We recently shared with you the story of Joy, a Florida mom whose 7-year-old daughter, Kenlee, was stolen by the State of Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). DCF has now moved to terminate Joy’s parental rights, simply because Joy did not immediately assent to the use of a drug with serious potential side effects and an FDA black-box warning to treat Kenlee’s cystic fibrosis. The black box warning lists a host of side effects, including death from liver toxicity (190 deaths and over 10,000 adverse events have been reported to the FDA).
The doctor who prescribed this medication reported Joy to DCF, who took custody of Kenlee and placed her in three different hospitals before being released to a foster home. Kenlee was gaining weight, running, and playing without the assistance of oxygen, but state officials still saw fit to take her away from the loving care of her mother, opting instead to place her in the care of strangers. And although Joy’s alleged refusal of the medication was supposedly the reason Kenlee was stolen from her, the state did not even begin administering the medication to Kenlee until about 3.5 months after she was placed in foster care.
In a family court hearing scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. ET, the State of Florida will be moving to terminate Joy’s parental rights. We have secured legal counsel for Joy and provided funding for her initial retainer, but we need your help to bring Kenlee home. As of this writing, we have raised less than $2,000 of our $25,000 goal for Joy’s legal expenses. Please consider making a gift today to rescue Kenlee from state custody, and bring her back home to her mother, where she belongs!
