The leader of Florida's child protection agency called a foster care teen's headline-grabbing live streamed suicide last month "a tragedy on many levels," in remarks to lawmakers Thursday.

  • DCF secretary spoke at FL House subcommittee hearing
  • Mike Carroll was specifically asked about foster teen's suicide

Department of Children and Families Secretary Mike Carroll made the comments in testimony before the House Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee.

The panel is charged with DCF oversight and could play an instrumental role in mandating further reforms in the wake of Naika Venant's suicide by hanging, which the 14-year-old Miami Gardens girl broadcast live on Facebook.

"It is truly sad when a 14-year-old feels as if they'd be better off dead than alive, under any circumstances," Carroll said. "It's even sadder that she was involved in our system, and we worked with her periodically over a number of years, and we didn't get the outcome that we wanted."

Venant's mother, Gina Alexis, is now accusing the department of failing to provide her daughter with care that could have helped prevent her suicide.

"I am sick and devastated," Alexis told reporters last month. "I have trusted Florida foster care people to care for my baby. Instead, she kills herself on Facebook."

Alexis' attorney, Howard Talenfeld, argued that his client's daughter had exhibited behavior that should have raised red flags within DCF.

"Caseworkers knew Naika had serious mental health problems," Talenfeld said.

But, Carroll told the committee, claims that Naika hadn't received mental health treatment are "not necessarily true." She had been subjected to a battery of tests that resulted in treatment recommendations, though Carroll said he couldn't discuss the specifics because of a court order.

For nearly two years, Carroll has been spearheading an aggressive effort to reform his agency's child protective practices and has pledged to recruit and retain highly-qualified caseworkers. All the while, however, incidents of horrific child deaths have continued to mount.

For now, most lawmakers still appear willing to give Carroll the benefit of the doubt.

"The odds are stacked against them," Rep. Thad Altman (R-Indialantic) said of DCF's leadership. "I know that we need to do more. I hope that we can continue to do more, but I think the folks out there on the front line are doing the best they can do given the situation that they're thrown into."