MIAMI - An appeals court ruled that a Miami judge had no authority to force the state's child welfare agency to help a girl after her 18th birthday.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday ruled against Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Cindy Lederman in her bid to extend her authority over foster children after they turn 18. By law, foster kids "age out" of state care upon their 18th birthday.
Lederman, who heads the county's juvenile court, held Florida's Department of Children and Families in contempt of court in March for its failure to draft a plan to prepare the young woman - known in court as C.K. - for adulthood.
"With a great deal of concern for the future of C.K., we nonetheless must follow the law and direct the trial court to cease its efforts to exercise jurisdiction of the child," a three-judge panel of the appeals court said in an opinion written by Judge John G. Fletcher.
Lederman said the ruling will leave hundreds of Florida children without a safety net when a new state law goes into effect Tuesday. The Road to Independence Act withdraws money and services to foster children who are 18 and not earning a passing grade in school.
"This is a tragedy," Lederman said. "It would be difficult for a healthy ... child from a loving environment to be thrown out on the street at 18. Imagine what it will be like for these children."
Lederman twice ordered the department to develop a plan for moving C.K. out of foster care and into an independent living arrangement, records show. On March 12, just before C.K.'s 18th birthday, Lederman held the department in contempt, saying it had failed to make provisions for C.K.'s transition into adulthood.
