Florida
How old do Florida kids have to be to stay home alone on spring break?
Several Florida students are celebrating spring break this week, and parents and guardians may be looking for ways to keep their kids busy until school returns next week.
Bouncing around from daycare to summer camps to relatives’ houses can easily add up. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of full-time child care in Florida ranges from $9,548 to $13,021, depending on the children’s ages.
With these expenses, some families might wonder whether their children are ready to stay home alone. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you make the decision.
At what age can kids stay home alone in Florida? What’s the youngest legal age?
Florida doesn’t have clear laws specifying an exact age at which children can legally stay home alone. It’s up to parents to decide when their children are old enough.
The state agency overseeing children’s welfare recommends that they not be left home alone before age 12.
The state does have more specific laws surrounding child abandonment and neglect. According to Florida State Statutes, it is a felony of the third degree to deprive a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical treatment.
Can a 12-year-old babysit siblings in Florida?
According to the Florida Department of Children and Families, the National SAFE KIDS Campaign recommends that children not be left alone before the age of 12. It also notes that older siblings should not supervise younger children until they are 15.
See tips for parents and caregivers letting kids stay home alone
Once you have determined that your child is ready to stay home alone, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families shared tips to help caregivers prepare children for being home alone:
- Have a trial period and start small. When your child is ready, leave them home alone for a short time while staying nearby. This is a good way to see how they will manage.
- Talk about it beforehand. Encourage your child to share their feelings about staying home alone with you, and address any thoughts or concerns they may have before leaving.
- Teach them about safety. Before leaving your child home alone, make sure they are mature enough to handle the responsibility and understand the safety rules. Develop a family emergency plan to help them handle situations such as a fire, a power outage, or a stranger approaching the house. Practice basic first aid and teach them what to do if they need to contact emergency services, perhaps through role-play.
- Establish family rules and set boundaries. Set clear guidelines about what your child can and cannot do while home alone. Establish rules for screen time, internet use, and the use of kitchen appliances and other potentially dangerous items.
- Don’t overdo it. Avoid leaving your child home alone overnight or for extended periods. Consider other options or resources, such as family or friends, or programs offered by your child’s school, community centers, youth organizations, or faith-based groups, to help with supervising your child.
- Follow up. After your child is left home alone (including during any trial period), talk about the experience with them. How did they feel about it? Were they nervous? Did anything unexpected come up? If they were watching another child, ask how they felt about doing so.
When is spring break for Florida students? See list by county
Spring break dates vary by county and range from early in March to mid-April. Here’s the list by county, with those in bold currently having its spreak break:
Special note: School calendars often change. Here’s a state list of homepages for each Florida school district.
Contributing: Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK Florida
Samantha Neely is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida, covering pop culture, theme parks, breaking news and more. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://floridatoday.com/newsletters.
Florida
Sheriff’s Office investigating fatal shooting of child in Florida City
A 5-year-old girl died after being shot in a home in Florida City early July 10, multiple local news reported. The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.
Officers with the Florida City Police Department responded to a home in the 1400 block of Northwest 1st Court at around 1:55 a.m., Angel Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, told CBS News. They found the young girl had a gunshot wound to her torso.
Under what circumstances was the girl fatally injured in Florida City?
Several people were inside the building at the time of the shooting, according to Local 10.
“We know that at the time of the shooting, there were three adults and two children, the victim who’s 5 years old, and her 4-year-old brother,” Rodriguez told Local 10. “Detectives are going to be here for quite some time, taking part of this investigation. They’re going to make sure that no stone is left unturned, and right now we’re just asking for prayers for the community.”
A police officer with Florida City transported the child and her mother to Homestead Hospital, from where she was airlifted to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, CBS News reported. She died despite efforts to save her life.
The Homicide Bureau of the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office is now leading the investigation.
Where is Florida City?
Florida City is located in southern Miami-Dade County, east of Everglades National Park and south of Homestead.
Sarah Perkel is a South Florida Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY.
Florida
Florida Gov. DeSantis, cabinet green light $90M for immigration enforcement
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet on Tuesday approved $90 million in grants for local law enforcement agencies for items related to enforcement of illegal immigration.
The $90 million is for new and amended grants to 56 county and city police departments for radios, body cameras, riot gear, ballistic helmets, X-ray machines, inmate restraint chairs and other items.
DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who comprise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, unanimously approved the funding.
Out of the $90 million in grants, $30.3 million is for new awards and $57 million are additional funds for law enforcement agencies that had already asked for assistance.
In the latest batch of requests, Orange County and Polk County sheriff offices asked for the most money. The bulk of Orange County’s $10 million proposal is for equipment, with $9 million of those funds going to 910 portable radios.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office asked for $10 million, with $8.7 million being spent on encrypted radio device systems and servers. The current radios the sheriff’s office uses cannot communicate with ICE agents because they lack encryption capabilities, the request says.
“With the proposed upgrades, communication with ICE will be enabled, ultimately reducing the risk of our officers and ICE agents, and strengthening the overall security of our sensitive communications,” the request states.
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office south about $9 million, which includes more than $2.5 million for a rapid DNA testing system and 2,000 DNA processing swabs.
“With DNA results available quickly, we can reduce detention and processing times, resolve immigration status faster, and reallocate resources to more critical enforcement and investigative tasks,” Walton County’s request says.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office requested more than $8 million, with about $5 million to be used for communication equipment, including radios. Notably, the county is asking for $600,000 for two Skywatch mobile towers to “enhance situation awareness and support immigration enforcement operations.”
The state has approved $147 million in immigration enforcement grants and disbursed almost $5 million to 25 local law enforcement agencies, according to Transparency Florida, a state website that tracks government spending.
Lawmakers in 2025 set aside $250 million to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration enforcement, including overtime for officers who participate in operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The board also extended an emergency rule allowing funds to reimburse agencies with an agreement with ICE for vehicle purchases.
Local law enforcement agencies are allowed to buy one multi-passenger van to transport immigrants between county, state and federal detention facilities.
Florida
Hulk Hogan died of natural causes, Florida police report says in closing investigation
MIAMI (AP) — Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan died of natural causes last year, according to a report by Florida police that formally closes the investigation into his death.
The Clearwater Police Department released a 72-page report on Friday summarizing an exhaustive review of statements, medical records, surveillance footage and a visual inspection of the body. Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, died last July 24 at age 71.
“There has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural,” the report said. “Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death. This case will be closed, and will be considered solved, non-criminal.”
According to the report, Hogan’s wife, as well as a home health aide and an occupational therapist, were all with Hogan at his home when he stopped breathing. His wife, Sky Daily Hogan, called 911, and then the trio performed CPR on Hulk Hogan until firefighters and paramedics arrived.
Family members told investigators that Hogan had been suffering from multiple heath issues in the weeks before his death, including leukemia, an irregular hearth rhythm, pneumonia and kidney failure. He had also undergone many hospitalizations and surgeries in the years before his death.
Early statements made by the occupational therapist to police led to speculation that Hogan’s death was related to damage done to his phrenic nerve during a recent surgery. But the occupational therapist later said that he was still rattled from performing CPR and was speaking out of turn.
The local medical examiner had concluded Hogan died from a heart attack and declined to perform a full autopsy. A private autopsy paid for by the family backed up the initial assessment, finding “no reasonable traumatic or terminal toxicologic contributions.”
READ MORE: After Hulk Hogan’s sudden death, here are a cardiologist’s tips for avoiding chronic disease
Hogan was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history, known for both his larger-than-life personality and his wrestling exploits. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.
Hogan won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and reinstated there in 2018. He had been removed from the Hall of Fame in 2015 after he was recorded making racial slurs against Black people, for which he apologized.
A well-attended but private funeral service was held several weeks after Hogan’s death at a church in Largo, Florida.
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