Background: I recently partnered with Dr. Ned Holstein and Fathers & Families in a campaign to protest Florida Department of Children & Families’ actions in the “Elian Gonzalez II” case in Miami. In that case, Rafael Izquierdo, a fit, loving father, has faced numerous obstacles to reunite with his 5-year-old daughter.
Thousands of you answered our call to action, and the campaign has been covered or cited in hundreds of newspapers, including by the Associated Press, syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post Writers Group, Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service, and over a dozen Florida newspapers. Florida DCF, to its credit, has agreed to meet with us. To learn more or to join our campaign, click here.ÂÂ
In our letters and faxes to Florida DCF, we asked that they contact Dr. Holstein and meet with him to discuss the issues put forward in our protest. In the above photo, Dr. Holstein shakes hands with Gilda Ferradaz, head of DCF’s Miami division. Dr. Holstein met with Ferradaz, Mary Cagle, DCF’s Director of Child Welfare Legal Services, and other DCF officials last week. In addition, Dr. Holstein met with embattled Cuban father Rafael Izquierdo. According to the Herald:
“A national fathers’ rights group has taken on the cause of a Cuban dad trying to gain custody of his daughter in South Florida, an effort that included sit-downs with key players in the case Wednesday.
“Dr. Ned Holstein, president of the Boston-based nonprofit Fathers & Families, flew to Miami to meet with Rafael Izquierdo, the father of the 5-year-old girl at the center of the dispute.
“Holstein also met staff members at the Department of Children & Families on Wednesday afternoon and unsuccessfully sought to have the department drop its efforts to keep the girl in the United States.
”’I don’t think there’s bad faith here,’ said Holstein, who said members and supporters of his group have sent more than 2,000 letters to Gov. Charlie Crist’s office and the DCF in recent weeks. ‘But I think we’re involved in a culture in which a father is considered irrelevant.’
“The group has embarked on a public relations campaign that includes frequent updates about the case on its website and the e-mail template to send to supporters, which calls the Izquierdo case ‘Elian Gonzalez II,’ a reference to the young Cuban rafter who was returned home to his father in 2000.
“Crist’s office has received more than 900 letters and 1,000 e-mails, according to a spokeswoman for the governor.
“The DCF extended an invitation to Holstein after receiving a large number of letters asking the department to meet with Fathers & Families.
”’We felt we had to be responsive to that. It was a good exchange of ideas,’ said DCF spokeswoman Erin Geraghty, noting that department officials refrained from talking about the specifics of the little girl’s case, which is in line with its policy. ‘It was more of a philosophical discussion.’
“Holstein said the state’s case would ‘set a dangerous legal precedent,’ making it difficult for fit parents, especially those unable to afford a prolonged legal fight, to gain custody of children placed in foster care.”
Read the full article here. Miami Herald reporter Tere Figueras Negrete did a good job with the piece.
