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Politics & Government

The Caylee Anthony Case: Was Abuse Reported While She Was Alive?

We may never know if anyone reached out. Sen. Mike Fasano's office and the Pasco County Sheriff Office discuss DCF and child protective services.

I wanted to find out more about how child protective services are set up in Pasco County, as it seems CPS was not involved at all in Orange County with the Caylee Anthony case.

Kevin Doll, spokesman for the Pasco Sheriff's Office, shed some light on this:

“I am not sure child protection authorities were ever involved in the child's life to begin with," Doll said. "And as it was more than 30 days as to when she was reported missing when she was last seen alive, there wasn't anything they could have done after the fact."

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How does the Pasco Sheriff-run CPS get involved?

“We receive complaints through the state abuse hotline. We also can begin our own investigation when we have evidence of neglect or abuse, such as the case where the woman robbed the bank in Hudson with a child in her custody.”

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In the same Department of Children and Families (DCF) region as Pasco, there were many mishaps with how the various child protective services agencies and contractors interacted in Hillsborough County with the . Each county seems to be working with a different model and protocol for how to protect children. That child's death led to an investigation by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Pinellas and Pasco counties both have CPS run by their sheriff's offices, but they are separate divisions from sworn law enforcement officers that respond when there is a call to report abuse or neglect of a child. Though they are located in different judicial circuits for state court, these counties are part of the same DCF region.

Florida has 20 Judicial Circuit Courts. State Sen. Mike Fasano represents people not only in Pasco County, but also in Pinellas, which is the Sixth Judicial Circuit, and parts of Hernando and Citrus counties as well. Hernando and Citrus are in the Fifth Judicial Circuit. Also, these are geographically governed by two different DCF regions.

The DCF regions sometimes have child protection handled by the DCF and sometimes by contractors for the sheriff, or other models as, in Hillsborough County. Pasco, Hillsborough, and Pinellas counties are all in the Suncoast DCF Region.

Pasco was a model pilot program of a sheriff-run child protection services, and other counties followed their lead but designed their own internal policies.

I contacted Fasano's office, since he is working to pass . I wanted to find out whether other legislative changes were possible.

Statewide, I learned that these DCF regions are set up differently for administering child protection in different counties around the state.

So, my first question was what differences does Fasano see in those counties within his district when it comes to how the various entities interact for child protection, if any? Then, I wanted to know if while researching information for Caylee's Law, did Fasano discover any areas that he as a legislator thinks may need to be addressed to help improve protection of children in his district, as well as statewide?

Greg Giordano, chief legislative aide for Fasano, responded:

“I don’t think CPS was called in while she was alive. As you are aware CPS investigates allegations of abuse and neglect. Since Caylee was not reported missing for 31 days she was not present when the police were finally called to investigate.

To answer your questions in a broader context, it is true that there are different ways certain counties carry out child protective services. Sen. Fasano has been instrumental over the years in securing funding for child protective services for the counties he represents.

Pasco was one of the first to create the sort of system it currently has and sheriffs in neighboring counties asked to follow suit.

While working on Caylee’s Law we did not look at changing child protective services because, as I stated previously, the central point in her case was the 31-day period that passed during which she was not reported as missing. If there had been cause to call in CPS while Caylee was still alive and in the house then, perhaps, if there was abuse going on, things may have turned out differently.

Since the focus of the research was to create a penalty (and a deterrent) for those who do not report a child missing or dead, or providing false information to a law enforcement officer about said missing child, we did not contemplate changes to the provision of CPS.”

With Fasano's proven record over the years of gaining funding for protection of children in counties across the lines of circuit courts and DCF regions, it is not surprising that he is proactive to close the loopholes in the law.

Fasano taking the lead as a legislator for protecting children and improving the laws of the state, as he proposes to do with Caylee's Law, is consistent with the priorities he has taken the lead on whether or not in the glaring spotlight of a high profile case.

To find out more about child abuse or reporting it, visit the Florida Abuse Hotline online at dcf.state.fl.us/programs/abuse/.

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