Missing-child report pins bulk of blame on agency

By MELANIE AVE
Published July 18, 2007

The foster girl's caseworker may have been the one who failed to report her missing to Florida law enforcement for four months.

But it was the state's child welfare system - and its lax procedures and oversight - that bears most of the responsibility for errors in the case of Courtney Clark, a 2-year-old former Pinellas County foster child who disappeared with her mother for nine months, according to a state report released Tuesday.

The Florida Department of Children and Families, its nonprofit contractor, the Sarasota Family YMCA, and the YMCA's subcontractor, Directions for Mental Health in Clearwater, all failed to care for and protect Courtney, according to a 39-page report released by the DCF inspector general's office.

While some individuals "should be held accountable" for mistakes, the report attributed the ultimate failure to be "poorly established protocols within the provisions of the contract, lack of proper oversight, weak internal controls, and ineffective communication by all parties involved."

All three agencies lacked due diligence and a sense of urgency, the report concluded.

Among its recommended changes:

• DCF should oversee its subcontractors more closely and specifically be required to approve a subcontractor's policies.
• Workers should take immediate action when a child's safety is in question.
• Employees should be trained on how to properly report missing children.

The review also faulted a home study, done by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, for not being "detailed enough" about previous allegations of sexual abuse at the foster home where Courtney was living.

Because of "inexcusable" errors in the case, DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth previously announced the hiring of five missing-children workers and the formation of a committee to study cracks in the foster system.

The case is a wake-up call that shows DCF needs to hold the 20 private agencies that provide foster care, like the YMCA, more accountable, he said.

"I don't think we have been as hands-on as we should have been," Butterworth said. "I do not believe we are providing the oversight ... or requiring as much accountability as we should."

In June, police found Courtney and two younger sisters safe, but living amid a grisly scene in a two-story rental home in Wisconsin. Police also discovered there a scalded and starving 11-year-old boy and the buried body of his 36-year-old mother.

Four people, including Courtney's mother, Candice Farris, 23, who took the girl from foster care in Lake County, are jailed on murder and child abuse charges. The children are in the custody of Wisconsin child welfare.

The inspector general report is the third review of the case. A June 20 YMCA report called for additional training of workers.

DCF's internal June 26 review faulted several agencies, including itself and the YMCA for failing to follow proper procedures.

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 01:33:29]