PLANTATION, Fla. — A 14-year-old girl who broadcast her suicide on Facebook never got the help she needed from Florida’s foster care system, an attorney said Wednesday, even though she exhibited dangerous, self-destructive behavior.
Nakia Venant had been in and out of foster care for more than seven years, and since April, had bounced between 10 homes and shelters, said Howard Talenfeld, who is Nakia’s mother’s attorney. Nakia was sexually abused by another foster child when she was 7, he said.
Nakia killed herself early Sunday, several hours after she wrote on Facebook: “I Don’t Wanna Live No More,” adding three sad-faced emojis. She is at least the third person nationally to livestream their suicide in the last month.
“Nakia told the world, in the way she left this world, about the terrible failures in (Florida’s) foster care system,” Talenfeld said.
The Florida Department of Children and Families said Wednesday that it legally cannot discuss the specifics of Nakia’s history with the agency. Secretary Mike Carroll said in a statement that an investigation into her death is underway and will include experts on teen suicide and the influence of social media.
“This is an extraordinarily complex case that deserves our careful examination,” Carroll said. “Our review will survey all of her interactions with the child welfare system and the multifaceted circumstances surrounding this tragedy.”
Florida’s system of hiring private contractors to oversee foster care in much of the state has led to several suicides, accidental deaths and murders, Talenfeld said. “Tragically, we are here talking about another child among this horrific list, this horrific history of foster care privatization in Florida.”
Her mother, Gina Alexis, cried onto the shoulder of Talenfeld’s law partner.
“I asked the foster care people to take care of my baby and instead she killed herself on Facebook,” Alexis cried before she was helped out of the room.
Nakia had been originally placed in foster care because of allegations of excessive corporal punishment by her mom. The attorney said she had been in and out since then because of behavioral problems caused by the sexual abuse.
Facebook issued a statement Wednesday saying it has tools on its site where people can report suicide threats or get help if they are having suicidal thoughts.
“We take our responsibility to keep people safe on Facebook very seriously and work with organizations around the world to provide assistance for people in distress,” the company said.
