendation to replace Hillsborough Kids Inc. as the lead agency for child welfare services.

The statement from Florida DCF regional director Mike Carroll said "Any death of a child raises concern,". "When you have eight, especially under the circumstances that occurred here, that raises alarms."

After releasing this story on our website we received the following letter from One Hope United's legal team.

Name:	Tom Quarles
Company / Organization :	Stearns Weaver Miller
Email:	This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone:	305-789-3517
Questions / Comments:	You are using the logo of One Hope United on your website. If you do not remove this logo and cease and desist from its use, my firm is going to file an infringement action against you. If you think we cannot find out who you are, we will issue the necessary subpoenas to get the information we need. Proceed at your own peril.

...And just who is Tom Quarles?

Florida Region Board of Directors

Thomas J. Quarles, Chair
Shareholder, Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson P.A.

New DCF lead agency starts transition

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY -- In the last two years, nine children have died in Hillsborough County who were part of open child welfare cases.

It seems though that changes are ahead for the Department of Children and Families, as a new agency prepares to take the lead on all cases.

Come July, it will be Eckerd's job to manage the cases of almost 3,000 abused and neglected children.

"For us, those nine child deaths equates to getting our arms around the issues, getting out in the community identifying the lessons learned," said Lorita Shirly, Eckerd Executive Director.

One way Eckerd is doing that is by assigning a task force to review all active dependency cases.

"We believe that it's going to provide us with great insight into some of the innovations that currently exist in Hillsborough County and where there are challenges with regard to some quality and safety compliance issues that might be increasing the risk level to the children in the community."

With almost 3,000 children in the system needing protection, Eckerd is moving forward, focusing on things like safety, quality, accountability and transparency. They say it's just the beginning of a proactive plan to protect these kids who have nowhere else to go.

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