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CURTIS KRUEGERThe agency's action could halt a lawsuit filed by a competitor of the firm that won the original bid for $21-million.
Florida's Department of Children and Families has decided to throw out a controversial $21-million computer contract that raised questions about favoritism at the agency.
Scuttling the old contract and going out to bid for a new one is "the cleanest way to handle this situation at this point," said outgoing state Rep. Sandra Murman, R-Tampa, who has been involved in monitoring DCF's progress on the computer contract.
But it further delays work on the already behind-schedule and over budget HomeSafenet computer, a large system that handles data about children who come under the state's supervision because of suspected abuse or neglect.
The $21-million contract to American Management Systems of Virginia raised eyebrows because its board of directors once included former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. Keating had previously recommended that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush hire Jerry Regier to lead DCF. Regier led DCF at the time the contract was awarded, although he denied any involvement in the process.
American Management's lobbyist was Greg Coler, a former DCF secretary himself and friend of Regier's.
"I have no comment, zero," Coler said Wednesday.
A competing bidder, CIBER Inc., had gone to court to fight the awarding of the contract. Now DCF says it will ask the 1st District Court of Appeal to relinquish its jurisdiction in the case so the agency can rebid.
"If this motion is granted, it's going to allow us to address the issues that led us to the original lawsuit anyway," DCF spokesman Bob Brooks said.
"By rebidding the contract, we will have the certainty necessary to predict" a realistic schedule for completing HomeSafenet, said DCF Interim Secretary Lucy Hadi.
Brooks said he could not say how long it would take to rebid the contract nor how long it would take to finish the work.
HomeSafenet is the computer system that stores and analyzes data about children in the foster care system. Its architects say it is a powerful system that will protect children by allowing supervisors to instantly check which employees have completed critical work such as making their monthly face-to-face visits with children in foster homes. It already is in use around the state, but needs to be completed.
The system is at least seven years past its original completion date, and roughly $200-million over the original budget.
Irregularities in other contracts led the state's chief inspector general to issue a stinging report in July criticizing state officials' actions.
Regier apologized for lapses in judgment, and resigned in August.