Changes to Florida DCF Announced UPDATED
DCF Secretary David Wilkins does an about-face from his previous defense of his department (See update 9) .
“”This tragedy was more than just mistakes and poor job execution by selected employees and subcontractors. It was a total systematic failure of the child welfare system,” Wilkins said, “created by a fragmented business model with antiquated processes, procedures and technologies and conflicting rules and incentives.””
Amidst the critics who are calling for criminal prosecutions of DCF employees involved in the Barahona case, the following fixes have been announced:
- A supervisor will monitor hotline calls in real time to ensure that proper emergency reponse occurs.
- 80 child protection workers will be hired to lighten the caseload (17 to 14 in Southern region)
- New hires will be tested in their critical thinking skills.
- “DCF will replace the technology used at the hotline in less than a year.”
- “The new model for investigations will include more collaboration by law enforcement officers.”
- The Barahona homestudy agency, Our Kids, is instructed to “create a corrective action plan to eliminate a number of issues that occurred when these children were under their care, as well as addressing the six immediate items defined in the report.
Rally question: What about the (lack of) critical thinking skills of current DCF workers? (crickets chirping)
Punishment: “The agency fired Andrea Fleary, the child protection investigator who visited the Barahona home the day before Nubia was allegedly beaten to death by her adoptive father as her twin listened. Two other employees were fired and three reprimanded.”
Monitoring: State Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston “expected the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, on which she sits, to monitor the reforms closely.
“The problem is, we make changes – even statutory changes – and they’re ignored,” she said. “There are failures here to follow current law…No one was listening to the child – or to what was placed in statute by the Legislature.”
DCF Head Announces Complete Overhaul
[NBC Miami 3/14/11 by Todd Wright]
Fatal Ineptitude Causes State Child Welfare Shakeup, Firings
[Florida Courier/The News Service of Florida 3/14/11 by Margie Menzel]
Update on Punishment of Andrea “It’s All About Me “Fleary: She is appealing the decision to fire her.
“According to DCF officials, Fleary was given a “notice of intent to dismiss” on March 3, and Fleary had 10 days to respond.” (Rally note: perhaps they forgot that she doesn’t work on weekends?)
Rally says, “You should be thankful that you are not in jail!”
DCF Investigator in Barahona Case to Appeal Her Firing
[The Palm Beach Post 3/16/11 by Ana M. Valdes]
Update 2: Some sanity remains in Florida. The state upholds the firing of DCF caseworker Andrea Fleary, whose infamous excuse, captured on video at one of the first hearings, for not following up on Nubia’s whereabouts after the last DCF hotline call was that she doesn’t work on weekends.
She was fired in March 2011 for “”poor performance and negligence” in her handling of abuse allegations at the home of Nubia Barahona.”
Still she snottily feels that she made no mistakes. “Fleary, a 22-year veteran of the state Department of Children and Families, said during an April interview that her dismissal was inappropriate because she made no mistakes in her investigation, even though the 10-year-old girl’s body was found in the back of her adoptive father’s truck in West Palm Beach four days after Fleary visited her home.
In the June 7 final order, the Public Employees Relations Commission said DCF “had cause to discipline Fleary.”
Fleary has 30 days to appeal the commission’s decision to the District Court of Appeals. Fleary’s lawyer, Matthew Ladd, said Friday that he was not surprised by the commission’s ruling. He said they would consider their options before deciding whether to appeal.
DCF Secretary David Wilkins said he agreed with the commission.”
“The panel said Fleary filled out a report stating the Barahona home was safe for the twins without even contacting the children. A Miami-Dade family court judge also was critical of Fleary when she said she did not follow-up with the Barahonas the day after the first abuse call came in because she was not allowed to work weekends.”
State upholds firing of child-abuse investigator in Barahona case
[Palm Beach Post 6/17/11 by Ana M. Valdes]
Update 3: “Andrea Fleary’s appeal of her termination from the DCF has been officially rejected. ”
Ex-DCF Barahona case worker won’t be re-hired
[WSVN 6/20/11]
Update 4: “Department of Children and Families is preparing to ask lawmakers next year to bolster child-protective investigations.”
“A DCF budget proposal submitted this week seeks tens of millions of dollars to add and retain child-protective investigators, improve technology and better coordinate efforts with local law enforcement.
Following 10-Year-Old Nubia Barahona’s Murder, DCF Seeks More State Support
[Flagler Live 9/16/11]
They are still operating under the wrong assumption that these low-paid child investigators are the correct authority to do serious investigations. Law Enforcement are the ones that are trained for this. The foster care model as a whole needs to be completely tossed out the window and start from scratch.
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update 3: Head of CPS David Wilkins resigns on July 18, 2013
“David Wilkins, Florida’s top child welfare and social service administrator, resigned Thursday amid an escalating scandal over the recent deaths of four small children who had a history of involvement with child abuse investigators.
In his statement, Scott said the agency’s top Miami administrator, Esther Jacobo, would serve as interim secretary. “David did a great job in leading the state’s top child protection agency and his service is deeply appreciated,” Scott said.
“I have no doubt that Esther will increase accountability in the Department and enhance child protective services in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
Jacobo began serving at DCF as statewide deputy director of DCF’s Children’s Legal Services in, and was responsible for litigation and other legal work statewide before taking over as top administrator in Miami Dade and Monroe counties. She is also a former prosecutor, having risen to division chief of domestic crimes at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office.
Wilkins, who had worked as a technology consultant before accepting the top job at DCF, also had faced withering dissension from the leaders of 20 private agencies that provide foster care and adoption services throughout the state under contract with DCF.
Until Wednesday, when he announced a reversal in his demands, Wilkins had been insisting that the community-based care agencies, or CBCs, grand him the authority to reject all high-level executives — a demand the private groups had balked at.
Wilkins’ resignation comes at a sensitive time for the long-embattled agency: DCF is mid-stream in a controversial effort to overhaul the state’s system for investigating child abuse, assessing the risk to troubled families and providing services to mitigate such risks. Wilkins has called the project a child welfare “transformation,” and some of policies have drawn harsh criticism from experts and advocates.
Here’s the release from the governor’s office:
Governor Rick Scott announced the appointment of Esther Jacobo as interim Secretary of the Department of Children and Families. Esther Jacobo replaces David Wilkins who resigned to pursue opportunities in the private sector and to provide more attention to his foundation.
Governor Scott said, “David did a great job in leading the state’s top child protection agency and his service is deeply appreciated. I have no doubt that Esther will increase accountability in the Department and enhance child protective services in order to protect the most vulnerable among us.”
Esther Jacobo, of Miami, most recently served as the Regional Managing Director for the Southern Region of the Florida Department of Children and Families, which is comprised of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. Under the position, Jacobo supervised the delivery of an array of Child Welfare services to children and young adults, including foster care, adoptions, support services, prevention initiatives, child protective investigations, and young adults on the road to independence. Jacobo also oversaw the Department’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program, which is dedicated to the development of a comprehensive system of prevention, emergency/detoxification, and treatment services. Other services within the Department’s portfolio include funding of programs for refugees and the homeless.
In February of 2008, Jacobo began serving at DCF as Statewide Deputy Director of Children’s Legal Services (CLS) where she was responsible for statewide litigation practices of CLS in Miami Dade and across the state.
In January 2001, she served as the Division Chief of the Domestic Crimes Unit at the State Attorney’s office. There, Jacobo supervised all domestic violence prosecutions in Miami-Dade County, participated in community-based initiatives to assist victims of domestic violence and developed protocol to be used in both the felony and misdemeanor courts with regard to these cases. During that time, she also prosecuted several domestic violence homicides.
Jacobo received her Law Degree from St. Thomas University in Miami in 1992. That same year she was appointed as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County by Janet Reno and remained in that office until April 2007.”
Wilkins resigns as secretary of DCF, Scott names replacement from Miami
[Miami Herald Blog 7/18/13 by Mary Ellen Klas]
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