The Florida Dept. of Children and Families is coming under scrutiny after critics say the agency has repeatedly downplayed calls to its hotline for help and failed to improve the hotline’s procedures. Two recent high-profile deaths in our area, those of 11-year-old Janiya Thomas and infant Chance Walsh, have only fanned the flames of criticism. The Miami Herald reports that between 2008 and 2014, at least 477 Florida children died whose parents had prior contact with child welfare services. Eighteen of those deaths were in Sarasota County.