DCF failed to visit 1,841 kids in June

The state agency says vacations, runaways and parent abductions make it difficult to visit all the children in its custody.

©Associated Press
July 7, 2002

TALLAHASSEE -- Florida's child welfare agency failed to visit 1,841 children in state custody in June, nearly twice the number of children that did not receive visits in May.

With three extra days in July to finish the June contracts, child protection workers for the Department of Children and Families saw 96 percent of the 44,599 children in state care, according to figures released by the agency Friday.

Most of the children who were not visited are suspected runaways, out-of-state placements, or children thought to have been abducted by a parent. The DCF said more children weren't visited in June because of vacationing foster and adoptive families who lawfully took children out of the area, making visits hard to conduct.

"There are a few more kids we haven't seen because they are traveling or out of state," Central Florida DCF spokeswoman Yvonne Vassel said.

The department failed to visit 988 children in May.

Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, said it's unlikely the children's vacations lasted all month or that the agency didn't know the vacations were scheduled.

Wexler said DCF appeared to be trying to bury bad news by releasing the figures Friday, in the middle of a busy holiday weekend.

"No matter how hard they try to duck and bob and weave and spin, the bottom line is: Things have gotten worse," Wexler said.

Gov. Jeb Bush ordered the DCF to conduct monthly visits with every child in state custody in April after it was discovered a 5-year-old was missing from state care. Rilya Wilson's disappearance wasn't reported until 15 months after her caregiver said the girl was taken from her Miami home.

The case of Rilya, who is still missing, prompted Bush to appoint a Blue Ribbon Panel to investigate the DCF. One of the panel's recommendations was to visit all children in state care.

Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, two of the Democrats vying for the nomination to challenge Bush next fall, have criticized the governor for his handling of the DCF's troubles.

They have called for the removal of the DCF's top official and a massive overhaul of the department.

Bush has denied requests to remove DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney and has rejected lawmakers' calls for a statewide grand jury investigation into the missing children. He has expressed his support for the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Panel.

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