wexwimpy
August 17th 04, 06:45 PM
Report: Official pushed DCF to give preferential treatment
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A disabled Floridian was put atop a 15,500-person
waiting list and offered services after a Department of Children &
Families supervisor and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's office pressured
agency officials, a newspaper reported Monday.
An inspector general's report by the agency said DCF disability bureau
chief Susan Kaempfer "abused her authority" and violated DCF rules by
approving services for the client after department officials earlier
denied the request.
The agency's screening committee and an administrator at DCF
headquarters determined the disabled person was not "in crisis," and
therefore not eligible for immediate services, according to the
report.
However, Kaempfer overruled her employees and ordered that the client
- who is not identified in a report obtained by The Miami Herald - be
enrolled.
The inspector general said the client "received special consideration"
compared to others on the list and that Kaempfer's actions, agency
officials told investigators, diminished "the integrity" of the
program.
The community-based services were created to help people with mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and other genetic disorders.
The report recommended that the DCF "take appropriate corrective
personnel actions."
"We are aware of the information in the report, and we are currently
formulating disciplinary actions," agency spokesman Bob Brooks said
Monday.
"This is an internal department matter and the issue needs to be
resolved within the department," said Jacob DiPietre, spokesman for
Gov. Jeb Bush, said Monday.
The report also comes just two weeks before the Florida primary
election when Byrd, who trails badly in most polls, seeks the
Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
A legislative aide in Byrd's office made routine calls to DCF for a
constituent, but Byrd never contacted the agency, and had no knowledge
of the incident before reading about it in the newspaper, said Wayne
Garcia, Byrd's campaign manager.
In the last decade, Florida eliminated a waiting list for
community-based services, but the new list has developed, an
embarrassment for DCF Secretary Jerry Regier and Bush, who campaigned
in part on a promise to improve the lives of disabled people.
Four of Regier's top aides have resigned in the past two months,
including two whom the governor's inspector general found had accepted
favors from companies doing business with the state. A third was on
the expense account of another firm doing business with the state.
A fourth submitted a resignation in June, effective Aug. 2, for
personal reasons. In between, The Herald printed a story suggesting
the aide may have lied to investigators looking into allegations she
tried to steer a $500,000 contract to a former employee's company. The
contract went to another company.
Regier, however, has held onto his job with Bush's support.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9416161.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A disabled Floridian was put atop a 15,500-person
waiting list and offered services after a Department of Children &
Families supervisor and House Speaker Johnnie Byrd's office pressured
agency officials, a newspaper reported Monday.
An inspector general's report by the agency said DCF disability bureau
chief Susan Kaempfer "abused her authority" and violated DCF rules by
approving services for the client after department officials earlier
denied the request.
The agency's screening committee and an administrator at DCF
headquarters determined the disabled person was not "in crisis," and
therefore not eligible for immediate services, according to the
report.
However, Kaempfer overruled her employees and ordered that the client
- who is not identified in a report obtained by The Miami Herald - be
enrolled.
The inspector general said the client "received special consideration"
compared to others on the list and that Kaempfer's actions, agency
officials told investigators, diminished "the integrity" of the
program.
The community-based services were created to help people with mental
retardation, cerebral palsy, autism and other genetic disorders.
The report recommended that the DCF "take appropriate corrective
personnel actions."
"We are aware of the information in the report, and we are currently
formulating disciplinary actions," agency spokesman Bob Brooks said
Monday.
"This is an internal department matter and the issue needs to be
resolved within the department," said Jacob DiPietre, spokesman for
Gov. Jeb Bush, said Monday.
The report also comes just two weeks before the Florida primary
election when Byrd, who trails badly in most polls, seeks the
Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
A legislative aide in Byrd's office made routine calls to DCF for a
constituent, but Byrd never contacted the agency, and had no knowledge
of the incident before reading about it in the newspaper, said Wayne
Garcia, Byrd's campaign manager.
In the last decade, Florida eliminated a waiting list for
community-based services, but the new list has developed, an
embarrassment for DCF Secretary Jerry Regier and Bush, who campaigned
in part on a promise to improve the lives of disabled people.
Four of Regier's top aides have resigned in the past two months,
including two whom the governor's inspector general found had accepted
favors from companies doing business with the state. A third was on
the expense account of another firm doing business with the state.
A fourth submitted a resignation in June, effective Aug. 2, for
personal reasons. In between, The Herald printed a story suggesting
the aide may have lied to investigators looking into allegations she
tried to steer a $500,000 contract to a former employee's company. The
contract went to another company.
Regier, however, has held onto his job with Bush's support.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/9416161.htm
Defend your civil liberties! Get information at http://www.aclu.org, become a member at http://www.aclu.org/join and get active at http://www.aclu.org/action.