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Politics
DCF leaders vow a new day
The state chief and new regional director tout transparency.
By Colleen Jenkins
Published March 27, 2007
TAMPA - Department of Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth came to town Monday to introduce the agency's new regional director for Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties. But Butterworth and his colleagues also used the occasion to herald "a new day" of openness for the beleaguered child welfare department. "We will no longer use this agency to hide behind the concept of confidentiality," George Sheldon, Butterworth's assistant secretary for operations, told law enforcement officials, DCF employees and reporters. Nick Cox, the newly hired SunCoast regional director who worked for Butterworth when he was state attorney general, echoed his bosses. "It was the mantra at the Attorney General's Office and it will be the mantra here: transparency," Cox said. If the mantra sticks, it will certainly mean a climate change for DCF officials who traditionally have been tight-lipped about missteps in child welfare cases. Butterworth said confidentiality laws should be used to protect the identities of children but not to hide department mistakes. The secretary and Cox both promised that the days of "no comment" from agency officials were over. During his first 10 weeks in office, Butterworth joined with a newspaper to ask a judge to release records in a southwest Florida abuse case in which the secretary admits mistakes were made. Cox vowed to give reporters his cell phone number - as soon as he learned it. Many of the law enforcement representatives on hand for Cox's introduction, including Pinellas Sheriff Jim Coats and Pasco Sheriff Bob White, didn't need an introduction to the man with deep roots in local criminal justice circles. Cox, 43, prosecuted homicides for the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office for 10 years before moving over to the Attorney General's Office. There, he helped institute a division that handled termination of parental rights cases and a program that worked with other agencies to crack down on elder abuse at nursing homes. He had been working for a private law firm and as an adjunct professor at Stetson College of Law when Butterworth beckoned him back to public service. On Monday, he was optimistic but not overly idealistic about his new role. "I'd like to say that the system will be fixed," he said. But if it's not, he said, he at least wants to bring about positive changes. Colleen Jenkins can be reached at 813 226-3337 or cjenkins@sptimes.com.
[Last modified March 26, 2007, 22:11:56]
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by Lisa
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03/27/07 12:39 PM
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Everyone is always negative about DCF.
I was lucky enough to adopt a beautiful little girl several years ago through their program. There is some good there!
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by foster
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03/27/07 12:36 PM
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dcf should have the same laws as the 3 strike law. i have had the same set of kids x 4 and they keep having to go back to parents who really don't want them. the oldest child is only 5 and i have had him 31/2 yrs total. they need a major overhaul.
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by John
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03/27/07 11:50 AM
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The predecessors did the best job they could with the tools they were provided. Remember it is not the agency head that provides the budget they must work with - it is the governor and legislature - and they are the first to complain when it fails.
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by Tonya
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03/27/07 11:46 AM
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I worked for the agency for 17 years and no matter who is in charge it will not change - the problem is not openess - the problem is trying to solve an unsolvable problem. If parents were better parents we would never need a DCF.
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by ted
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03/27/07 10:55 AM
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yeah, yeah, yeah...we hear this everytime there is another instance of abuse, incompetence, malfeasance or whatever discovered in this agency. WAKEUP, folks. DCF is that way because YOU, through your leaders, WANT it to be that way. throw away kids
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by Eric
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03/27/07 09:47 AM
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I have personal knowledge in the past how overburdened case workers are, despite their level of ability. This I learned while trying to help a case worker keep track of an errant alcoholic mother w/two children in temp forster care. A full time job.
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by Gene
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03/27/07 05:23 AM
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If there has ever been a system that needs more fixing than this one, I would be surprised.
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by Bob
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03/27/07 12:18 AM
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The Floridiotia DCF has been a shining example of bureauocratic incompetence at its best. They lose kids and are a nightmare to deal with. A man who can't figure out how to find out his cell number is going to improve this? No stonewall, just stone?
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