State Government / DCF Accountability
Two months after Sen. Don Gaetz promised legislation to fix DCF, parents, a former guardian ad litem and a former child protective investigator told the Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation what they want in the bill.
The Northwest Florida Legislative Delegation held a public forum in Santa Rosa County on Monday, Nov. 9, and the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) dominated the public comment period after public officials spoke to the lawmakers.
- The testimony came two months after Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, stood outside the Santa Rosa County Courthouse on Sept. 4 and vowed to draft legislation for the 2027 session built on the 34 recommendations of the Fifth Judicial Circuit grand jury report on DCF. He and Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles Beach, said then they would hold public hearings once bills were filed and urged families to testify.
State Rep. Nathan Boyles chaired the forum and held speakers to three minutes. He also told them the delegation could take up issues it can help with, “which does not include getting into the details of an individual case.”
“Reform means nothing without enforcement.”
Joy Zuraff, Santa Rosa County mother
Passing Laws Is Not Enough
Joy Zuraff, the Santa Rosa mother whose 30-month custody fight Gaetz and Pizzo highlighted in September, opened the DCF testimony. She said she supports greater transparency, independent oversight and stronger protections for children and families. Then she turned to what she called the missing piece: making sure existing laws, policies and procedures are followed, “with real accountability when they are not.”
- Sherry Chapman, a Santa Rosa resident of more than 50 years, praised Zuraff’s fight and thanked Gaetz and his staff. She asked the other two legislators to support his bills and “rally around” them. Families, she said, should be treated with respect because the constitution “does not give the government the right to parent.”
Voices From Inside the System
Several of the most pointed comments came from people who have worked in child welfare.
- Records problems: Cindy Smith, a former law enforcement officer and nurse who has worked with families in the system, described case files with scattered information, outdated reports and missing details. She also described a home visit where a mother received a positive drug screen followed by a negative one. “A parent’s progress should not be ignored because someone failed to update a report,” she said.
- Services that exist on paper: Melissa Wells, a former guardian ad litem, said the system too often focuses on “checking the boxes.” She said two children, ages four and seven, who watched their mother overdose never received the counseling in their case plan, even though she recommended it repeatedly. She also said a teenager’s request for a particular counselor was denied and the girl was instead sent to a group home counselor she did not trust.
- Retaliation against volunteers: Wells said she was removed as a guardian ad litem after being accused of giving that teenager a phone. “How will a volunteer ever truly voice what’s happening in a case,” she asked, “if they’re afraid of the consequences of being fired?”
- Oversight that isn’t independent: Kristin Majka, a former child protective investigator, guardian ad litem and licensed foster parent, said DCF’s Office of Inspector General has broad discretion over which complaints it investigates and which it sends back to the agency being complained about. She said she has spent more than six years seeking accountability over 2020 findings involving her family, and that her complaints were referred back to DCF.
“This is an agency reviewing allegations against itself.”
Kristen Mica, former child protective investigator
Majka said she has records showing discrepancies in investigative entries, including records entered or modified after critical decisions were made, and an alleged child interview that conflicts with law enforcement documentation. She also raised whistleblower retaliation and the lack of a meaningful way to challenge and correct verified findings in the statewide system.
Family Court Frustration
Two speakers described family court cases rather than DCF dependency cases, and both wanted to know where a parent can turn when judges do not act.
- Jessica Ortega said she has seen her son for only 28 hours since July 22, 2025. She cited 145 documented interferences, four pending contempt motions, 475 days on a temporary order and a mandamus petition pending for three months. She asked for enforceable deadlines on motions affecting parental rights, recorded hearings and meaningful consideration of domestic violence and coercive control.
- Rev. Timothy Chandler, a retired combat Marine veteran, said he has been in family court for two years and is now in an appeal. He said he has written emails to officials for 13 years. When Boyles reminded him that individual cases were off limits, he asked: “Where do I go?”
How the testimony lines up with Gaetz’s 10-point plan
- Legal consequences for falsified records: Majka’s allegations of backdated or altered investigative entries.
- Stronger due-process protections without fear of retaliation: Majka’s whistleblower concerns and Wells’s removal as a volunteer.
- Qualified, licensed therapists, with fines for agencies that don’t verify: Wells’ accounts of counseling that was never provided or never helped.
- A stronger role for judges as a check on DCF: Ortega’s and Chandler’s frustration with court delays.
- Tight performance-based oversight of contractors: Wells’ point that appointments attended are not the same as children helped.
What Comes Next
Gaetz said in September that the bills were still being drafted and that he had not decided between one comprehensive bill and several smaller ones. He warned that “considerable forces” would oppose change. Some speakers on Nov. 9 appeared to count on him to carry the effort. Chapman told him she would “trust you with my life.”
Several of those who spoke want the same thing the grand jury did: independent investigations, records that can be trusted and consequences when the system fails.