About 200 children were fatally abused in Florida in 2008, a roughly 20 percent increase from 2007. Unemployment rates and drug use also increased in the state - a factor in many of the deaths, according to a preliminary report. ...more

December 30, 2009

About 200 children were fatally abused in Florida in 2008, a substantial increase from past years as unemployment rates and drug use also increased in the state. ...more

December 29, 2009

A state Department of Children and Families employee is accused of stealing from an elderly woman with dementia whose case she was assigned to. ...more

November 12, 2009

A 5-month-old girl who authorities say was starved to death by her parents only had a little watery fluid in her stomach. ...more

November 4, 2009

Jails are the wrong place to warehouse the mentally ill. Yet for years Florida has taken this approach toward those who are sick and turn to crime: Lock 'em up and don't worry about the treatment they need. ...more

March 29, 2009

A 21-year-old Tampa man beat a 2-year-old girl unconscious, causing her to stop breathing, Hillsborough County deputies say. ...more

March 9, 2009

A Florida family featured on the reality television show "Supernanny" is being investigated for possible child abuse and authorities say the video is part of their evidence. ...more

February 24, 2009

Neighbors had their suspicions about the house on Whitmarsh Street. Particularly, they were concerned about the boy who lived there. He always acted withdrawn and shy around other children. His adopted mother worked him like a slave in the backyard planting flowers and trees, according to neighbor Pat Guttman. ...more

February 13, 2009

Neighbors had their suspicions about the house on Whitmarsh Street. ...more

February 12, 2009

The growing hardship is reflected in calls to the state food stamp hot line, which numbered three million in December. ...more

January 9, 2009