Miami Foster Home Investigated After Kids' Fight Video Surfaces
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- After video surfaced of two 11-year-old foster children engaged in a violent brawl last year, the Department of Children and Families is investigating the Miami foster home where they lived for possible charges of child abuse.
The fight was allegedly encouraged by a Children's Home Society employee, the facility's adult supervisor during the incident, as seen on video, allowing the other children to gather around and watch, according to CBS4 News partner The Miami Herald.
In a court room last week, a Miami-Dade circuit judge described the employee as "provoking and encouraging violence" while the boys fought each other.
That employee has since been fired.
The Children's Home Society runs 11 foster homes in Miami-Dade county.
A court motion filed by representatives of parents of some of the foster children said one of the kids was left "severely beaten." He was also hospitalized for psychiatric treatment.
Lawyers also told the judge they believe incidents like this one are not isolated and that children in the care of Children's Home Society could be in danger of similar abuse.
Children's Home Society released a statement, that read in part:
Children's Home Society is a not-for-profit organization that has been protecting and caring for children for more than 100 years. What happened here is absolutely unacceptable and does not reflect the work we do across the state each day. As Judge Hanzman stated in court this morning, CHS has a history of delivering excellent services to children. We are completely committed to protecting the safety of every child in our care.