State: State tracks down some kids; more go missing

TALLAHASSEE -- The state is still searching for 88 of the nearly 400 children the Department of Children and Families said were missing from its custody this past summer.

In a briefing Tuesday, officials told Gov. Jeb Bush the search for 393 missing children turned up 290 of them. Thirteen others turned 18 or older and no longer are being sought, officials said, and one turned 18 and is being sought as a missing adult. Another was found dead.

Far from declaring the effort a failure, Bush joined law enforcement officers and child welfare officials in praising the operation.

Many of the missing children were found with friends or relatives, and state officials think many of the kids they couldn't find are older, teenage runaways in hiding.

"This is a good briefing for Christmas," Bush said, noting the cooperation between the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and DCF.

Operation Safekids began Aug. 26, after Bush ordered his agencies to account for every child missing from state care.

The order came after the state revealed 5-year-old Rilya Wilson from Miami had been missing for 15 months before DCF officials realized she was gone. The department was further embarrassed when a South Florida newspaper found 22 missing children by reviewing public records and doing some checking.

Both incidents became a political embarrassment for Bush during his re-election effort.

DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney resigned in August and was replaced by Jerry Regier.

Several of the 290 kids the state did find were in Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, a fact that caused Bush to shake his head.

"Is it frustrating? Of course it is. I scratch my head all the time at the wonders of government," Bush said of the lack of communication between agencies.

But now DCF and the FDLE have developed a uniform method of tracking kids in state care and alerting law enforcement when they disappear. And Regier said his agency has redefined "missing." Before, a child was considered missing if he or she simply was not found in the assigned home. Now DCF, like law enforcement agencies, considers a child missing if his or her whereabouts are unknown.

"We have not always had a good relationship with law enforcement and I think . . . they have stepped up in a great way to assist us," Regier said.

To highlight the role of law enforcement in child welfare programs, Tuesday's briefing was held at FDLE headquarters and was opened by FDLE Commissioner Tim Moore. Several counties, including Pasco and Pinellas, are part of a pilot program that has sheriff's deputies handling some child welfare work.

Jack Levine, president of the Center for Florida's Children, said he's pleased that the state was able to find so many of the missing children. What bothers him are recent budget cuts to runaway shelters that help kids.

"How can we justify cutting budgets of services we know are essential," Levine asked.

Because teenage runaways account for a significant part of the missing kids, the state is looking at ways to allow older kids to live on their own. Some of the missing kids had enrolled in school, and one had begun applying for financial aid to attend community college, DCF officials told Bush.

Officials want a new law requiring parents under investigation for child abuse or under state supervision to register with authorities if they change addresses.

One of the children sought by the task force was found slain Aug. 19 in a canal in Collier County. A chronic runaway with drug and mental problems, officials said she had been under DCF's care since October 2001, when she was placed in a juvenile intervention program because of delinquency problems.

State officials said another 423 children were reported missing after the operation began in August. Of those, 211 remain unaccounted for.

-- Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk