Elian Gonzalez II Campaign Update:
Embattled Cuban Father Wins Sole Custody
Above, left, Ned Holstein, M.D., M.S. shakes hands with Gilda Ferradaz, head of Florida's Department of Children & Family Services in Miami. Dr. Holstein met with Ferradaz, Mary Cagle, DCF's Director of Child Welfare Legal Services, and other DCF officials. In addition, Dr. Holstein met with embattled Cuban father Rafael Izquierdo (above, right).
A settlement has been reached in the Elian Gonzalez II
case which gives embattled Cuban father Rafael Izquierdo
sole custody of his young daughter. According to the
Associated Press'
Cuban father gets custody in settlement (11/30/07):
"A Cuban farmer would get sole custody of his 6-year-old
daughter under a settlement reached Wednesday in a lengthy
court battle involving the girl's U.S. foster parents and
state officials...Under the settlement, Rafael Izquierdo and
his daughter would remain in the United States [until the
girl is seven] and the foster parents - former baseball
players' agent Joe Cubas and his wife, Maria - would get
regular visits from the girl...
"Beyond that, Izquierdo would have no parental
restrictions and could eventually return to Cuba...The
agreement is subject to approval by Miami-Dade County
Circuit Judge Jeri Cohen, who has scheduled a hearing
Tuesday."
Ira Kurzban, Izquierdo's attorney, thanked Fathers &
Families for its efforts on Izquierdo's behalf, saying that
the campaign and media attention "played an important role
in the case." I thank and commend Dr. Holstein for his
excellent work in Florida.
I also thank the thousands of you who wrote or called
Florida DCF. After Dr. Holstein met with DCF, he told me
that the DCF officials had brought in "stacks and stacks" of
letters and faxes they had received from protesters, and
faxes were coming in continuously during their meeting.
Holstein explains:
"We are proud to have played a role in bringing about
this proposed settlement...Rafael came through for his
daughter like a great father--surmounting obstacles as a
poor farmer in Cuba to come to her aid in Florida...He
deserves a medal of honor.”
Izquierdo is very happy with the settlement, and we
believe that it is good for all parties. While I do believe
that Izquierdo should have the right to take his daughter
with him back to Cuba tomorrow if he chooses, the agreement
is a better alternative. It still allows Izquierdo to return
to Cuba when the girl is seven if he elects to, yet it also
allows the girl to maintain her relationship with the Cubas
family.
Despite the Cubas' misguided custody bid, they do deserve
credit for caring for the girl when the girl's mother came
apart and Izquierdo was still in Cuba. The agreement also
allows the girl to maintain her relationship with her
half-brother--the girl will be visiting him and the Cubases
every other weekend.
Campaigns and victories cost money--to make a
tax-deductible donation to Fathers & Families to help defray
our campaign's expenses, click
here or
contact Dr. Holstein directly at 617.542.9300 or
nedholstein@fathersandfamilies.org.
Protest Florida DCF's Mistreatment of
Loving Father in 'Elian Gonzalez II' Case!
Over the past two months, I've called your attention to
the outrageous "Elian Gonzalez II" case in Miami, wherein
Rafael Izquierdo, a fit, loving father, has faced numerous
obstacles to reunite with his 5-year-old daughter. From day
one of this case, the Florida Department of Children &
Families has done everything in its power to separate Rafael
Izquierdo from his little girl. Today, even though a Florida
court has found that Izquierdo is a fit and committed
father, DCF continues to fight to deny Izquierdo custody.
Fit parents have a fundamental right to raise their
own children. I am partnering with Dr. Ned Holstein and
Fathers & Families in a campaign to ask that Florida DCF
allow Izquierdo to assume custody of his daughter and return
home.
What We Want
Unfortunately, the Izquierdo case is not unique. As the
Urban Institute recently reported, when a mother and father are
divorced or separated and a child welfare agency removes a
child from a custodial parent's home because of neglect or
abuse, rather than allowing the noncustodial parent to raise
his or her own child, officials instead often place the
child in the foster care system. This destructive practice
often separates children from loving noncustodial parents.
We ask that Florida DCF contact Ned Holstein, MD, MS,
president of Fathers & Families, to discuss how procedures
can be changed to help ensure that in future cases,
assiduous efforts are made to reunite children with their
fit noncustodial parents. Moreover, such parents should be
afforded the full benefit of the case plans and support
services currently generally only available to custodial
parents.
The 'Elian Gonzalez II Case'
The "Elian Gonzalez II" case in Miami is a battle over a
5-year-old Cuban immigrant girl which pits her Cuban father,
Rafael Izquierdo, against wealthy Cuban-American foster
parents Joe Cubas, a well-known sports agent, and his wife
Maria. Just as Elian's father Juan Gonzalez faced numerous
unfair hurdles to get his son back in 2000, Izquierdo has
been manhandled by the child welfare system, in part because
of the system's anti-father bias.
In 2005, the girl's mother brought the girl to Miami from
Cuba. The Florida Department of Children & Families removed
the girl from her mother's custody in 2006, after an
investigation found that the woman's mental illness rendered
her an unfit parent. She was placed with a foster family,
and Izquierdo came to the US to bring his daughter home.
Izquierdo has spent over five months in the US and is
still being denied custody of his daughter--an outrageous
violation of parents' rights. Izquierdo should not have to
fight to raise his own child. How and
where to raise his daughter is his decision.
In late September, District 11 (Miami) Judge Jeri B.
Cohen ruled that Rafael Izquierdo is a fit parent who did
not abandon his daughter. According to the
girl's court-appointed therapist, Izquierdo has
re-established the loving bonds he shares with his daughter,
and the girl has made a "very telling transition...not only
intellectually, but emotionally" (Miami Herald,
10/4/07). Outrageously, the Florida Department of Children &
Families still is doing everything it can to malign
Izquierdo and wrest custody away from him, spending over a
quarter million dollars to do so.
Urban Institute Report Details How the Child Welfare
System Disregards Loving Fathers
It is important to understand that the "Elian Gonzalez II"
case is not an aberration, but instead reflects
widespread practices. In
New
Report: Foster Care System Disregards Fathers (Boston
Globe, 6/8/06), I explained:
"When a mother and father are divorced or separated, and
a child welfare agency removes the children from the
mother's home for abuse or neglect, an offer of placement to
the father, barring unfitness, should be automatic. Yet
according to a new report by the Urban Institute, few
fathers are able to reunite with their children, who are
instead pushed into the foster care system.
"The new report, What About the Dads? Child Welfare
Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate, and Involve
Nonresident Fathers, examines the foster care systems
of four states. The report contains a shocking finding: when
fathers inform child welfare officials that they would like
their children to live with them, the agencies seek to place
the children with their fathers in only 15% of cases...
"What About the Dads? makes it clear that many
child welfare workers treat fathers as an afterthought. The
report found that even when a caseworker had been in contact
with a child's father, the caseworker was still five times
less likely to know basic information about the father than
about the mother. And 20% of the fathers whose identity and
location were known by the child welfare agencies from the
opening of the case were never even contacted."
How the Child Welfare System Mistreats Loving Fathers--the
Melinda Smith Case
The Melinda Smith case is another example of the way the
child welfare system separates loving fathers and their
children. In
Choosing Foster Parents
over Fathers (San Diego Union-Tribune,
7/11/07), I explained:
"In the heartbreaking Melinda Smith case, a San Diego
father and daughter were needlessly separated by the foster
care system for over a decade. Last week, Los Angeles County
settled a lawsuit over the case for an undisclosed sum...
"Smith was born to an unwed couple in 1988. Her father,
Thomas Marion Smith, a former Marine and a decorated Vietnam
War veteran, saw Melinda often and paid child support. When
the girl was four, her mother abruptly moved without leaving
a forwarding address. Two years later, Los Angeles County
Department of Children and Family Services found that
Melinda's mother was abusing her. Though the social worker
for the case noted in the file that Thomas was the father,
he was never contacted, and his then 6-year-old daughter was
placed in the foster care system.
"Thomas--whose fitness as a father was never impugned nor
legally questioned--continued to receive and pay his child
support bills. Authorities refused to disclose his
daughter's whereabouts, and didn't even inform him that his
daughter had been taken by the County. Smith employed
private investigators and attorneys to try to find Melinda
and secure visitation rights, but he eventually ran out of
money.
"Rather than allowing Smith to raise his own daughter,
the system shuttled Melinda through seven different foster
care placements. An understandably angry child, her
outbursts led authorities to house her in a residential
treatment center alongside older children convicted of
criminal activity--when she was only seven years old.
"Melinda says that during this period she was told that
her father was a 'deadbeat dad' who had abandoned her. When
Melinda was 16, she told an investigating social worker that
the 'most important thing' for her was to find her dad.
Moved by her story, the social worker began searching for
Melinda's father--and found him in one day. In 2005, Thomas
and Melinda were finally reunited...
"These policies are harmful and misguided. One shudders
to think how many little Melinda Smiths are lost in the
foster care system right now--being raised by strangers, and
denied their father's love."
Contact Florida DCF Officials, Governor, Judges
Below are the phone numbers, fax numbers, and email
addresses for Florida Department of Children and Family
Services officials, Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Lt.
Governor Jeff Kottkamp, the District 11 (Miami) court where
the "Elian Gonzalez II" case is being decided, and Jeri B. Cohen, the
judge in the case.
I suggest campaign supporters call all of the officials
listed below. If the intended party is not available, which
will often be the case, please leave a short, clear message
telling them that you want officials to unite Rafael
Izquierdo with his daughter and allow him to return home. I
suggest you leave your name, phone # and email address.
Please remember to always be polite, respectful, and to the
point.
To make a tax-deductible donation to support our efforts,
click here.
To discuss this campaign on my blog, click
here.
Best Wishes,
Glenn Sacks
Florida Governor's Office
Charlie Crist
Florida Governor
850-488-4441
Fax: (850) 487-0801
Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com
Jeff Kottkamp
Lt. Governor
850-488-4711
Fax: 850-921-6114
Jeff.Kottkamp@MyFlorida.com
Florida's Department of Children & Family Services
Executive Leadership Team
Robert A. Butterworth
Secretary
Office: (850) 487-1111
Bob_Butterworth@dcf.state.fl.us
Fax: (850) 922-2993
Don Winstead
Deputy Secretary
Office: (850) 487-1111
Don_Winstead@dcf.state.fl.us
Steve Holmes
Chief of Staff
Office: (850) 487-1111
Steve_Holmes@dcf.state.fl.us
Greg Keller
Assistant Secretary for Operations
Office: (850) 487-1111
Greg_Keller@dcf.state.fl.us
Melissa Jaacks
Assistant Secretary for Administration
Office: (850) 487-1111
Melissa_Jaacks@dcf.state.fl.us
Ken DeCerchio
Assistant Secretary for Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Office: (850) 487-1111
Ken_DeCerchio@dcf.state.fl.us
Florida DCF Statewide Media Representative
Al Zimmerman
Office: (850) 413-0772
Cell: (850) 509-1945
al_zimmerman@dcf.state.fl.us
Florida's Department of Children & Family Services in Miami
(District 11)
Gilda Ferradaz
District 11 (Miami)
Administrator
(305) 377-5055
Fax: (305) 377-5770
Gilda_Ferradaz@dcf.state.fl.us
Flora Beal
District 11 (Miami)
Media Contact
(305) 377-7018
Cell phone: (305) 345-8407
Flora_Beal@dcf.state.fl.us
Our Kids of Miami (Community-Based Care Contact)
Frances Allegra
(305) 455-1022
allegraf@ourkids.us
Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida (Miami)
Joseph P. Farina
Chief
Judge
Office: (305) 349-7054
Fax: (305) 349-7059
Email:
JFarina@jud11.flcourts.org
Ruben O. Carrerou
Court
Administrator
Office: (305) 349-7000
Fax: (305) 349-7003
Email:
RCarrerou@jud11.flcourts.org
Circuit Judge Jeri B. Cohen
Juvenile Justice Center
(305) 638-6879
Email
here
Cindy C. Lederman
Associative Administrative Judge
Juvenile Justice Center
(305) 638-6087
Lester Langer
Associative Administrative Judge
Juvenile Justice Center
(305) 638-6106
