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With chief facing jail time, DCF has $5M plan for beds

By TIMES WIRES
Published November 25, 2006

With its top official facing a possible jail sentence, the state Department of Children and Families says it has found a way to create 85 new treatment beds for the mentally ill. DCF officials say they could re-allocate $5-million in administrative funds for treatment beds. That came after Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Crockett Farnell held DCF Secretary Lucy Hadi in contempt and threatened to jail her because there weren't enough treatment beds. Under state law, DCF must move mentally ill people from local jails within 15 days after they are declared incompetent for trial. But because of a shortage of beds, those inmates have languished in jails for an average of three months. The 85 new beds will give the state about 1,500 total, which is expected to reduce, but not eliminate, a waiting list of about 300 people. The new beds are expected to become available in mid December.

Closed by fire, Gatorland reopens its doors

Gatorland, the 57-year-old Orlando roadside attraction shuttered by a spectacular fire Nov. 6, reopened Friday to music, dance and gator wrestling, the Orlando Sentinel reports. "We never realized for a small, family-owned attraction, how many people around the world have been touched by this small business," said Mark McHugh, Gatorland's president and chief executive officer. As thanks for containing the fire, Gatorland dedicated the day's proceeds to the firefighters' primary charity, the Children's Burn Foundation of Florida.

Correction

Frank Klosinski is a former volunteer at Francis House. A photo caption Thursday incorrectly described his association with the facility.

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 23:46:37]