ORLANDO, Fla. – Victims of the Dozier School for Boys and the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee will soon be able to apply for compensation starting Monday.
The program was established in July after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 21 into law earlier this year. The legislation appropriated $20 million from the state’s general revenue fund to compensate living persons who attended the Dozier or Okeechobee reform schools between 1940 and 1975.
The legislation also allows the Commissioner of Education authority to award survivors standard high school diplomas.
Here are the questions to see if you’re qualified:
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Were you confined at the Dozier School for Boys and/or the Florida School for Boys at Okeechobee, between 1940 through 1975?
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Can you provide proof of confinement during that timeframe?
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While confined, were you the victim of abuse perpetuated by school personnel and can attest to the circumstances of your victimization in the presence of a notary?
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Can you provide the application and all supporting documentation which must be received by the Florida Attorney General’s Bureau of Victim Compensation no later than December 31, 2024?
The form will be available on Monday to fill out to request compensation. Click here to visit the website.
The Dozier School in Marianna, Florida, was a state-operated reform school began in 1900 and designed to help troubled youth who had been convicted of crimes. However, allegations of abuse at the school sprung up as early as 1903, state officials report.
[RELATED: ‘Never again:’ This horrific Florida school left dozens of boys in graves]
Some of these cases involved the following accusations:
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Children being chained to walls
After an excavation on the Dozier School property, human remains were uncovered in 55 unmarked graves, some with gunshot wounds or signs of blunt force trauma. Click here to read more.
News 6′s Treasure Roberts spoke to Paul Elgin when DeSantis signed the legislation for compensation. He said despite the legislative victory and the grim discoveries of human remains at the Dozier School site, Elgin believes the compensation can never fully rectify the past.
“That could never be enough for what we’ve been through and what the families have been through,” he said.
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