Some DCF district officials receive hefty pay raises

TALLAHASSEE -- Top officials at Florida's troubled child welfare agency received pay raises of up to 10 percent in the past two years, according to a newspaper analysis of state records.

Some of the Department of Children and Families' 13 district chiefs received pay increases four times as large as the raises given to an average caseworker, who makes about $30,600 a year, according to an Orlando Sentinel analysis of employee performance reviews and payroll records.

Salaries for some district chiefs have grown over the past two years to more than $100,000, the newspaper said.

The agency is under scrutiny for mishandling the cases of children under its supervision. DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney announced her resignation Tuesday after months of criticism.

Miami district head Charles Auslander got a 7.5 percent special salary increase in October to $107,609 per year for "superior performance."

Six months later, 5-year-old Rilya Wilson of Miami was discovered missing while in state custody. No caseworker had checked on her for 15 months.

Robert Morin Jr. was promoted to head the district covering Orlando in 1999, with a salary of $92,404. Since then, he has received two annual pay increases of 2.5 percent each, bringing his salary to $97,002. His job review gives an "excellent" overall rating for taking over "a district that was in disarray."

The Orlando area district has the biggest case backlog of any of the districts, with more than 12,000 unfinished cases.

Bob Williams, chief of the North Florida district based in Tallahassee, received a 10.3 percent raise to $106,600 last year. His district has one of the smallest case backlogs and some of the fewest reported problems.

Sue Gray, head of the DCF district that includes Polk County, has seen her pay go up by about 2 percent this year and about 3 percent last year. She now earns $91,644 a year.

Police say 2-year-old Alfredo Montes of Polk County was slain July 1 by a babysitter on the same day his DCF caseworker falsely reported that she visited him and he was fine.

Kearney, who steps down Sept. 3, was earning $112,797 a year. She got a 3.5 percent raise last year.

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