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Features
Family Would Keep Child Left At Their Home By Mistake
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Monday when a little girl was left at the wrong home, something occurred more powerful than the mis- take that landed her there. In the few hours she was there, she made a lasting impres- sion on the family that lives in the home.
The family said they would keep her if they could. Ms. RaSheeda Yates re- counted the incident in a telephone interview with the Sentinel.
A 4-year-old girl in state custody was mistakenly left at her home. It was about 7:45 p.m.
“When the man dropped her off, my 14-year-old daughter went to the door. He asked her if she needed to sign anything and my daugh- ter told him that she didn’t know her. He walked off when she ran into the house.”
The little girl was hungry and they fed and cared for her while trying to determine where she belonged.
According to state offi- cials, the former employee had entered a numerical ad- dress on E. North Bay Street as the destination for the lit- tle girl. Ms. Yates’ address is the same numerically, but on E. North Street. The two streets are both in East Tampa, but are about 2 miles apart.
The man, who has since been terminated, was an em- ployee of Camelot Commu- nity Care, one of the agencies subcontracted by Eckerd Kids, Inc., the agency hired by the Department of Chil- dren & Families to operate child welfare in Hillsborough County.
After he left and Ms. Yates discovered the child had been left by mistake, she contacted the Tampa Police Department. When police ar- rived, they began trying to find out where the child lived.
Ms. Yates then took to social media and posted a photograph of the little girl on Facebook. As fate would have it, the child’s biological mother saw the post and re- sponded to the post. Ms. Yates connected her with police and it was determined that the little girl was a ward of the state and living with a foster family.
Ms. Yates said that oc- curred around 9 p.m. But
after being notified, the woman whose custody the child had been placed arrived shortly before midnight to pick up the little girl and in her night clothes.
Ms. Yates said when the foster parent arrived, the lit- tle girl “started screaming ‘I don’t want to go.’ I talked to her and told her she couldn’t stay here and she started screaming, ‘I want my mommy.’
“I told her she would see her mommy when she wakes up and that’s what made her go back. I promised her that she would see me again. My oldest daughter asked if we could keep her and I wouldn’t mind,” Ms. Yates said.
The 37-year-old is the mother of a 19-year-old son, and her older daughter is 17. She also has a set of 14-year- old twins, a girl and a boy.
A spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department said the foster mother had not filed a missing person’s report. The department is not conducting an investiga- tion, but notified the Depart- ment of Children Services as well as Eckerd Kids, Inc., for further investigations.
Ms. Adrienne Drew,
spokesperson for Eckerd Kids, Inc., said, “We are deeply concerned about Monday’s incident, where a 4-year-old foster child was left at the wrong address.
“Camelot Community Care is a subcontractor of Eckerd Kids and we expect them to meet our high expec- tations, when it comes to protecting our children.
“At our urging, Camelot Community Care has insti- tuted new procedures to en- sure this will never happen again. This is unacceptable behavior and is contrary to our mission, which is to pro- tect our children and our families.”
MS. RESHEEDA YATES
First African American State Attorney Sworn Into Office
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On January 6th, Florida Supreme Court Judge Peggy Quince administered the Oath of Office to State Attorney Aramis Ayala. The ceremony marked the first time an African American has been elected to hold this position in the State of Florida.
Attorney Ayala was elected to serve as the State Attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit, which includes Orlando.
A former assistant prosecutor for the 9th Ju- dicial Circuit and former assistant public de- fender, Attorney Ayala replaced her former employer Attorney Jeff Ashton.
A native of Saginaw, Michigan, Attorney Ayala earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. She continued her education at the University of Detroit, Mercy School of Law, where she earned her law degree in 2001.
She obtained her experience in Polk County after battling an aggressive form of cancer that interrupted her education. Once she was able to continue pursuing her goal, she passed the Florida Bar Examination on her first attempt.
After leaving Polk County working as both an assistant prosecutor and assistant public de- fender, Attorney Ayala moved to Orange County and served in the same capacity in that county.
During her tenure as a public defender, At- torney Ayala defended people accused of committing Capital Life Felonies for more than 8 years, and served as the Lead Felony Attorney
and County Court Supervisor. Attorney Ayala has also served as a pro-
fessor at the FAMU School of Law. During her campaign for office, Attorney
Ayala was quoted as saying, “There’s a differ- ence between running for office and running to change and to fix. We don’t have anyone who has a passion for the people in this community. We cannot turn community safety into a TV re- ality show.”
She was also quoted as saying, “All the re- search has proven that the best way to reduce crime is to be involved in community organiza- tions like churches, Big Brother, Big Sister, the public school system because then you are let- ting people know that you care about them, that you care about their safety, and bout their rela- tionship with law enforcement.”
Attorney Ayala, 41, is married and the mother of two daughters.
State Attorney Aramis Ayala, center, is shown with Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince, who administered the Oath Of Office, left, and former State Senator Arthenia Joyner.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2017 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3