Wex Wimpy
September 2nd 03, 05:55 PM
DCF hires activist for religious right causes
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Florida Department of Children & Families Secretary Jerry Regier,
still facing criticism over his efforts to appoint a guardian for the
fetus of a disabled rape victim, has hired a high-ranking attorney for
the department who identifies himself as a culture warrior for
religious conservatives.
James H. K. Bruner, the founder and former executive director of the
conservative New York Family Policy Council, described public schools
in a current newsletter as ''battlegrounds,'' and bemoaned how
students are 'subjected to `diversity trainings' or 'tolerance
instruction.' ''
Bruner, who will hold the title ''special assistant to the general
counsel'' and will be paid about $82,000, is not licensed to practice
law in Florida, though he plans to take the state's bar exam quickly
in order to obtain a license, Regier said Thursday.
Bruner's hiring comes on the heels of one the department's more
controversial moves: DCF has asked a Daytona Beach appeals court to
order the appointment of a guardian for the fetus of a severely
disabled rape victim. Known in court papers as J. D. S., the woman had
been under DCF's care when she was assaulted.
Abortion rights activists claim the bid is aimed at securing a victory
for the anti-abortion movement.
ACCUSATIONS
Since his appointment, Regier has been plagued by accusations that he
was seeking to impose a conservative moral template on an agency that
serves a vast, diverse and profoundly needy clientele. Though Regier
has insisted he is not pursuing such an agenda, critics say recent
moves by the agency suggest an interest in advocating mainstay
conservative themes, such as opposition to abortion.
In a September issue of the policy council's newsletter, called New
York Citizen, Bruner described public schools as ideological
battlegrounds.
'In today's climate, parents have to worry about their children every
time they enter a classroom, where they may be subjected to `diversity
trainings,' or 'tolerance instruction,' or assaulted by explicit
sexual education classes -- snuck into the curriculum without parental
knowledge,'' he wrote.
In his July column, Bruner likened the fight over gay marriage to
``Armageddon.''
''Yes, the battle is coming, and the pro-family army is woefully
unprepared,'' he wrote. ``We haven't put one troop into position, one
aircraft carrier into service. The other side is lined up on the
battlefield, and our soldiers are still crawling on their bellies in
boot camp.''
Like Regier, who launched a failed bid for Oklahoma governor, Bruner
also is a politician; he mounted an unsuccessful bid for the New York
State Assembly on the Republican-Conservative ticket in 2000.
Beginning in 2002, he began hosting a radio show called Report from
the Front.
Bruner's résumé, which was posted last May on the website of the
Christian Legal Society, lists his employment objective as: ``To use
my God given talent in advocacy, litigation, persuasion and
personability for the glory of God.''
Regier, who is about to mark his first anniversary as DCF secretary,
said Bruner has 20 years' experience in the field of family law, child
dependency, guardianship and administrative law, working for several
years as a prosecutor of suspected child abusers in the Albany, N. Y.,
area.
''He has a lot of experience in New York in the area of child abuse
and neglect, and that's what he'll be doing,'' Regier said.
Bruner could not be reached for comment.
Rena Lindevaldsen, a lawyer with the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel,
who worked with Bruner at the policy council in Albany, praised
Bruner's ''strong commitment'' to helping children, and said he has
worked to help pass laws to protect families, such as laws against
child pornography.
SCORING POINTS?
Agency critics Thursday cited Bruner's hiring as evidence that Regier
-- who had been criticized himself last year for a series of older
writings that condoned spanking and suggested women should be
subservient to men -- was seeking to use the already troubled DCF to
score points for religious conservatives.
Gerard Glynn, executive director of Florida's Children First!, a
frequent agency critic, said Bruner's hiring was ``a sign the
department is going to continue to have philosophical battles, rather
than focusing on making permanency for children a priority.''
''I was willing to give Secretary Regier the benefit of the doubt when
he was appointed, and pleased the governor was looking for an
experienced administrator,'' Glynn said ``Unfortunately, it appears he
is spending his time and energy on supporting his core philosophical
beliefs, rather than spending more time and energy on fixing the
state's failed foster care system.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/6645465.htm
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Florida Department of Children & Families Secretary Jerry Regier,
still facing criticism over his efforts to appoint a guardian for the
fetus of a disabled rape victim, has hired a high-ranking attorney for
the department who identifies himself as a culture warrior for
religious conservatives.
James H. K. Bruner, the founder and former executive director of the
conservative New York Family Policy Council, described public schools
in a current newsletter as ''battlegrounds,'' and bemoaned how
students are 'subjected to `diversity trainings' or 'tolerance
instruction.' ''
Bruner, who will hold the title ''special assistant to the general
counsel'' and will be paid about $82,000, is not licensed to practice
law in Florida, though he plans to take the state's bar exam quickly
in order to obtain a license, Regier said Thursday.
Bruner's hiring comes on the heels of one the department's more
controversial moves: DCF has asked a Daytona Beach appeals court to
order the appointment of a guardian for the fetus of a severely
disabled rape victim. Known in court papers as J. D. S., the woman had
been under DCF's care when she was assaulted.
Abortion rights activists claim the bid is aimed at securing a victory
for the anti-abortion movement.
ACCUSATIONS
Since his appointment, Regier has been plagued by accusations that he
was seeking to impose a conservative moral template on an agency that
serves a vast, diverse and profoundly needy clientele. Though Regier
has insisted he is not pursuing such an agenda, critics say recent
moves by the agency suggest an interest in advocating mainstay
conservative themes, such as opposition to abortion.
In a September issue of the policy council's newsletter, called New
York Citizen, Bruner described public schools as ideological
battlegrounds.
'In today's climate, parents have to worry about their children every
time they enter a classroom, where they may be subjected to `diversity
trainings,' or 'tolerance instruction,' or assaulted by explicit
sexual education classes -- snuck into the curriculum without parental
knowledge,'' he wrote.
In his July column, Bruner likened the fight over gay marriage to
``Armageddon.''
''Yes, the battle is coming, and the pro-family army is woefully
unprepared,'' he wrote. ``We haven't put one troop into position, one
aircraft carrier into service. The other side is lined up on the
battlefield, and our soldiers are still crawling on their bellies in
boot camp.''
Like Regier, who launched a failed bid for Oklahoma governor, Bruner
also is a politician; he mounted an unsuccessful bid for the New York
State Assembly on the Republican-Conservative ticket in 2000.
Beginning in 2002, he began hosting a radio show called Report from
the Front.
Bruner's résumé, which was posted last May on the website of the
Christian Legal Society, lists his employment objective as: ``To use
my God given talent in advocacy, litigation, persuasion and
personability for the glory of God.''
Regier, who is about to mark his first anniversary as DCF secretary,
said Bruner has 20 years' experience in the field of family law, child
dependency, guardianship and administrative law, working for several
years as a prosecutor of suspected child abusers in the Albany, N. Y.,
area.
''He has a lot of experience in New York in the area of child abuse
and neglect, and that's what he'll be doing,'' Regier said.
Bruner could not be reached for comment.
Rena Lindevaldsen, a lawyer with the Orlando-based Liberty Counsel,
who worked with Bruner at the policy council in Albany, praised
Bruner's ''strong commitment'' to helping children, and said he has
worked to help pass laws to protect families, such as laws against
child pornography.
SCORING POINTS?
Agency critics Thursday cited Bruner's hiring as evidence that Regier
-- who had been criticized himself last year for a series of older
writings that condoned spanking and suggested women should be
subservient to men -- was seeking to use the already troubled DCF to
score points for religious conservatives.
Gerard Glynn, executive director of Florida's Children First!, a
frequent agency critic, said Bruner's hiring was ``a sign the
department is going to continue to have philosophical battles, rather
than focusing on making permanency for children a priority.''
''I was willing to give Secretary Regier the benefit of the doubt when
he was appointed, and pleased the governor was looking for an
experienced administrator,'' Glynn said ``Unfortunately, it appears he
is spending his time and energy on supporting his core philosophical
beliefs, rather than spending more time and energy on fixing the
state's failed foster care system.''
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/6645465.htm