Proposed DCF changes could divert millions from South Florida or send kids here for care

Miami-Dade and Monroe counties could lose about $11.5 million in funding for their child welfare system in the next few years, under changes that are being weighed by the state Department of Children and Families.

But a potential plan to keep the existing funding in place could involve sending some of the state’s most troubled children from other regions to a facility in South Florida for more involved care, DCF Secretary Chad Poppell said, without additional funds to support them.

Those children could include some in the child welfare system...