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September 18, 2002
MIAMI -- The director of the state's child welfare agency in the district where a 5-year-old girl was missing for 15 months before the agency noted her disappearance is resigning.
Charles Auslander resigned Sept. 2, and announced it Tuesday. He will stay on until Nov. 15, unless Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier finds a replacement sooner.
"I felt no pressure whatsoever to resign," said Auslander. "It's exclusively my own decision."
He cited the "wear and tear" his family has endured during the last six months as the agency has come under increased scrutiny.
Critics had called for the resignation of Auslander, DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney and other department officials after Rilya Wilson's disappearance. Kearney resigned last month, after it was revealed that nearly 500 children under DCF care could not be located during a statewide count of children under the agency's watch.
Auslander said he thinks the department's workers lost confidence because of the public uproar over the Rilya Wilson case.
"Although I've had a lot of tough jobs in my life, this has undoubtedly been the toughest," he said.
After running the department in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties for three years, Auslander said he plans to return to practicing law. He made $107,609 annually as district administrator.
He is the second regional DCF director to announce his resignation this week. Rick Barry, 51, who had overseen Volusia and Flagler counties since January 2001, announced his resignation Monday. Barry said it's time to make way for the department's new director to appoint a different team.