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Top 2 data system officers quit DCF
By CURTIS KRUEGER, Times Staff Writer
The two top officials in charge of the state Department of Children and Families' controversial $230-million computer system resigned this week, with one saying she quit because she was "perceived to be in conflict" with changes in the agency. As the chief and deputy chief information officers for DCF, Randy Niewenhous and Marilyn Van Dusseldorp oversaw HomeSafenet, a massive computer system designed to track child abuse and neglect cases throughout Florida, as well as other projects. Employees have complained the computer system is cumbersome and time consuming to use, forcing overburdened caseworkers to spend time on data entry rather than visiting families. A DCF spokesman said he didn't know why the two quit, but Van Dusseldorp said in her resignation letter that "it appears that I am perceived to be in conflict with the new path and plan that is being charted for information systems, so I am stepping aside." She had worked for DCF 32 years. Niewenhous, the chief information officer, turned in his resignation letter Tuesday, saying he would go on leave the next day through Nov. 5. A three-year employee, he praised Van Dusseldorp in his letter. He also urged DCF's new secretary, Jerry Regier, to meet with regional information directors because "they are anxious to hear about the 'new direction' " for their division. The resignations come two months after Regier signed on to lead DCF, after a tumultuous year, in which the agency acknowledged losing track of a 5-year-old girl in its care. Niewenhous and Van Dusseldorp could not be reached for comment Friday. Regier has made an effort to tour the state and speak with employees about the department's performance. He has been hearing about HomeSafenet. "Our committee has been critical of HomeSafenet," said state Rep. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, who chairs the House Child and Family Security Committee. "We wondered why it was 11 years in the making and hundreds of millions of dollars, and it didn't gather the information that we were requesting." She said it's important sometimes to "admit in government when something is wrong and not try to cover it up and not try to say that it's the lighthouse of the industry when it's . . . a failure." DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said he did not know exactly why the two resigned, but cautioned against reading too much into it. He said HomeSafenet "may need some fine-tuning. It's certainly not a failed system." The computer system is operating now, helping caseworkers track children and assess the risks they face in abuse and neglect cases. Among the other complaints about the system: It does not interface well with other computer systems. And that's important, because the department is trying to hire local nonprofits around the state to handle most of the state's child welfare work. As the top information services people in Florida's massive social services agency, Niewenhous and Van Dusseldorp had many duties, but the most controversial in recent years was HomeSafenet. The data system was designed to keep close track of the more than 40,000 children who are considered abused or neglected, and are under the state's supervision. The State Technology Office, a separate agency, recently began assisting DCF with the development of HomeSafenet, DCF officials said.
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From the Times state desk Lucy Morgan
From the state wire
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