For more than a year, the Miami Herald dug through Department of Children & Families records and police reports to find out how and why nearly 500 children died over the past six years after falling through the Florida Department of Children & Families’ protective net.
The investigative series, Innocents Lost, uncovered the disturbing stories and found that the agency had embraced a family preservation philosophy without ensuring all the necessary social services were in place to keep children safe in troubled homes.
On Thursday, April 17th, WLRN and the Miami Herald partnered together to produce a town hall on improving the child welfare system. Over 200 people gathered at the Doral headquarters of the Herald to hear from a panel of reporters, state legislators, DCF officials, child advocates and concerned citizens. Listen to a one-hour excerpt and, below, follow the online conversation.