ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — “Was there a mistake here?"
It's the same question asked of Florida Department of Children and Families' then-Secretary Mike Carroll years ago after the deaths of two Tampa Bay-area children who were no stranger to the system: Janiya Thomas and Phoebe Jonchuck.
“'We're better positioned than we were four years ago, but we need additional help,” Carroll said.
And it's the same question asked now following the death of 2-year-old Jordan Belliveau, who first was reported missing by her mother, Charisse Stinson. Authorities believe she made up a story, and she later was charged with his murder.
Carroll left the top spot with DCF just days before the child's death.
“I wasn't surprised by the findings,” Carroll said.
Carroll now works at Lutheran Services Florida, an agency that offers numerous services, including case management, for children in the system.
“There's nobody out there that thinks the system should be held accountable more than me,” Carroll said.
He says in the Tampa Bay area, since child investigations are conducted by sheriff's offices then handed over to a separate agency to take over case management, there are too many pieces to the puzzle.
That's when communication gets lost, said Carroll, and it is what happened in Belliveau's case.
“Some of the systemic stuff you see is the assessment of the child. Some people knew something while others knew something else. Because people didn't have whole picture decisions could've been made different," Carroll said.
"That piece is frustrating."
He says the Tampa area needs more caseworkers because the region has more children in the system than any other part of the state.
Carroll said the community also needs to start holding parents more accountable.
“We have a system set up to give parents so many chances,” he said.
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