DCF investigation critical of Fort Myers operation

DCF investigation critical of Fort Myers operation

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2007/...?breaking_news

One resigns, one relocated in wake of report

By Elizabeth Wright contact

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

About 40 percent of the people who investigate child abuse allegations
in Southwest Florida have less than a year’s experience on the job.

Throughout a five-county area, but particularly in Lee County, turnover
is high, and child protective investigators aren’t well trained. They’re
good at getting started on cases quickly, but not on following through.
Some have made mistakes in investigations that ended in tragedy, and
morale is low.

In a new state review, this is the description of how things run at the
Department of Children and Families office in Fort Myers — an office
that oversees services for children and adults throughout Lee, Collier,
Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties.

With the release of that review Tuesday — a document which repeatedly
faults management for failing to solve many of these problems — two top
department officials here have left their jobs.

Robert McHarry, who was the circuit administrator, will now negotiate
contracts for DCF out of Tampa. Harry Propper, who was the
second-in-command, has resigned.

McHarry had led the Fort Myers office since June 2006 after working for
DCF for more than 30 years. Propper was previously the CEO of the
company that provided services for children in foster care, and he had
held the job of managing day-to-day operations out of Fort Myers for
just over a year.

Right now, Nick Cox, a DCF regional director in Tampa, is running those
operations locally. That’s a temporary arrangement, though.

Wednesday, Cox plans to announce a new manager for the area known as
Circuit 20. The new circuit administrator will continue to be based in
downtown Fort Myers.

This is not the first time the DCF organizational chart has been
shuffled. What’s now known as Circuit 20 used to be called District 8.
With such changes, there have been accompanying shifts in management,
yet problems apparently persisted.

Cox believes this shakeup, though, will be different.

“We’re talking about a huge culture change here,� he said. “This report
isn’t the end of it.�

Along with new management and new training, what he believes the
department needs most is “a sense of urgency.�

That has been something the Fort Myers office lacked, according to the
review that was prepared at the request of both Cox and the state’s top
DCF official, Bob Butterworth.

Cox said when it comes to child protective services in this circuit, the
Fort Myers office significantly lags — whether it’s in the ability of
employers to get case information into a database in a timely manner, or
in having supervisors review cases frequently enough.

“We need to be willing to change, and change is needed,� he said.

For the future, one of the biggest problems facing the office will be
overcoming the public perception that the agency hasn’t always done its
job well.

“Absolutely I think some of it is earned,� Cox said of that image. The
report attributes much of that perception to “inadequate or poor case
work in some high-profile cases which have received extensive media
coverage.�

Earlier this year, for instance, Zahid Jones, a 3-year-old boy being
monitored by DCF, died from a beating. Investigators failed to
substantiate what case files show were repeated warnings of abuse.

The management review did not focus on any particular cases, but some
that are still open were examined in the report. The conclusion was that
“documentation was inadequate and untimely in many cases, not all
necessary information was available to staff cases with services,
timeframes for staffing cases were not being met, and critical thinking
and risk assessment skills needed improvement.�

To change things, Cox said, investigators from other areas of the state
are helping the Fort Myers office clear out its backload of cases. Along
with new management, staff will be receiving more specialized training.

The management review report describes how the department provided a
training session on forensic interviewing as recently as last year, “but
due to excessive turnover, many of the current investigators have not
had the benefit of this advanced training.�

Of the turnover among child protective investigators, Cox described the
statistics as “unbelievable� and “eye-opening.� Fewer than 70 percent of
those investigators have more than two years of experience.

In discussing the shortcoming with child protective services, Cox also
pointed to departments within the circuit that have been doing
relatively well, singling out DCF’s adult services and programs that
provide food stamps and Medicaid benefits.

Other issues the report points to are that there are budget deficits
expected this year in the departments that handle child welfare legal
services and child investigations. Combined with high costs the
department is paying for office space, there hasn’t been enough money to
fill certain positions.

Cox said all areas of the state have some problems hanging onto staff in
the more difficult jobs — but he acknowledged that the problem is not as
widespread elsewhere in the state.

Fixing that here may take some time, he said.





CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NSA / CIA
WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.


CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT
FAMILIES YEARLY NATIONWIDE AND COMING TO YOU'RE HOME SOON...


BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...