DCF Workers Waste Money

DCF Workers Waste Money
Audit Finds Phone, Gasoline Abuses

By COLIN POITRAS | Courant Staff Writer
December 29, 2007

http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc...,6610060.story

Clients have long complained about being unable to reach Department of
Children and Families social workers on their work or cellphones. Some
don't have voice mail. Others never call back.

A recent state audit of the agency discovered that workers were using
their cellphones plenty — just not necessarily for work-related calls.

When auditors took a closer look at 275 instances in which workers'
cellphone use exceeded 1,000 minutes a month during the 2005-06 state
fiscal year, they found that 50 percent of the calls were made on days
when employees were not at work.

The same audit revealed that social workers were unnecessarily buying
premium gasoline for their state-owned vehicles and often using
commercial filling stations, even though a free state-run gas pump was
available to them.

The report from the state auditors of public accounts said the
department could save $87,000 annually if it monitored cellphone use
more closely. It could save another $34,000 if it stopped paying for 258
cellphones that the auditors said aren't being used. The agency would
save more than $16,500 if workers used the free state pumps, the report
said.

The money may not seem like much to a state agency whose annual
operating budget is expected to exceed $900 million this year. But if
the same reckless spending pattern is being replicated across dozens of
state agencies and departments, the loss of taxpayer funds would quickly
add up.

The audit's findings also come out just as Gov. M. Jodi Rell is calling
on all state agencies to curb spending in light of rising energy prices
and other increasing costs associated with state operations.

"The governor believes the auditors' findings are right. It is a waste
of taxpayer money if people are putting premium gasoline in state cars,"
said Christopher Cooper, a spokesman for the governor's office. "And
while the money may not look that big ... wasting even $1 of taxpayer
money is too much."

The audit also found that DCF continued to pay thousands of dollars to a
guardian caring for two foster children — even though the children had
been returned to their biological mother and had been living with her
for a year.

In a different area, the auditors said the agency could provide no proof
that $110,335 it spent on emergency services for 35 clients in the
Manchester-Hartford area resulted in those services' being delivered.

The auditors could not find any invoices for 25 of 68 payments made in
the local DCF offices they checked. Where there was documentation, the
auditors found that the agency inadvertently paid for the same service
twice on 21 occasions.

State Auditor Robert G. Jaekle said some of the findings were
particularly troublesome because DCF had been alerted to problems with
cellphone use, gasoline purchases and proper documentation in prior
audits. A lack of records makes it hard to tell whether the money is
being spent appropriately, the auditors' report said.

Jaekle said such lapses are usually caught by state agencies' internal
financial controls. Cellphones and gasoline purchases are easily
controllable expenses, he said. The fact that workers seemed to be
reckless with their state resources reflects an attitude that needs to
be addressed, Jaekle said.

"I get concerned when there are several small items that just seem to
defy common sense," Jaekle said. "It's basic good business practice and
a concern for spending state tax dollars."

Gary Kleeblatt, a DCF spokesman, said employees have been disciplined
for improper cellphone calls, and some have been forced to repay the state.

"We take that seriously," Kleeblatt said.

As for the gasoline, Kleeblatt said employees have been reminded in
writing and in person to use the state filling stations. "We've tried to
reinforce the need to be responsible," he said.

Contact Colin Poitras at .




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAMS....

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...