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Wex Wimpy
September 4th 03, 09:06 PM
DCF chief adds aide to help polish image

By Stephanie Erickson Sentinel Staff Writer Posted September 4, 2003

Conflicting views

One year into office, Department of Children & Families Secretary
Jerry Regier is given credit for making strides at the agency while
also being accused of letting his conservative Christian views affect
policy.

Credits The number of backlogged cases fell from 35,000 to about 700,
according to DCF Adoptions of special-needs children increased 12
percent DCF assisted more than 4,700 homeless families, compared with
2,100 the year before

Criticisms Hiring of an outspoken gay-rights opponent to serve on his
legal team Trying to persuade a judge to appoint a guardian for a
fetus Supporting a character-training program with biblical roots

The chief of the state's child-welfare agency, under constant fire for
letting his religious beliefs affect public policy, says he is getting
a communications coach.

But at least one critic calls the new face in Jerry Regier's office a
watchdog, intended to cut down on political gaffes that embarrass Gov.
Jeb Bush.

Both sides can agree on one thing as Regier marks his first
anniversary as the controversial head of Department of Children &
Families: He could use some help with public relations.

Regier said Wednesday that's why he has asked Alan Levine, one of the
governor's chief deputies, to spend about a month in his office to
help him get better at sharing meaningful information and making his
points.

"In a large agency, to communicate the things we are doing positively
and to communicate when we see we've made a mistake, I think just the
process has been a real challenge," he said.

Regier, 58, has spent a great deal of his first year at DCF defending
himself against charges that he is unable to keep his conservative
Christian views in check.

He also caught Bush off guard when he went to work on a friend's state
Senate campaign in Oklahoma, which could have cut into time at DCF.

"I think that Regier has been surprisingly tone deaf," said Richard
Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform.

"He keeps doing things that embarrass the governor politically. I
think the governor has decided that Regier needs a 'minder,' " Wexler
said.

He also said, however, that while DCF is still considered one of the
least effective child-welfare agencies in the country, it is inching
forward under Regier.

Since Regier was tapped by Bush, the number of backlogged cases --
those open more than 60 days -- has been reduced by approximately
34,300, DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said.

Adoptions of special-needs children have increased 12 percent, he
said, and in January DCF will hire 376 new caseworkers, attributed to
the chief's request for more state money.

Faith under attack

Plans for Levine to spend time at DCF come on the heels of Regier's
latest decision: to hire an outspoken opponent of gay rights to serve
on his legal team.

But the DCF chief's religious background has been under attack since
hours after Bush appointed him to replace former Secretary Kathleen
Kearney, who resigned in the wake of a growing scandal over the
disappearance of hundreds of children in state care.

The first blow came with the discovery of an ultra-conservative
religious article bearing Regier's name, a 1989 treatise titled "The
Christian World View of the Family." Regier was listed as a co-author,
along with a behavioral science professor.

The article supports spanking of children that may cause "temporary
and superficial bruises and welts" and denounces abortion, women
working outside the home and parenting by gays.

Regier said he had not written, edited or approved the article, but
acknowledged he had served as a co-chair of the group that released
it.

The son of a Mennonite minister, Regier had been a longtime activist
promoting the preservation of family through Christian groups and in
government initiatives.

He insisted, however, he would not let his conservative Christian
views affect policy. And he says now he believes he's "fared pretty
well."

"I don't think that a lot of the concerns expressed early on have
materialized at all," he said Wednesday.

Critics, however, point to several incidents:

Last week's hiring of James Bruner, head of a Christian-oriented
family policy council who said in a recent newsletter that the
"homosexual agenda is invading public schools."

His attempt earlier this year, along with Bush, to persuade a judge to
appoint a guardian for the fetus of a young woman who was raped while
living in an Orlando group home. The move provoked outrage among
abortion-rights advocates and applause from anti-abortion supporters.

His contract with the nonprofit Character Training Institute to
provide a program patterned after one by conservative Christian
evangelist Bill Gothard. Hundreds of Central Florida DCF employees are
being taught the importance, for instance, of meekness, deference and
obedience.

"Mr. Regier is well-known for not separating his personal religious
convictions from his policy decisions," said the Rev. Fred Morris,
executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, who this week
called some of Regier's actions at DCF "intolerable."

"It's not leadership," he said. "It's old boy-ism."

Karen Gievers, a lawyer who heads the Children's Advocacy Foundation
in Tallahassee, agrees.

"It's clear he does not have his focus on doing the job he should be
doing, which is taking care of the children in state custody," she
said.

In a rare moment last July, Bush expressed his own dismay with Regier.
Speaking to reporters at a public appearance in Orlando, the governor,
sounding a bit irked, said he didn't know Regier had decided to work
on the campaign of a friend in Oklahoma, Regier's home state.

The DCF chief pulled himself off the campaign of the fellow Republican
seeking the 47th Senate District seat after Bush asked a staffer to
tell him that the Oklahoma position was "not worth fighting over."

Regier's supporters say he has an impressive record of devoting his
time and energy to social services.

Alia Faraj, Bush's spokeswoman, said the governor remains solidly
behind the DCF secretary, saying he's made great strides. She also
said deputy chief of staff Levine is planning to spend time with other
agencies when he wraps up with DCF.

Levine did not return calls Wednesday.

Chris Card, director of Hillsborough Kids, which took over
child-welfare services from DCF in May 2002 under state-mandated
privatization, gives Regier "good grades" for being organized and
providing specific, measurable goals for improvement.

"He has a let's-get-this-done approach," Card said.

David Niven, a Florida Atlantic University political-science
professor, said that while Regier hasn't hidden his religious
convictions, he hasn't focused on them either.

"I don't think it has been the dominant theme of his leadership,"
Niven said.

Guardian battle

But last May, abortion-rights advocates blasted Regier, saying his
petition of a judge to appoint a guardian for a fetus was
unconstitutional because it recognized the fetus as a person --
contradicting federal and state court decisions that safeguard a
woman's right to choose.

"Where is the outrage, religious-driven or otherwise, that J. D. S.
[the woman's pseudonym in court papers] could all these years in state
facilities be subjected to rape?" Gievers said this week. "Yet he
[Regier] and the governor get fixated on the unborn baby of the rape
victim."

Morris referred to Regier's recent hiring of Bruner for a top legal
position at DCF as tricky.

"I don't want to say that people in public office must pretend they
don't have a faith," he said. "But you should have people who don't
have an ax to grind in those kinds of positions."

Bruner, who could not be reached for comment, is the former executive
director of the New York Family Policy Council. Regier said he should
not be criticized over the hiring of one person.

"It's certainly clear that I have strong religious convictions, but I
have hired people of all religions," he said.

Regier, who makes $160,000 a year, also stands by his decision to ask
DCF's 13 district administrators to consider using a
character-training program called Character First!

Critics say the program blurs the line between religious practice and
government operation because the evangelist Gothard's "Commands of
Christ" -- 49 ways to love God and others -- correlate directly to the
49 traits being touted through Character First!

Regier said he was concerned about employee morale and thinks that
good work takes discipline and integrity. "I don't back down from that
at all," he said.

Wexler said his concerns have more to do with poor policy decisions
than any potential theological agenda.

"Had Jerry Regier really been able to turn things around at DCF and
significantly improve conditions for vulnerable children, then I
wouldn't care if he put a chapel in every DCF office," he said.

Sen. Evelyn J. Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, chair of the Senate's Children
and Families Committee, said Regier has done a good job focusing on
many DCF areas, but said his controversial decisions concern her.

"I believe he's trying very hard to listen to the concerns of the
local communities, and he certainly seems to be acting on information
that he gets," Lynn said.

"So if he can just avoid the controversy, we can have a really great
year."DCF chief adds aide to help polish image

By Stephanie Erickson Sentinel Staff Writer Posted September 4, 2003

Conflicting views

One year into office, Department of Children & Families Secretary
Jerry Regier is given credit for making strides at the agency while
also being accused of letting his conservative Christian views affect
policy.

Credits The number of backlogged cases fell from 35,000 to about 700,
according to DCF Adoptions of special-needs children increased 12
percent DCF assisted more than 4,700 homeless families, compared with
2,100 the year before

Criticisms Hiring of an outspoken gay-rights opponent to serve on his
legal team Trying to persuade a judge to appoint a guardian for a
fetus Supporting a character-training program with biblical roots

The chief of the state's child-welfare agency, under constant fire for
letting his religious beliefs affect public policy, says he is getting
a communications coach.

But at least one critic calls the new face in Jerry Regier's office a
watchdog, intended to cut down on political gaffes that embarrass Gov.
Jeb Bush.

Both sides can agree on one thing as Regier marks his first
anniversary as the controversial head of Department of Children &
Families: He could use some help with public relations.

Regier said Wednesday that's why he has asked Alan Levine, one of the
governor's chief deputies, to spend about a month in his office to
help him get better at sharing meaningful information and making his
points.

"In a large agency, to communicate the things we are doing positively
and to communicate when we see we've made a mistake, I think just the
process has been a real challenge," he said.

Regier, 58, has spent a great deal of his first year at DCF defending
himself against charges that he is unable to keep his conservative
Christian views in check.

He also caught Bush off guard when he went to work on a friend's state
Senate campaign in Oklahoma, which could have cut into time at DCF.

"I think that Regier has been surprisingly tone deaf," said Richard
Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child
Protection Reform.

"He keeps doing things that embarrass the governor politically. I
think the governor has decided that Regier needs a 'minder,' " Wexler
said.

He also said, however, that while DCF is still considered one of the
least effective child-welfare agencies in the country, it is inching
forward under Regier.

Since Regier was tapped by Bush, the number of backlogged cases --
those open more than 60 days -- has been reduced by approximately
34,300, DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said.

Adoptions of special-needs children have increased 12 percent, he
said, and in January DCF will hire 376 new caseworkers, attributed to
the chief's request for more state money.

Faith under attack

Plans for Levine to spend time at DCF come on the heels of Regier's
latest decision: to hire an outspoken opponent of gay rights to serve
on his legal team.

But the DCF chief's religious background has been under attack since
hours after Bush appointed him to replace former Secretary Kathleen
Kearney, who resigned in the wake of a growing scandal over the
disappearance of hundreds of children in state care.

The first blow came with the discovery of an ultra-conservative
religious article bearing Regier's name, a 1989 treatise titled "The
Christian World View of the Family." Regier was listed as a co-author,
along with a behavioral science professor.

The article supports spanking of children that may cause "temporary
and superficial bruises and welts" and denounces abortion, women
working outside the home and parenting by gays.

Regier said he had not written, edited or approved the article, but
acknowledged he had served as a co-chair of the group that released
it.

The son of a Mennonite minister, Regier had been a longtime activist
promoting the preservation of family through Christian groups and in
government initiatives.

He insisted, however, he would not let his conservative Christian
views affect policy. And he says now he believes he's "fared pretty
well."

"I don't think that a lot of the concerns expressed early on have
materialized at all," he said Wednesday.

Critics, however, point to several incidents:

Last week's hiring of James Bruner, head of a Christian-oriented
family policy council who said in a recent newsletter that the
"homosexual agenda is invading public schools."

His attempt earlier this year, along with Bush, to persuade a judge to
appoint a guardian for the fetus of a young woman who was raped while
living in an Orlando group home. The move provoked outrage among
abortion-rights advocates and applause from anti-abortion supporters.

His contract with the nonprofit Character Training Institute to
provide a program patterned after one by conservative Christian
evangelist Bill Gothard. Hundreds of Central Florida DCF employees are
being taught the importance, for instance, of meekness, deference and
obedience.

"Mr. Regier is well-known for not separating his personal religious
convictions from his policy decisions," said the Rev. Fred Morris,
executive director of the Florida Council of Churches, who this week
called some of Regier's actions at DCF "intolerable."

"It's not leadership," he said. "It's old boy-ism."

Karen Gievers, a lawyer who heads the Children's Advocacy Foundation
in Tallahassee, agrees.

"It's clear he does not have his focus on doing the job he should be
doing, which is taking care of the children in state custody," she
said.

In a rare moment last July, Bush expressed his own dismay with Regier.
Speaking to reporters at a public appearance in Orlando, the governor,
sounding a bit irked, said he didn't know Regier had decided to work
on the campaign of a friend in Oklahoma, Regier's home state.

The DCF chief pulled himself off the campaign of the fellow Republican
seeking the 47th Senate District seat after Bush asked a staffer to
tell him that the Oklahoma position was "not worth fighting over."

Regier's supporters say he has an impressive record of devoting his
time and energy to social services.

Alia Faraj, Bush's spokeswoman, said the governor remains solidly
behind the DCF secretary, saying he's made great strides. She also
said deputy chief of staff Levine is planning to spend time with other
agencies when he wraps up with DCF.

Levine did not return calls Wednesday.

Chris Card, director of Hillsborough Kids, which took over
child-welfare services from DCF in May 2002 under state-mandated
privatization, gives Regier "good grades" for being organized and
providing specific, measurable goals for improvement.

"He has a let's-get-this-done approach," Card said.

David Niven, a Florida Atlantic University political-science
professor, said that while Regier hasn't hidden his religious
convictions, he hasn't focused on them either.

"I don't think it has been the dominant theme of his leadership,"
Niven said.

Guardian battle

But last May, abortion-rights advocates blasted Regier, saying his
petition of a judge to appoint a guardian for a fetus was
unconstitutional because it recognized the fetus as a person --
contradicting federal and state court decisions that safeguard a
woman's right to choose.

"Where is the outrage, religious-driven or otherwise, that J. D. S.
[the woman's pseudonym in court papers] could all these years in state
facilities be subjected to rape?" Gievers said this week. "Yet he
[Regier] and the governor get fixated on the unborn baby of the rape
victim."

Morris referred to Regier's recent hiring of Bruner for a top legal
position at DCF as tricky.

"I don't want to say that people in public office must pretend they
don't have a faith," he said. "But you should have people who don't
have an ax to grind in those kinds of positions."

Bruner, who could not be reached for comment, is the former executive
director of the New York Family Policy Council. Regier said he should
not be criticized over the hiring of one person.

"It's certainly clear that I have strong religious convictions, but I
have hired people of all religions," he said.

Regier, who makes $160,000 a year, also stands by his decision to ask
DCF's 13 district administrators to consider using a
character-training program called Character First!

Critics say the program blurs the line between religious practice and
government operation because the evangelist Gothard's "Commands of
Christ" -- 49 ways to love God and others -- correlate directly to the
49 traits being touted through Character First!

Regier said he was concerned about employee morale and thinks that
good work takes discipline and integrity. "I don't back down from that
at all," he said.

Wexler said his concerns have more to do with poor policy decisions
than any potential theological agenda.

"Had Jerry Regier really been able to turn things around at DCF and
significantly improve conditions for vulnerable children, then I
wouldn't care if he put a chapel in every DCF office," he said.

Sen. Evelyn J. Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, chair of the Senate's Children
and Families Committee, said Regier has done a good job focusing on
many DCF areas, but said his controversial decisions concern her.

"I believe he's trying very hard to listen to the concerns of the
local communities, and he certainly seems to be acting on information
that he gets," Lynn said.

"So if he can just avoid the controversy, we can have a really great
year."
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