Multiple speakers tell Escambia commissioners they believe child-welfare system harmed families, urge oversight of Families First Network

Several local parents and civil‑rights advocates used the board’s Oct. 16 public forum to accuse the child‑welfare system and contract caseworkers of removing children without due process and to ask the Escambia County Board of County Commissioners to increase oversight.

Speakers said the county funds and oversees Families First Network, a contracted provider of child‑protective services, and urged commissioners to demand audits, investigations and public transparency. “You can insist on transparency so this corruption no longer exists,” Samantha Mosley told the board, adding that she built a social‑media community of parents with similar stories.

Why it matters: Commissioners control oversight and some funding for locally contracted providers even if they do not direct court or judicial actions. Several speakers asked the board to use that oversight authority to seek audits and public statements and to notify federal investigators when they believe crimes have…