A Parenting & kids forum. ParentingBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » ParentingBanter.com forum » alt.support » Foster Parents
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Child-welfare agency disputes DCF criticisms



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 11th 05, 05:05 PM
wexwimpy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-welfare agency disputes DCF criticisms

Child-welfare agency disputes DCF criticisms

OCALA -- Kids Central, the area's chief child-welfare group, says it
can prove the state is using inaccurate information in its criticism
of the organization.

The state Department of Children & Families has said that under Kids
Central's watch the rate of children in the five-county district who
were re-abused while receiving child-welfare services rose to 13.5
percent during the first quarter of 2004-05 fiscal year -- the highest
in the state for that quarter.

The district is made up of Lake, Marion, Sumter, Hernando and Citrus
counties.

Kids Central officials said they recently completed a review of the
files of 206 Hernando County children identified as having been
re-abused and found that 157 of them, or 76 percent, did not have
findings of re-abuse.

"The review revealed, however, that there appears to have been data
entry errors by the department's child protective investigation staff
when entering the abuse incident date," reads a letter that Kids
Central Chief Executive Officer Janice Johnson sent to DCF district
administrator Don Thomas late Wednesday.

"If this trend holds true throughout the remainder of the counties,
then it is possible that the performance in this area has actually
improved since transition to Kids Central, and this agency may
actually be one of the top performers in the state," she wrote.

DCF had given Kids Central 48 hours to 45 days to make a variety of
performance improvements -- a request Kids Central leaders said was
unreasonable.

In a spreadsheet that accompanied the letter, Johnson said Kids
Central could comply with 26 of the requests by the deadlines set by
DCF.

She said 11 other deadlines, however, could not be met. Among those
are requirements to finalize 38 adoptions by Feb. 28 and to license a
total of 300 foster homes by March 18. Kids Central is reviewing other
recommended improvements.

Failure to meet the deadlines could result in Kids Central losing its
$84 million contract with the state.

Thomas has said he would look into Kids Central's concerns before
making any final decisions about its contract.

But he said Thursday that the state may consider making some changes,
including hiring a new provider to handle foster-care recruitment and
adoption.

If that happens, Thomas said, the cost could be deducted from Kids
Central's contract.

He said DCF would make an assessment after March 18.

Kids Central's board of directors is scheduled to meet in a conference
call today.

Windy Hill Middle principal dies

CLERMONT -- Hal Cuddy, the principal of Windy Hill Middle School, has
died after a lengthy illness.

The Winter Garden resident joined the Lake County school district more
than 20 years ago.

Cuddy, 58, first taught physical education before becoming the head
football coach at Mount Dora High, where he worked for a decade.

He later served as dean at Tavares High and Groveland Middle schools
before joining Clermont Middle School, where he was promoted to
assistant principal.

Cuddy led Windy Hill Middle as junior administrator the day the
Clermont school opened, then became its principal in 2001.

He died Tuesday night.

Students were informed Wednesday, with letters sent home to parents
that afternoon.

Man dies when car leaves road, flips

OCALA NATIONAL FOREST -- A 35-year-old Umatilla man died late
Wednesday in the Ocala National Forest when he lost control of his car
and it rolled off the highway.

Patrick Benedict was southbound on County Road 455 about three miles
north of the Alexander Springs Recreation Area, just south of Astor.
He lost control of his 1997 Mercury Sable on a curve, the Florida
Highway Patrol said. The car rolled off the east side of the road and
flipped 21/2 times, the FHP said. Benedict, who was not wearing a seat
belt, died at the scene of the 9:10 p. m. accident, the FHP said.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...ck=3&cset=true
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
<----------- KANE nineballgirl Spanking 2 September 30th 04 07:26 PM
| | Kids should work... Kane General 13 December 10th 03 03:30 AM
| Ex Giants player sentenced-DYFS wrkr no harm noticed Kane Spanking 11 September 16th 03 11:59 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 06:30 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 ParentingBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.