The biological mother of an 11-year-old girl who died in foster care is suing the Department of Children & Families and other agencies for negligence, according to a complaint filed Friday in civil court. ...more

July 1, 2008

TAMPA - The biological mother of an 11-year-old girl who died in foster care is suing the Department of Children & Families and other agencies for negligence, according to a complaint filed Friday in civil court. ...more

June 30, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist signed a bill today that will require insurers to cover costly therapies for thousands of autistic children in Florida. ...more

May 20, 2008

SEBRING — The stables at the Heartland Horses and Handicapped barn are finally full again. Gentle Ben, a black and white Tennessee walker saddle horse, has joined the ranks thanks to a $1,400 donation from Highlands Club Rotary. Heartland Horses and Handicapped provides therapeutic horsemanship for riders with disabilities. Joy Ongley, stable manager for Heartland Horses and Handicapped, said Gentle Ben makes a great addition to the riding team. "He is a very good horse, and he needed almost no training," Ongley said. "Just like his name implies, he is very gentle and patient, which is perfect for our riders." ...more

May 4, 2008

House legislation that initially pitted the needs of developmentally disabled children against those of the poor now contains reforms that advocates for poor children were seeking all along. ...more

May 2, 2008

With all the worries that go along with pregnancy, having a child with Down syndrome wasn't on Alexandra Torok's radar. ...more

February 18, 2008

FAIR OAKS/MANHATTAN MANOR - The room was full of giggles and squirming children. It was a Wednesday night at the Interbay-Glover Family YMCA and instructor Maria Alou asked the seated students to give her a thumbs-up; for some it took concentration and a furrowed brow. ...more

February 14, 2008

Sam Piazza placed his arm around Gaither High senior guard Eddie Munoz and smiled. ...more

February 5, 2008

The youngest Miller boy would watch the oldest through the window behind the front desk at strength coach Rich Lansky's training facility in Sarasota. Occasionally, the little guy - who, even at age 11, wasn't so little - would yell through the window while his big brother lifted. ...more

December 28, 2007

Eleven-year-old Rikka Pinckney stopped breathing one night in June 2006 while lying on a bare mattress in her foster mother's Town 'N Country mobile home. ...more

December 13, 2007