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Florida, Foster care inquiry sought: Andrea Moore said "It's clearFlorida children are not being protected in our child protection system,"
Foster care inquiry sought
Two lawmakers request House-Senate investigation after recent failures. By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer Published August 3, 2007 http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/03/St...nquiry_s.shtml Two state Democratic lawmakers asked for a legislative review of Florida's public-private child welfare system Thursday, on the heels of several high-profile debacles involving dead, raped and missing children under the state's care. Rep. Dan Gelber of Miami Beach wants to form a joint committee to "investigate neglect and abuse of children in Florida's foster care system." Sen. Nan Rich of Weston made a similar request in a letter to Senate President Ken Pruitt, seeking a review not only of abuses, but also of the entire system. "We're putting a lot of money into the system," Rich said. "We need to make sure the system works." Both lawmakers referred to the recent rape of an 8-year-old Miami foster girl and the 2-year-old former Pinellas County girl who disappeared for nine months. Another girl, 18-month-old Kenia Valencia of Bradenton, suffocated under a stove one month after being reunited with her mother. Gov. Charlie Crist and Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth both said they are amenable to an investigation by the House and Senate. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me," Crist said. "We need to do everything we can to do a better job of aiding children. "It's a challenging area obviously when trying to stand in the shoes of a family. It's hard for government to achieve that," he said. The requests come just as Butterworth's newly created task force on child protection holds its initial meeting today in Tampa. Butterworth, a Democrat appointed by Crist, assembled the 13-member group of judicial, social service and government officials after numerous errors were made in the much-delayed search for 2-year-old Courtney Clark. She was found safe in June, but it took a caseworker four months to report her missing to law enforcement. The group's goal is to scrutinize the missteps among several agencies involved in Courtney's case and to make recommendations for improvements. Butterworth said the legislative request sounds similar to what the committee will be doing. "The whole idea, I believe, is basically to look at whether or not our partners are doing what they should do and also whether we are doing what we should do in oversight, because we're ultimately responsible," Butterworth said Thursday. "We cannot contract away responsibility." Gelber directed his letter asking for an investigative committee to House Speaker Marco Rubio. A spokeswoman for Rubio said he was unavailable to comment Thursday. A spokeswoman for Pruitt said he had not yet seen Rich's letter. Lawmaker input is needed to help clarify the murky relationship between DCF and its subcontractors, the private agencies responsible for foster children in the state's 67 counties, said Andrea Moore, director of the advocacy group Florida's Children First. "It's clear Florida children are not being protected in our child protection system," she said. Times staff writers Adam Smith and Steve Bousquet contributed to this report. Melanie Ave can be reached at 727 893-8813 or 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 CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES, HAPPILY DESTROYING HUNDREDS 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... |
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