Relief/L.E./Department of Children and Families:
HB 6535 is a claim bill that provides legislative relief to L.E. for catastrophic injuries she suffered after the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) allegedly failed to protect her from severe child abuse and neglect. The bill’s preamble recounts the child welfare history surrounding L.E.’s birth, the department’s investigation, the use of an out-of-home safety plan, the decision to return L.E. to her parents, and the subsequent abuse that left her with traumatic brain injury, seizures, cerebral palsy, and other lifelong impairments. It also notes that L.E. was later adopted by her maternal grandmother and continues to require extensive medical and therapeutic care.
The bill appropriates $3.8 million from the General Revenue Fund to DCF to satisfy the remaining portion of a negotiated $4 million settlement. Under the settlement, DCF already paid the $200,000 sovereign immunity cap under section 768.28, Florida Statutes, and the claim bill would authorize payment of the additional amount. The Chief Financial Officer is directed to issue the payment to an irrevocable trust established for L.E.’s exclusive benefit.
The bill also limits the compensation available for all present and future claims against DCF arising from the same facts and caps attorney fees at 25 percent of the total amount awarded under the act. In effect, it functions as a special appropriation and legal release tied to a specific factual incident rather than a general policy change.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill text is strongly sympathetic to L.E. and critical of DCF’s handling of the case. The preamble repeatedly emphasizes the department’s knowledge of danger, the instability of the home, and the severity of the injuries, framing the legislation as a remedial measure for a child who suffered lifelong harm. The available context shows no recorded committee debate or votes, and the bill ultimately died in Senate Appropriations.
The main point of contention inherent in the measure is fiscal and procedural: whether the Legislature should authorize an additional $3.8 million beyond the sovereign immunity cap for a single claimant, and whether the state should be held financially responsible for the department’s alleged negligence. The bill also references unresolved civil claims against the subcontracted child welfare agency, but the legislation itself is limited to relief against DCF.
HB 6535 would amend no general statutes, but it would create a one-time appropriation from the General Revenue Fund and direct the Chief Financial Officer to pay $3.8 million to an irrevocable trust for L.E. It operates as a claim bill under Florida’s sovereign immunity framework in section 768.28, Florida Statutes, authorizing compensation above the standard $200,000 cap for a specific injury claim against a state agency. The act also bars additional compensation from DCF for claims arising from the same incident and limits attorney fees to 25 percent of the award.
The bill is framed in highly sympathetic terms toward L.E. and her family, with the preamble presenting the state agency’s conduct as a failure to protect a vulnerable child from foreseeable harm. The available record contains no committee transcripts or vote breakdowns, so there is no evidence of formal opposition in the provided materials. Its final status—died in Senate Appropriations—suggests that, despite the settlement and DCF’s stated non-opposition, the measure did not advance through the appropriations process.
The central contention is whether the Legislature should appropriate public funds to pay the remaining $3.8 million settlement amount for a single claim against DCF, especially given the sovereign immunity cap already paid. A related issue is the extent to which the state should bear responsibility for alleged negligence in child welfare decision-making versus the subcontracted agency’s role, since the bill leaves L.E.’s claims against that agency pending. The bill also raises the usual claim-bill concern about setting precedent for large, individualized appropriations based on agency liability.