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. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
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... |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
FRANKFORT, Ky. Hardin County social workers face disciplinary action:The probe found that Hardin-based social workers lied in court, altered documentsand mocked parents as they removed children from families. | fx | Spanking | 0 | August 26th 07 04:14 AM |
FRANKFORT, Ky. Hardin County social workers face disciplinary action:The probe found that Hardin-based social workers lied in court, altered documentsand mocked parents as they removed children from families. | fx | Foster Parents | 0 | August 26th 07 04:14 AM |
What a waste | DB | Child Support | 4 | December 25th 06 07:20 PM |
Please! Not social workers, case workers CPS & employment | Fern5827 | Spanking | 0 | September 12th 04 03:33 PM |
Maternity clothes - waste of money? | ted | Pregnancy | 39 | February 23rd 04 04:19 PM |