Wex Wimpy
September 4th 03, 08:34 PM
DCF chief fights critics, child abuse during year
BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - On the anniversary of taking over as Florida's chief of
child welfare, Jerry Regier said Wednesday the state has decreased
backlogs in child abuse investigations, increased adoptions and
reduced worker caseloads.
But his first year as head of the Department of Children & Families
has also been marked by controversy, including claims he fired workers
to please a lawmaker, questions about his personal religious beliefs
and criticism for agreeing to serve as co-chairman of a friend's
political campaign in Oklahoma.
Some feel the good work the department has done has been overshadowed
by other distractions, leaving an agency that had lost respect still
struggling to change public perception.
"If I were to give him a grade at the end of the year in a pass/fail
course, he passes - but if I were him, I'd take the course pass/fail,"
said Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville and a member of the Senate Children
& Families Committee. "Some of the missteps prevented him from getting
the credit for the positive things. Some of his mistakes have been
mistakes of political judgment."
In a meeting with reporters, Regier reeled off a number of positive
achievements: A better system to track missing children. Higher pay
for case workers. Nearly 380 new child welfare workers. Increased
training.
He believes one of his greatest achievements is reducing the 35,000
backlogged child abuse investigations that DCF had when he took
charge. The figure has been whittled down to about 1,700 cases, he
said.
"When you have 35,000 cases that represent children sitting in the
corner - absolutely we had to get those down. We did it
systematically. I think the staff did yeoman's work, and I think they
did good work," Regier said.
While he acknowledged that quality checks revealed some of the cases
were closed in a manner that left children's safety still in question,
he said the system of checks worked to make sure those cases and
others were again reviewed.
Regier replaced Kathleen Kearney, who resigned after months of
controversy that followed the case of Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old girl
Miami girl who disappeared from state custody. The girl had been
missing for at least 15 months before the state noticed.
"I am doing everything in my power to have our systems such so that it
won't happen again," Regier said of Rilya's case. "And I think we have
a lot of safety valves in place that perhaps weren't in place prior to
that tragedy."
Child advocate Jack Levine praised Regier for his efforts to talk with
department employees around the state to learn about needs and
problems. The question now is what Regier will do with the knowledge,
he said.
"It's way too early to pop any champagne corks," said Levine,
president of Voices for Florida's Children. "This is a department that
had to be learned about, this is a state that had to be listened to
and the greatest accomplishment of Jerry Regier in the last 12 months
is his willingness to travel and to be taught about the intricacies of
this department."
Regier's first year has not been entirely smooth.
Immediately after being appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, Regier was
criticized for his conservative Christian beliefs and writings he was
associated with that said it is OK to spank children and that women's
roles should be as homemakers. Regier, whose wife is a nurse,
disassociated himself from the articles.
There have been other distractions. Several workers were fired after
Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Hialeah, complained that his grandmother was
treated rudely at a DCF office in Hialeah. The woman who fired the
workers said the order came from Regier. He denied he issued the
order.
Even Bush criticized Regier when he found out the secretary signed on
as co-chairman of a friend's political campaign in Oklahoma. Regier
quickly resigned the position.
And last week, critics said Regier's hiring of lawyer James H. K.
Bruner, a conservative Christian who has spoken against homosexuals,
is a sign that the secretary has a personal agenda he's trying to
bring to the department.
"I certainly have strong personal beliefs. I'm a Christian. But I have
not in any way seen this as an opportunity to push a personal agenda,"
Regier said. "We have hired people from all religious persuasions. We
have hired people from different political persuasions and we are all
focused on getting the job done."
And Regier acknowledged the department has to do a better job of
keeping its staff and the public better informed about its successes.
"I don't think the biggest challenge is knowing what to do to bring
reform and bring change to a department like DCF," he said. "The
challenge is communicating that down through the ranks and
communicating that clearly and effectively to the public."
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/news/local/6686106.htm
BRENDAN FARRINGTON Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE - On the anniversary of taking over as Florida's chief of
child welfare, Jerry Regier said Wednesday the state has decreased
backlogs in child abuse investigations, increased adoptions and
reduced worker caseloads.
But his first year as head of the Department of Children & Families
has also been marked by controversy, including claims he fired workers
to please a lawmaker, questions about his personal religious beliefs
and criticism for agreeing to serve as co-chairman of a friend's
political campaign in Oklahoma.
Some feel the good work the department has done has been overshadowed
by other distractions, leaving an agency that had lost respect still
struggling to change public perception.
"If I were to give him a grade at the end of the year in a pass/fail
course, he passes - but if I were him, I'd take the course pass/fail,"
said Sen. Rod Smith, D-Gainesville and a member of the Senate Children
& Families Committee. "Some of the missteps prevented him from getting
the credit for the positive things. Some of his mistakes have been
mistakes of political judgment."
In a meeting with reporters, Regier reeled off a number of positive
achievements: A better system to track missing children. Higher pay
for case workers. Nearly 380 new child welfare workers. Increased
training.
He believes one of his greatest achievements is reducing the 35,000
backlogged child abuse investigations that DCF had when he took
charge. The figure has been whittled down to about 1,700 cases, he
said.
"When you have 35,000 cases that represent children sitting in the
corner - absolutely we had to get those down. We did it
systematically. I think the staff did yeoman's work, and I think they
did good work," Regier said.
While he acknowledged that quality checks revealed some of the cases
were closed in a manner that left children's safety still in question,
he said the system of checks worked to make sure those cases and
others were again reviewed.
Regier replaced Kathleen Kearney, who resigned after months of
controversy that followed the case of Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old girl
Miami girl who disappeared from state custody. The girl had been
missing for at least 15 months before the state noticed.
"I am doing everything in my power to have our systems such so that it
won't happen again," Regier said of Rilya's case. "And I think we have
a lot of safety valves in place that perhaps weren't in place prior to
that tragedy."
Child advocate Jack Levine praised Regier for his efforts to talk with
department employees around the state to learn about needs and
problems. The question now is what Regier will do with the knowledge,
he said.
"It's way too early to pop any champagne corks," said Levine,
president of Voices for Florida's Children. "This is a department that
had to be learned about, this is a state that had to be listened to
and the greatest accomplishment of Jerry Regier in the last 12 months
is his willingness to travel and to be taught about the intricacies of
this department."
Regier's first year has not been entirely smooth.
Immediately after being appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, Regier was
criticized for his conservative Christian beliefs and writings he was
associated with that said it is OK to spank children and that women's
roles should be as homemakers. Regier, whose wife is a nurse,
disassociated himself from the articles.
There have been other distractions. Several workers were fired after
Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Hialeah, complained that his grandmother was
treated rudely at a DCF office in Hialeah. The woman who fired the
workers said the order came from Regier. He denied he issued the
order.
Even Bush criticized Regier when he found out the secretary signed on
as co-chairman of a friend's political campaign in Oklahoma. Regier
quickly resigned the position.
And last week, critics said Regier's hiring of lawyer James H. K.
Bruner, a conservative Christian who has spoken against homosexuals,
is a sign that the secretary has a personal agenda he's trying to
bring to the department.
"I certainly have strong personal beliefs. I'm a Christian. But I have
not in any way seen this as an opportunity to push a personal agenda,"
Regier said. "We have hired people from all religious persuasions. We
have hired people from different political persuasions and we are all
focused on getting the job done."
And Regier acknowledged the department has to do a better job of
keeping its staff and the public better informed about its successes.
"I don't think the biggest challenge is knowing what to do to bring
reform and bring change to a department like DCF," he said. "The
challenge is communicating that down through the ranks and
communicating that clearly and effectively to the public."
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradentonherald/news/local/6686106.htm