12-003270 Shakinah Glory vs. Department Of Children And Families Status: Closed Recommended Order on Thursday, March 28, 2013.

Summary: Evidence showed Petitioner did not have the home safety, household stability, or financial ability to be a licensed foster home.

STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

SHAKINAH GLORY , )

)

Petitioner , )

)

vs. ) Case No. 12 - 3270

)

DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND )

FAMILIES , )

)

Respondent . )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice, a formal hearing was held in this case

before the Division of Administrative Hearings by its designated

Administrative Law Judge, Diane Cleavinger , on December 18, 2013,

in Tallahassee, Florida.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Shakinah Glory

4768 Woodville Highway

Apartment 428

Tallahassee, Florida 32305

For Respondent: M. Burnette Coats, Esquire

Department of Children and Families

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Building 2, Room 204

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE

Whether PetitionerÓs application for licensure as a family

foster home should be granted.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

By letter dated September 1 2 , 2012, Respondent, Department

of Children and Families (Department or DCF ), advised Petitioner,

Shakinah Glory, that her application for licensure as a family

foster home was denied. The denial was based on PetitionerÓs

inability to meet the Department Ós licensure standards contained

in Florida Administr ative Code Rules 65C - 13 . 025, 65C - 13 . 028 and

65C - 13.030 . Specifically, the Department's decision was based on

Petitioner's failure to demonstrate home safety, household

stability and financial ability ne cessary to become a licensed

foster home. Petitioner disagreed with the denial and requested

a formal hearing on September 20, 2012 . Thereafter, the case was

forwarded to the Division of Administrative Hearings.

At the hearing, Petitioner testified o n he r own behalf but

did not offer any exhibits into evidence. Respondent presented

the testimony of three witnesses and offered nine exhibits into

evidence.

After the hearing, Petitioner filed a P roposed R ecommended

O rder in letter form on January 14, 2013. Respondent filed a

P roposed R ecommended O rder on February 21, 2013.

FINDING S OF FACT

1. Sometime around 2004, Petitioner held a license as a

foster home in Florida. During the licensure period, Petitioner

fostered X. B. and T. T. in her home where she r esided with her

three biological children .

2. X. B. stayed in Petitioner's home for approximately

three weeks to a month. Throughout X. B.'s stay, Petitioner

failed to provide breakfast to X. B. prior to school .

Peti ti oner's failure necessitated the c ase manager providing such

breakfast to X. B. when she drove X. B. to school.

3. Additionally, o n several occasions the case manager saw

evidence of roach infestation in the home. In particular, upon

X. B.'s return to Petitioner's home from visiting X. B.'s

siblings, the case manager found him in a roach - infested

environment, with no running water in the home since the service

had been turned off by the service provider for non - payment of

the bill. The toilet bowl was filled with feces and urine and

ha d feces on the lid. It was unsanitary and unusable . X. B.

asked the case manager to take him to the local gas station so

that X. B. could use the bathroom. Soon after, X. B. was removed

from Petitioner's care due to unsanitary conditions and /or unsafe

c onditions in Petitioner's home .

4. T. T. was a one - year - old child who was also placed in

Petitioner's foster home during her earlier licensure period.

Again, the case manager saw evidence of roach infestation in

Petitioner's home. At first , the case man ager only saw a couple

of roaches in the home. However, the roach problem progressively

g rew to the point that during on e of the case manager's visits

the wall behind the baby's crib looked like it was moving because

there were so many roaches on it. Soo n after, the case manager

removed T. T. to another foster home. When they arrived at the

new home, a roach crawled out of T. T.'s diaper bag. Upon

inspection of the bag, the case manager discovered many dead

roaches in the bag. More importantly, half of a dead roach was

discovered in the baby bottle of milk that T. T. was drinking

while being moved to T. T.'s new foster home. Clearly, the

condition of Petitioner's foster home was neither sanitary nor

safe.

5. Petitioner's care of both these children re sulted in

verified abuse reports in Florida's abuse registry for conditions

hazardous to the health of children.

6. Petitioner's initial foster home license either lapsed

or was not renewed.

7 . Since 2004, Petitioner has not been financially stable.

I n fact, she often asked her neighbors for money to pay her

utility bills or buy gas for her car. Additionally, Petitioner

lost different homes to foreclosure in 2006 and 2007. Since

2009, she and her children have moved to a different home a n

average of once a year. To her credit, Petitioner attended

college and obtained her doctorate in Theology and Philosophy .

However, her history has not demonstrated either hou sehold

stability or financial ability in her life.

8 . In 2011, Petitioner applied for lice nsure as a family

foster home. She successfully completed the Model Approach to

Partnership in Parenting (MAPP) training program on September 20,

2011.

9 . In June 2012, Trauma Therapist for ChildrenÓs Homes

Society, Katie Klutz, began the required home s tudy of

Petitioner.

10 . During the home study, Petitioner and her three

biological children were living in a thre e bedroom home.

Petitioner moved her bedroom furniture into the living room in

order to make room for potential foster children. The bedroom

space was separated from the living room by "curtains" that

afforded no significant privacy for those living in the home.

Clearly, Petitioner's home did not provide sufficient space to

foster an additional child in the home.

11. Petitioner has since mov ed to a larger home that was

not the subject of the home study for this license. However,

given Petitioner's past household instability, the very limited

evidence regarding this new home does not su pport a finding that

Petitioner's current home offers suf ficient space to provide for

the privacy and well - being of a foster child.

12 . More importantly, Petitioner has not worked since

having an accident on the job in May 2010. A neighbor also

provided a written reference in which she praised PetitionerÓs

spi rit but stated that it is Ða real struggleÑ for Petitioner to

maintain her home and that Ðshe will definitely need additional

support in this area.Ñ

13. Notably , it was unclear how Petitioner was currently

supporting her household. She has no employmen t. Petitioner

claimed that she received money from a church or charitable

organization that she founded. However, there was no evidence

that such limited income, if any, was sufficient to support her

family and/or provide financially stable conditions to Petitioner

and her family.

14. Moreover, Petitioner's bank records reflect that in

June 2012, she made deposits of $167.53 and debited the account

$266.07. Her ending balance in June was $18.81. At heari ng,

other than child support and food stamps, P etitioner offered no

evidence of additional finances or income that is attributable to

her.

15. Given these facts, Petitioner has failed to demonstrate

home safety, household stability or financial ability sufficient

to entitle her to be licensed as a f oster home. Therefore,

Petitioner's application for such licensure should be denied .

CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

16 . The Division of Administrative Hearings has

jurisdiction over the parties to and the subject matter of this

proceeding. § 120.57, Fl a . Stat. (20 13 ).

17. The Department is the state agency charged with the

responsibility of licensing foster homes under chapter 409,

Florida Statutes.

18. The purpose of such licensure is to "protect, the

health, safety, and well - being of all children in t he state who

are cared for by family foster homes." § 409.175(1) , Fla. Stat .

19. Section 409.175(2)(f), Florida Statutes, which governs

licensure of foster homes, defines the term "license" as follows:

(f) "License" means "license" as defined in

s . 120.52(10 ). A license under this section

is issued to a family foster home or other

facility and is not a professional license of

any individual. Receipt of a license under

this section shall not create a property

right in the recipient. A license und er this

act is a public trust and a privilege, and is

not an entitlement. This privilege must

guide the finder of fact or trier of law at

any administrative proceeding or court action

initiated by the department.

20. As a consequence, a foster car e license is a public

trust and not a privilege. However, the Department cannot act

unreasonably, arbitrarily or capriciously in denying requests for

foster home licensure.

22 . Pursuant to section 4 09.175(9 ), Florida Statutes, DCF

has the authority to deny, suspend, or revoke a foster care

license for :

( b)( 1) . . . a n intentional or negligent act

materially affect ing the health or s afety of

children in the home or agency .

23. Additionally, the Department has adopted rules

establishing the qua lifications for licensure. See Fla. Admin.

Code R. 65C - 13. In general, these rules require an applicant to

be able to safely care for foster children in a clean, healthy

and stable environment. See Fla. Admin. Code R. 65C - 13.030(5).

Further, the applic ant must have the financial ability to provide

household stability, as we ll as, provide for the needs of the

foster family and the foster child placed in their care. See

Fla. Admin. Code R. 65C - 13.025(5)(j).

24. As an applicant for foster home lic ensure, the

Petitioner has the burden of establishing entitlement to the

license being sought. Fla . Dep't of Transp . v. J.W.C. Co., 396

So. 2d 778 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).

25 . In this case, Petitioner has a history of neglect with

past foster - care children t hat necessitated the removal of those

children from Petitioner's home . Additionally, the evidence was

clear that Petitioner does not possess sufficient household

stability or financial ability to meet the requirements of

becoming licensed as a foster hom e. Given these facts,

Petitioner's application for licensure as a foster home should be

denied.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of

Law, it is RECOMMENDED that Petitioner's application for

licensure as a foster home s hould be denied.

DONE AND ENTERED this 2 8 th day of March , 2013 , in

Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

S

DIANE CLEAVINGER

Administrative Law Judge

Division of Administrative Hearings

The DeSoto Building

1230 Apalachee Pa rkway

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 3060

(850) 488 - 9675

Fax Filing (850) 921 - 6847

www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 2 8 th day of March , 2013 .

COPIES FURNISHED:

Paul A. Rowell, Esquire

Department of C hildren

and Families

2383 Phillips Road

Tallahassee, Florida 32308

Shakinah Glory

4768 Woodville Highway

Apartment 428

Tallahassee, Florida 32305

M. Burnette Coats, Esquire

Department of Children and Families

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Building 2, Roo m 204

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Gregory Venz, Agency Clerk

Department of Children

and Families

Building 2, Room 204B

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0700

Marion Drew Parker, Gen eral Counsel

Department of Children

and Families

Bu ilding 2, Room 204

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0700

David Wilkins, Secretary

Department of Children

and Families

Building 1, Room 202

1317 Winewood Boulevard

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0700

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO SUBMIT EXCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within

15 days from the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions

to this Recommended Order should be filed with the agency that

will issue the Final Order in this case.