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Florida fought to keep girl in U.S.
The state went the extra mile in a custody battle over the Cuban girl, documents show.
Associated Press
Published December 21, 2007
MIAMI - Top Florida officials say they treated the politically charged custody fight over a Cuban girl like any other case, but documents obtained by the Associated Press show they took extraordinary steps to stop the youngster's father from taking her back to the communist island.
E-mails obtained from the state through an open-records request and other documents show that the Department of Children & Families spent more than $250,000 and accepted many hours of free legal assistance in its unsuccessful effort to have a wealthy Cuban-American couple, former sports agent Joe Cubas and his wife, become the permanent guardians for Rafael Izquierdo's 5-year-old daughter.
Republican Gov. Jeb Bush and aides to his successor, Charlie Crist, were kept apprised of developments, documents show.
The state also tried unsuccessfully to keep the case secret, according to the documents.
The state's stance runs counter to policies that say families should be kept intact whenever possible, no matter where they live.
The saga began in 2005 after the girl's mother won a visa to leave Cuba and bring her daughter and her son by another man to the United States.
The girl's mother attempted suicide days before Christmas of that year and her childrenwere placed with the Cubases.
The boy's father eventually let the Cubases adopt his son, but the girl's fatherdemanded that his daughter be returned to Cuba.
The state spent the equivalent of eight DCF child caseworker salaries to fight the case and received hundreds more pro bono hours from private attorneys.
[Last modified December 21, 2007, 00:13:27]
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