JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A jury awarded $13.5 million to a Jacksonville family after finding Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) liable in a neglectful adoption case.
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The Jacksonville family said they were not told their adopted son had significant mental health and behavioral issues. A Duval County jury found the nonprofit failed to disclose key information to the new parents Tuesday, including a medical history showing he had a history of threatening to harm himself or herself others.
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“They (JFCS) had the information, but they failed to release it, and the failure to do so was reckless,” Justin Grosz said. He is an attorney for Justice For Kids, representing the family.
We are not naming the family members involved due to the sensitivity of this matter.
Grosz said the parents had three other young girls under the age of five at home. The young boy, now fourteen, was adopted in 2017 through Jewish Family and Community Services. His adoptive family knew he had autism and ADHD.
“The reality was that he had already been diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and had been hospitalized against his will because he had been deemed a danger to himself. and for others,” Grosz said.
The family later discovered there were other problems once he began making threats against himself and others in the home, according to Grosz.
“There was a period where his behavior started to get worse,” Grosz said. “When he was living at home it progressed from self-harm to threats of violence towards the father, and at one point they took him to hospital. »
When they arrived at the hospital, hospital staff said he had been committed in 2016.
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“They had no idea,” Grosz said. The complaint was filed in 2021 and the trial ended on December 12.
The boy was removed from the home four years ago and is receiving the help he needs.
“He’s getting help. For most of the last four years, he has been in two different residential treatment facilities because his needs are really great and extraordinary,” Grosz said. “He really needs 24-hour monitoring.”
We reached out to Jewish Family and Community Services for comment and received this statement:
“Unfortunately, we are now very limited in what we can say about this trial, because the trial is far from over. We focus on the child involved and their adoptive family. Florida’s child welfare system has worked with this family for years to help them heal from the impacts of the trauma caused by abuse that occurred before we assisted with the adoption in 2017. For over 60 years, we help children and families at every stage of their adoption. the adoption process – from helping birth mothers to connecting adoptive parents with their children. We look forward to continuing this vital mission in this community.
— Spokesperson for the family and the Jewish community
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