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Reform tale led to day care license

A woman persuaded a state agency to discount her criminal past, but she is now accused of hurting a baby in her care.

By CANDACE RONDEAUX
Published September 29, 2005

TAMPA - She is a woman of God. She sings in the choir and goes to Bible study. She's not who she used to be - the 13 arrests, the felony cocaine conviction, all that is long gone. Dorothy Monroe is a new woman, or at least that's what she told authorities.

Nearly a week after police arrested Monroe, 44, on charges that she shook a baby boy so violently that his brain was badly bruised, documents released by the Florida Department of Children and Families Wednesday shed light on Monroe's journey from convicted felon to licensed day care worker.

Police arrested Monroe on Sept. 22, two months after Melanie Hall, the mother of the infant, took him to University Community Hospital. Hall reported that her son seemed lethargic after she picked him up from the Tampa day care Monroe helped run.

According to police, Hall left her son at Monroe's home at 5:30 p.m. on July 28, and when she picked him up nearly three hours later, she noticed something was wrong.

Police say Monroe gave conflicting stories when arrested about what happened to the boy, but she admitted shaking him.

Reached at her Tampa home Wednesday, Monroe declined to comment on her case. She voluntarily relinquished her license Friday, according to Joy Cosgrove, a Hillsborough County child care licensing official.

Under Florida law, anyone convicted of serious crimes such as murder, aggravated assault, sexual misconduct or felony drug charges is automatically disqualified for child care licensing. But in some cases exemptions are granted for would-be child care providers, like Monroe, if they can prove that they've cleaned up their act.

Department of Children and Families spokesman Andy Ritter said most who are disqualified after a background check don't elect to undergo further scrutiny. Applicants with criminal backgrounds must provide DCF with letters of recommendation, an arrest report for each criminal offense, a letter from parole or probation officials and employment history.

"People need to prove that they've been rehabilitated. I think in a lot of cases that's why people don't go through the exemption process," Ritter said. "It's a lot of trouble to get all that information and basically have your life scrutinized."

But last year Monroe decided to make the effort. In September 2004, DCF officials initially rejected her application to become a child care provider after a routine background check revealed her arrests and a 1991 felony conviction for possession of cocaine. About a month later she applied for an exemption, telling DCF she had changed a lot in the last 10 years, records show.

"I am a woman of God," Monroe wrote. "I'm very happily married. We have three wonderful girls, all over 24 years old. We live a very conservative home life. My family and I play a very important role in our neighborhood watch, community effort."

People who vouched for Monroe said she changed for the better after she began attending the First Church of College Hill in Tampa, records show. The Rev. Stanley E. Burrows, a pastor at the church, sent a letter saying Monroe is a "deeply committed Christian who lives by the highest moral and ethical standards."

Burrows could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

--Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 813 226-3337 or rondeaux@sptimes.com

[Last modified September 29, 2005, 01:18:09]