Task Force on Child Protection
Annual Report
October 2007- September 2008
Charlie Crist George H. Sheldon Governor Secretary
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction……………………………………………………………………….1
Secretary Butterworth’s Charge to the Task Force……………………...... 3
Summary of Recommendations, Status Update and Conclusions…...... 4
Recommendations from the Task Force Workgroups…………………….15
Strategic Proposal for Year Two Task Force Activities……………...... 18
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………...21
Appendices
Appendix A: Preliminary Report from the Task Force on Child Protection (2007)
Appendix B: Family Safety Program Office 2007-2008 Training and Meetings
Appendix C: Meetings and Membership of Task Force
Appendix D: Agenda and Minutes for Bi-Monthly Meetings
Appendix E: Task Force on Child Protection Web Link Resources
2008 Task Force on Child Protection Annual Report
Introduction
On July 12, 2007, Department of Children and Families Secretary Bob Butterworth formed the Task Force on Child Protection. This group, comprising child protection experts, judicial and law enforcement personnel, Department and contract employees as well as other child welfare stakeholders, was charged to examine the gaps currently existing in the system when responding to and locating missing children. The Task Force was also charged with identifying administrative, policy, legislative, education, and training efforts which must be undertaken to ensure the safety of Florida's children.
The Task Force was the result of the much-publicized Courtney Clark case in which a young child, supervised by the Department and the Sarasota YMCA, was missing for almost four months before being reported to Florida law enforcement. A report from the Department's Inspector General and a Family Safety Quality Assurance review found that the Sarasota YMCA failed to adequately provide for the care, safety and protection of the children involved in the Courtney Clark case. Poor communication and weak procedures contributed to this failure.
This Task Force was formed to scrutinize insufficiencies within the state's child protection system. The original thirteen (13) member panel was directed to identify concerns and make recommendations, including suggestions regarding legislative enhancements, to improve coordination, communication, current policies and procedures, and training efforts for all parties involved in protecting and locating children in Florida's dependency system. The Task Force has continued to meet bi-monthly and has provided additional insight, review, analysis and develop recommendations to address specific issues. Workgroups within the Task Force solicited input and information from child welfare professionals and stakeholders in order to make the most informed recommendations. Workgroups have been utilized to review a number of procedures and processes such as: Home Study Form/Process and Implementation; Out of County Services; Transitions from Child Protective Investigation to Services
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Transition; Systems of Care; Stabilization and Permanency; and Child Recovery and Operation SafeKids Follow-up.
In addition to creating the Task Force on Child Protection, Secretary Butterworth established the position of Child Location Specialist in each of the Department's regions, with each reporting to the Regional Director. These positions enhance the coordination and communication on missing children issues within Florida's criminal justice system, particularly at the local level and with community-based care providers. He also appointed a Director of Criminal Justice Services, who reports to the Assistant Secretary for Operations, to serve as the lead contact for the Department in matters relating to law enforcement, corrections, juvenile justice, and the courts.
In conjunction with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Task Force and other child protection stakeholders, the Department prepared and lobbied for the passage of HB 7077 during the 2008 legislative session. This new law, effective July 1, 2008, requires local law enforcement to immediately take missing children reports from the Department and its contract providers.
Secretary Butterworth also charged the Department with strengthening existing training programs for all protective investigators, case managers, supervisors, and administrators on missing children reporting and locating requirements. He asked for a review of the language in the standard community-based care contracts to ensure all statutory and regulatory requirements are met.
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Secretary Butterworth’s Charge to the Task Force
1. Review the reports of the Office of Quality Assurance and Office of Inspector General to determine specific individual, agency and system deficiencies in the case of Courtney Clark. 2. Review the reports of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection (2002) and Operation SafeKids (2003) to determine the Department’s continued compliance with the recommendations of these reports. 3. Conduct public hearings as necessary to gain further input from individuals; including parents, children, and advocates involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in Florida. 4. Review and make recommendations regarding deficiencies and issues identified in the reports regarding the case of Courtney Clark including reunifications, stabilization and permanency during foster care, courtesy, non-relative care, and other critical child welfare and protection issues. 5. Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any legislative actions necessary to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing. 6. Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any policy, procedure, administrative, or contractual actions needed to be taken by the Department of Children and Families and by Community-based care lead agency providers or their sub-contractors to better protect our children and to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing. 7. Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any educational or training efforts which should be undertaken to enhance the ability of agencies within the State’s child welfare and criminal justice systems to protect Florida’s children. 8. Make any other substantive recommendations which will enhance the State’s child welfare and protection system.
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A Preliminary Report from the Task Force on Child Protection (Included as Appendix A) was released in November 2007 and reviewed the activities and recommendations of the Task Force from July to October 2007. This 2008 Annual Report will be a cumulative overview and includes updates for all recommendations and projects. Many of these recommendations were also included in the Courtney Clark Case Action Plan Recommendations. Summary of Recommendations
In the 2007 Child Protection Task Force Preliminary Report, a series of recommendations related to the Secretary’s eight charges were made by the Task Force to set the course for addressing child protection review and practice. Guided by Secretary Butterworth’s problem-solving standard for approaching issues with both a sense of urgency and common sense, the Task Force made the following recommendations. Below is an update on the progress of those recommendations.
Charge One
Review the reports of the Office of Quality Assurance and Office of Inspector General to determine specific individual, agency and system deficiencies in the case of Courtney Clark. Status Update
The Report of the Office of Inspector General Investigation on the Courtney Clark case resulted in several major recommendations on which the Department has taken action.
Training related to the proper reporting of children as missing is currently being conducted by community-based care (CBC) service providers as part of pre- service training and is based upon Florida Administrative Code 65C-30.019 and Children and Families Operating Procedure 175-85. In addition, the Department’s Missing Child Tracking System (MCTS) was integrated into the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN)
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in May 2008. Due to the integration of the MCTS into FSFN additional training on how and when to properly report a child as missing is also being given as part of standard FSFN training.
A number of resources outlining how and when to report a child as missing from state care and supervision are currently available. Some of these items include: • Missing Children Guide (Version September 2008), • Missing Child Quick Reference Guides for both case managers and child abuse investigators, • FSFN Missing Child Report How Do I Guide, • FSFN Missing Child Report Trainer, and; • FSFN Missing Child Report Release 2A Demo.
In addition to the resources outlined above, the Department’s six local DCF Regional Criminal Justice Coordinators are tasked with enhancing coordination, cooperation and communication between Florida’s child welfare system and the criminal justice system with a shared focus on missing, exploited, abused, neglected, and abandoned children. These individuals have also been tasked with promoting prevention and the proper reporting, safe recovery, and stabilization of missing children and will also provide technical assistance to DCF and CBC service providers on issues related to reporting and documenting children as missing. Statewide quarterly conference calls dealing with issues related to preventing, reporting, documenting, and locating missing children are being conducted by the Office of Criminal Justice Services. A daily missing children report is automatically compiled by the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN) to enable supervisors to track the performance of case workers in their compliance with the requirement that all children be seen every thirty days.
Efforts related to preventing, reporting, documenting, and locating missing children have been extremely successful over the past thirteen months. In July 2007 the average daily number of children reported as missing from the care or supervision of the State was 615 children. This number has been reduced to a daily average of 371 children for
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August 2008, a 40% reduction in the average daily number of children reported as missing from the care or supervision of the State over the past thirteen months.
On July 1, 2008, the Department implemented the child welfare Regional Quality Assurance Model. The concept of the regional model began in July 2007, when Secretary Butterworth transferred Quality Assurance staff and resources from headquarters to regions to better address quality of practice issues at the local level. The intent was to eliminate the child maltreatment tragedies that continued to highlight performance gaps in Florida’s child welfare system.
The Regional Quality Assurance Model has a number of key characteristics that will drive accountability in a new direction for child welfare throughout Florida. • A set of standards that expands the scope of quality assurance beyond typical compliance measures to also include a focus on the quality of practice and service provision rather than just compliance. In particular, a national expert has provided ongoing leadership in building a core set of standards that directly affect safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families. • Case reviews that include aspects of mentoring and shared knowledge development (such as, “side by side” techniques), local authority, and regional oversight. • Integration of quality assurance reviews and other sources of performance information (such as child death reviews and performance measurement) into a basis for systematic quality improvement using a “plan do check act” model. • Collaboration with the Contract Oversight Unit which is charged with monitoring the contractual compliance requirements for community-based care. • Annual quality plans for community-based care and child protective investigations and annual performance reports to show progress toward state and national goals. • Mentoring skills training for supervisors in support of the philosophy that “quality begins at the front line” and supervisors are the critical link to ensuring quality practice and services are delivered.
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In addition to implementation of a new Regional Quality Assurance Model, the Task Force was also notified that additional measures have been implemented to ensure a vigilant system of oversight of children who are not seen by a caseworker.
Conclusion
Accomplished. Both reviews and recommendations have been completed. Recommendations from the Inspector General’s Report on the Courtney Clark case have been incorporated into Department policy and practice. In addition, the Regional Quality Assurance Model has been retooled to better meet the needs of the Department’s review of child protection processes.
Charge Two
Review the reports of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection (2002) and Operation SafeKids (2003) to determine the Department’s continued compliance with the recommendations of these reports. Status Update
The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel and Operation SafeKids were the result of the high profile case of Rilya Wilson, a child who went missing from her home while under DCF supervision and has never been located. The Blue Ribbon Panel recommendations and Operation SafeKids caused many changes in policy, practice and law as it relates to missing children. Although the Department of Children and Families continues to review and update for compliance of Blue Ribbon Recommendations, the Task Force on Child Protection has picked up where Operation SafeKids left off by continuing to implement policy and legislation that addresses missing children.
One such enhancement was the championing of HB 7077 which successfully passed during the 2008 legislative session. As mentioned before, Florida Statutes were
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changed to require missing children reports be immediately taken from the Department and investigated by law enforcement. This applies when a child is in state custody or under court-ordered supervision as well as when there is an open investigation case. Another area the Task Force has begun to explore is the collection of DNA from children within DCF supervision. This issue has been reviewed during the year by the Task Force, but the group has yet to take a final position on the collection of DNA, storage, testing, destruction and related privacy issues.
Conclusion
Accomplished. The Task Force completed the review of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection (2002) and Operation SafeKids (2003). The recommendations that resulted from the review continue to be monitored and recommendations for changes to practice, policy and legislation will be ongoing as needed.
Charge Three
Conduct public hearings as necessary to gain further input from individuals including parents, children, and advocates involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in Florida. Status Update
At each of the Task Force bi-monthly meetings, there has been opportunity for public input. The Task Force will continue to seek public input as part of each meeting to gain further input from individuals including parents, children, and advocates involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in Florida.
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Conclusion
Accomplished. Solicitation of public comments has been a featured agenda item for every Task Force meeting as directed by Secretary Butterworth. This Task Force practice will continue at future meetings.
Charge Four
Review and make recommendations regarding deficiencies and issues identified in the reports regarding the case of Courtney Clark including reunifications, stabilization and permanency during foster care, courtesy, non-relative care, and other critical child welfare and protection issues. Status Update
The Department and its community-based care providers are re-focusing efforts on strengthening families and safely reducing the foster care population. Under Secretary Bob Butterworth, a target of a 50% reduction in foster care by the year 2012 was established. The Department and a team of stakeholders are participating in a National Governors Association Policy Academy, “Safely Reducing the Foster Care Population.” These initiatives are consistent with the broader national goal of the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Casey Family Services to safely reduce the number of children in foster care: The 2020 Vision for Foster Care. This will be an ongoing effort championed by the Department and its stakeholders. Secretary George Sheldon has committed to continue to work toward these same goals. Conclusion
Accomplished. This is an ongoing issue that will continue to be addressed through planning and implementation of the Department’s “2012 Strategy” which aims to reduce the number of youth in foster care by 50% by the year 2012.
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Charge Five
Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any legislative actions necessary to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing. Status Update
As previously mentioned, several legislative changes were included with the passage of HB 7077 during the 2008 legislative session. Below are some specific recommendations as it relates to missing children: • Statutory language was developed which clarifies the violation of removing a child from the state or concealing a child during dependency proceedings or abuse or neglect investigations contrary to state agency or court order. • In conjunction with a workgroup of community-based care providers, law enforcement, state attorneys, youth and other appropriate stakeholders, the Department will develop appropriate administrative rules governing child location procedures and practices, including procedures for reporting missing children in the custody of the Department or community-based care provider agencies and a standard protocol for efforts to locate a missing child. • In conjunction with a workgroup of law enforcement, the Department of Children and Families and other involved stakeholders, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement will continue to develop appropriate legislation, rule, or other needed administrative action that would allow the linking of adult “persons of interest” and their vehicles with a missing child in the FCIC/NCIC systems. Conclusion
Ongoing. With the passage of HB 7077, certain necessary laws regarding the reporting of missing children have been implemented. The Task Force and the Department will continue to use the legislative process to advocate for needed changes in law as appropriate.
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Charge Six
Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any policy, procedure, administrative, or contractual actions needed to be taken by the Department of Children and Families and by community-based care lead agency providers or their sub-contractors to better protect our children and to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing. Status Update
The Department is assisting local law enforcement and community-based care providers to foster partnerships to more efficiently address the reporting and recovery of missing children. Communication has improved regarding procedures and policies since the hiring of the regional law enforcement coordinators.
The Department, in conjunction with representatives from community-based care agencies, the Florida Sheriffs Association, and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, continues to work toward the development of a model memorandum of understanding or an equivalent, to be used by agencies throughout the state and governing law enforcement and social services response during and after normal business hours.
The Department’s regional criminal justice coordinators, in conjunction with community- based care agencies, Florida Network for Youth and Family Services and local law enforcement, are working in a coordinated effort to identify and target for improvement shelters which reflect a high incidence of runaways, and to conduct intervention assessments in an effort to reduce the initial as well as chronic incidence of runaways. Conclusion
Ongoing. Since the community-based care agencies operate within many different law enforcement jurisdictions, it is critical to engage all relevant parties in meaningful discussion to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing.
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DCF Regional Criminal Justice coordinators are providing training on the reporting of missing children and cultivating relationships between the law enforcement community and community-based care agencies.
A template for a model Memorandum of Understanding is being developed regarding response during and after business hours as to the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing. Additionally, The Florida Network of Youth and Families has committed to work with community-based care agencies to provide training to address issue of runaways at both local and statewide levels.
Two community-based care providers, the Sarasota YMCA and Family Support Services of North Florida implemented community approaches to address the runaway problem that resulted in with community-based a reduction of missing children by 47% (Sarasota) and 62% (Jacksonville) respectively. These communities identified and targeted the problem then implemented strategies to involve existing community resources. Reductions continue to occur in other areas due to the community-based care commitment to addressing the problem.
Charge Seven
Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any educational or training efforts which should be undertaken to enhance the ability of agencies within the State’s child welfare and criminal justice systems to protect Florida’s children. Status Update
Training recommendations that were brought forward by the Task Force have been incorporated into the Department’s Family Safety Training Plan. Many training opportunities were immediately incorporated into the Department’s bi-annual regional training events, ongoing training initiatives, targeted technical assistance, and through
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the Department’s 2008 Dependency Summit. Department sponsored training opportunities targeted all partners within the child welfare system. Long term recommendations for employee certification and core training are being reviewed and incorporated into the Department’s curriculum and contracts.
• The Task Force reviewed a list of the extensive training developed by the Department in partnership with a variety of stakeholders during the recent fiscal year. The list of training opportunities demonstrates the highly collaborative training initiatives for all professions in the child protection system (Appendix B). • The annual Dependency Summit features over 1600 professionals that convene to participate in workshops and develop judicial circuit action plans for improving local systems performance.
Other Specific training opportunities included: • Training related to proper reporting of children as missing is currently part of pre- service training and is based upon Florida Administrative Code 65C-30.019 and Children and Families Operating Procedure 175-85. • The Department’s Missing Child Tracking System (MCTS) was integrated into the Florida Safe Families Network (FSFN) in May 2008. Additional training on how and when to properly report a child as missing is also being given as part of standard FSFN training. • Statewide FSFN training for Release 2 included development of a Comprehensive Family Assessment. This model assessment now makes assessing the whole family’s strengths and weaknesses part of the Family Case Plan and brings this information to all parties involved in a family or child’s case. These FSFN Family Assessment and Case Planning tools use technology to implement policy consistent with state and federal guidelines. These tools now provide information consistently throughout Florida’s child welfare system.
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Conclusion
Ongoing. Training initiatives will continue to be developed and offered in a wide variety of forums; the annual summit, bi-annual regional workshops, other training venues and opportunities through the collaboration with Children’s Legal Services, Domestic Violence, and Substance Abuse-Mental Health program areas.
Charge Eight
Make any other substantive recommendations which will enhance the State’s child welfare and protection system. Status Update
The Department has taken the following actions to implement and enhance child safety:
• Implemented the Alternative Response System demonstration project to enable protective investigators to extend their support to families who have frequent need for services. This helps to support the identification of families who have multiple service needs without significant safety concerns in order to provide early engagement of families with our community-based care providers. • Continued to develop regional training workshops on advanced interviewing, family-engagement and family-centered practice to improve decision-making for protective investigators. • Supported for the annual Dependency Summit, presented by the Department of Children and Family Services with the involvement of the Office of the State Court Administrator. This Summit provided the opportunity to improve interagency and intra-agency communications and training as well as identify cross-jurisdictional child welfare issues by profession. Attendance included several state agencies, members of the judiciary, attorneys and community providers. Additionally, each judicial circuit develops an action plan addressing critical child welfare issues
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within individual judicial circuits which require immediate implementation following the Summit. • Supported for the use of technology including the “All-in-One” Case Management handheld devices and Dragon Speak software programming and infrastructure in order to ensure efficiency and accountability at the child protection front lines. This technology will allow the Department and its partner agencies to better manage child protection activities and accountability for staff through the inclusion of Global Positioning System (GPS) capability, digital camera, biometrics, wireless internet access, security software, pre-loaded electronic forms, and digital audio recorder text to speech software. Conclusion
Ongoing. There have been many opportunities for the Department and the Task Force to support the ongoing efforts to implement critical child protection programs within existing resources.
Recommendations from the Task Force Workgroups
Workgroups
Several workgroups met over the course of the year to address several specific areas relating to child protection. The goal was to review certain aspects of the system and make recommendations for improvement. The following three workgroups brought forth recommendations for approval and sanction by the Task Force. These recommendations were formally approved in October 2008, and many will be incorporated into the Task Force’s planning and review over the course of the next year.
1. Child Recovery and Operation SafeKids Follow-up • Continue to track issues and cases to determine gaps in services to: o Handle individual cases o Determine systemic issues and create change
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• Develop on-going operations workgroup to immediately address issues and make recommendations. • Coordinate between agencies to determine proper placement and intervention in child trafficking cases. • Set up performance metrics for evaluation. • Implement recommendations already made and hold agencies and personnel accountable: o Debriefings/Assessment o Fingerprints o Photographs o Assure individual cases where issues are documented are brought to attention of regional administration
2. Child Protective Investigation to Services Transition
• Review all child deaths ages 5 and under, and when financially feasible, allow The Florida Child Abuse Death Review Team to review all child deaths. • Support The Florida Child Abuse Death Review Team’s data collection for child deaths at the time legislation goes into effect, allowing for the review of all child deaths. • Recommend that the “Unsubstantiated – No Indicators” closure would replace the “No Indicators” closures currently used in the system. The only change would be including the term ‘Unsubstantiated’ as part of the descriptor. The current “Some Indicators” finding would be subsumed by the new “Unsubstantiated – With Indicators” closure. This would clearly identify the previously identified “Some Indicators” findings as unsubstantiated but include the idea that there are still some areas of concern noted by the investigator. • Recommend training for law enforcement on requirements and proper procedure for reporting a child death to the Hotline.
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• Recommend a change in the Hotline procedures that will allow the calls to be flagged for diversion when a child dies and there are no abuse or neglect allegations.
3. Stabilization and Permanency
This workgroup’s original assignment was to recommend permanency and placement stability performance improvement. A second charge was to review the improved service assessment and eligibility determination processes for children with disabilities.
The workgroup has developed and is in the process of refining a one page set of time frames to ensure timely permanence for children post termination of parental rights. • Provide specific time frame recommendations based on the child’s individual situation to include the child or children for whom a family has not yet been identified and the child or children to be adopted by a relative or foster parent. • The workgroup will recommend the Department propose and promulgate language in Florida Administrative Code 65C-16 Adoptions. This is the proposed administrative rule for adoption which provides best practice guidance for conducting the adoptive parent home-study process, evaluation of adoptive applicants, and supervision of adoptive placements. The types of adoption assistance and post adoption services are also described. In addition, the rule explains the processes related to closed adoption records, Florida's Adoption Reunion Registry and the State Employees Adoption Benefit Program. • The workgroup will also provide a one page best practice document for Community-based care agencies that will include elements or minimum components of the array of services necessary for post-adoption and finalization.
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Strategic Proposal for Year Two Task Force Activities
At the conclusion of the March 20, 2008 meeting, a subcommittee was charged with designing a tactical approach to shape the future requirements of the Task Force. A workgroup consisting of Task Force members Patricia Badland, Adam Goldstein, and Glen Casel were tasked with developing a proposal for further discussion at the next meeting. This workgroup reviewed the future activities as articulated in the October 2007 report submitted and accepted by Secretary Butterworth. Three over-arching categories that capture the details of the work to be done center around: • Future legislative needs • Ongoing capacity of our systems of care • Institutionalization of improvements
Future legislative needs
The successful passage of the Department’s child protection legislation during the 2008 legislative session is responsive to the needed changes in law as identified in the Courtney Clark Quality Assurance and DCF Inspector General reports and articulated by this Task Force. The new law, effective July 1, 2008, effectively closes the gap in communications regarding missing children reporting requirements, placement screening mandates, and permanency for children in non-relative homes. The Task Force will play a vital role in developing future legislative child protection initiatives by: • Reviewing the implementation of new laws • Convening meetings to solicit input from those applying the law • Identifying system improvements that require legislation • Briefing the Secretary on legislative priorities for child protection • Assessing basic fiscal needs for FY 09-10 • Educating legislators on the importance of fully funding the child welfare system with the assumption that when the economy is not favorable for families, activity like child abuse increases thus resulting in an increased need for child welfare services
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The Task Force recommends that the Department of Children and Families 2009- 2010 proposed legislation include the following revisions to Chapter 39, F.S., governing Child Protection. • Creating an alternative response strategy to Hotline calls providing for implementation of services rather than removal in appropriate cases • Clearly define “risk”, ‘safe”, and “unsafe” to provide guidance to investigators in identifying cases where alternative response is appropriate • Require courts to consider ordering mediation to occur prior to arraignment to shorten time for parties to determine and agree upon services to facilitate quicker, safe return of children to the home • Specify the procedure for utilization of the new (2008) injunction statute which provides an additional tool for child protection without the necessity of removal of children and to encourage more frequent use of this alternative response
Ongoing Capacity of Florida’s Systems of Care
During the course of discussions at bi-monthly Task Force meetings, many issues that have served to evaluate the structure of Florida’s child protection system also challenge the core of its design. The Task Force proudly supports a community-based care model for strengthening and sustaining the self-support of families and the safety and permanency of children when they cannot remain with parents. Maintaining local standards of service delivery, however, must be supported in a manner that ensures a funding structure that is responsive to everything that we require of our community- based care lead agencies and their providers. Key issues of concern for future exploration include: • Defining the obligations and requirements of community-based care lead agencies in the development and ongoing provision of prevention initiatives. • Analyzing the workforce structure to develop effective approaches to retention that will lead to sustained success in case work stability.
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• Establishing a Risk and Finance workgroup to study funding stream formulas and allotments. • Reviewing and assessing both agency and provider workforce satisfaction through existing or recommended new processes that provide workforce input • Reviewing the recommendations of the August 1, 2008 Hotline Workgroup Report and implement as feasible. This workgroup was established to address increasing Hotline calls and to develop appropriate strategies for addressing these issues. • Reviewing current practice and law as it relates to Child-on-Child Sexual Abuse. This review will be a look at the age distinction in all child welfare statutes and rules, including all definitions making such distinctions; the reporting of child-on- child sexual abuse and the Abuse Hotline protocol and referral processes; and the adequacy of the investigations process and need for advanced training and education to all child welfare staff and responsible caregivers. • Examining the coordination and access to interagency and interdepartmental services such as Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and how these services can be better integrated into the child welfare system. • Creating a Workgroup on the sustainability of the Children’s Legal Services (CLS) model by reviewing the legal roles and responsibilities for both the CLS and Guardian Ad Litem.
Institutionalization of Improvements
Soon after the Task Force convened, a thorough review of activities of statewide child protection efforts showed system flaws. Meaningful reforms in Florida’s child protection system were generally carried out but still failed some children and their families.
System change is an ongoing and dynamic process. Although recommended training initiatives occurred, changes to law and administrative code were completed, and smarter use of technology was implemented, these changes have not become effectively institutionalized meaningful reforms. A challenge in any system change process is to sustain initiatives over time, particularly when anticipated outcomes are
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not always quickly or easily achieved. The Task Force can play a key role in designing approaches that don’t perpetuate ineffective and cyclical short-term success by: • Supporting the Quality Assurance initiative and including a mechanism and proper audience for annual follow up and review. • Reviewing initial and on-going training requirements to identify reforms in our professional staff development approaches that are responsive to the workforce. • Convening a standing workgroup on administrative codes to study requirements and eliminate conflicting, confusing and over-reaching mandates. • Developing a mechanism for detecting, diagnosing and reforming systems with the goal of achieving a prevention-oriented approach to serving children and their families. • Review, explore, and recommend options and opportunities for job task efficiencies to include use of technology, cost avoidance, and cost savings while maintaining or improving quality of care.
Conclusion
Under the leadership of Governor Charlie Crist, Secretary Bob Butterworth, and Secretary George Sheldon, our child protection system has received the necessary attention and support to ensure that significant advancements will continue. Appointing the Task Force on Child Protection has been a very important first step in order to take a transparent look at the current challenges facing Florida’s child welfare system.
The Task Force brought together internal and external views to examine ongoing systemic problems that keep children from receiving the protection to which they are entitled. These systemic problems are illustrated by the shortcomings, both in human error and in practice, as seen in the cases of Kayla McKean and Rilya Wilson and echoed in the recent case of Courtney Clark. These cases have taught the Department of Children and Families and its partners many lessons that must be incorporated into the core of what each child welfare, child protection and judicial staff, law enforcement
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officer, treatment provider, foster parent, and parent commits to in their role as a child protector. Each individual contribution to the child welfare system should be a meaningful act in each child’s life.
There are times that oversight, both internal and external, must exist in order to correct system deficiencies in an open and transparent way. This oversight should improve the system but, at the same time, it should also shine light on the many things that the system is doing right. There is much good work happening in the field of child protection and good work should be acknowledged and replicated.
This Task Force is a tribute to the commitment of former Secretary Bob Butterworth in making the system better to protect Florida’s most precious resource – Florida’s children. It is the intention of the Department to ask the Task Force to provide guidance towards continuous improvement for child protection.
The Task Force will seek the direction of Secretary George Sheldon as to the most effective use of resources that align with the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, the Council on Child Abuse Prevention and Adoption, and related efforts. The Task Force will remain ready to serve for a second term and looks forward to broadening the participation of experts to best achieve change.
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Task Force on Child Protection
Appendix A
Task Force on Child Protection
Preliminary Report
July-October 2007
Robert A. Butterworth Secretary
PRELIMINARY REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE ON CHILD PROTECTION
Introduction
As a result of issues which specifically arose in a parental abduction case involving a child named Courtney Clark, but which were also reflected in other historical and more recent cases, Secretary Robert A. Butterworth established the Task Force on Child Protection to examine the gaps currently existing in Florida’s child protection system, including efforts at reunification, stabilization and permanency during foster care, and supervision. Further, to correct recurring problems evidenced by these cases and suggested by on-going feedback from those involved in the system, the Task Force was specifically tasked with identifying administrative, policy, legislative, education, and training efforts which must be undertaken to ensure the safety of Florida’s children. Appendix A includes a copy of Secretary Butterworth’s appointment letter to State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair of the Task Force.
Task Force Membership
The Task Force appointed by Secretary Butterworth included a number of individuals involved in the state’s criminal justice and child welfare systems:
• State Attorney Barry Krischer, Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Chairman • Circuit Court Judge David M. Gooding, Fourth Judicial Circuit, Vice Chairman • Major Connie Shingledecker, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office • Director Donna Uzzell, Florida Department of Law Enforcement
1 • Glen Casel, Executive Director, Community-Based Care of Seminole, Inc. • Tana Ebbole, Children Services Council, Palm Beach County • Adam M. Goldstein, Board of Trustees, Our Kids of Miami- Dade/Monroe, Inc. • Jim Kallinger, Chief Child Advocate, Office of the Governor • Richard Komando, Program Director, Guardian Ad Litem, Fourth Judicial Circuit • Devan Coffman, Youth Advisory Board President, District 1 • Rochelle Hooke, Florida Youth Shine Representative • Patricia Badland, Director, DCF Office of Family Safety
• Circuit Administrator Alan Abramowitz, 15th Judicial Circuit, Department of Children and Families
Staff support for the Task Force was provided by personnel from the Office of the Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Operations, and Office of the Assistant Secretary for Programs within the Department of Children and Families.
Charge from Secretary Butterworth
Secretary B utterworth specifically charged the Task Force with: • Reviewing the reports of the Office of Quality Assurance and Office of Inspector General to determine specific individual, agency, and system deficiencies in the case of Courtney Clark; • Reviewing the reports of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection (2002) and Operation SafeKids (2003) to determine the Department’s continued compliance with the recommendations of these reports;
2 • Conducting public hearings as necessary to gain further input from individuals, including parents, children, and advocates, involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in Florida; • Reviewing and making recommendations regarding deficiencies and issues identified in the reports regarding the case of Courtney Clark including reunification, stabilization and permanency during foster care, courtesy supervision, non-relative care, and other critical child welfare and protection issues; • Identifying specific concerns and making recommendations regarding any legislative actions necessary to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing; • Identifying specific concerns and making recommendations regarding any policy, procedure, administrative, or contractual actions needed to be taken by the Department of Children and Families and by Community-Based Care Lead Agency providers or their sub-contractors to better protect our children and to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing;
• Identifying specific concerns and making recommendations regarding any educational or training efforts which should be undertaken to enhance the ability of agencies within the State’s child welfare and criminal justice systems to protect Florida’s children; • Making any other substantive recommendations which will enhance the State’s child welfare and protection system.
In accomplishing this effort, the Task Force was also directed to provide a preliminary report of its activities, findings, and recommendations to Secretary Butterworth by October 1, 2007.
3
Meetings of the Task Force
The first meeting of the Task Force was held on August 3, 2007, at Stetson University College of Law, Tampa Campus. Subsequent meetings were held on: • August 16 at Stetson University College of Law, Tampa Campus • September 5 in Orlando as part of the State Dependency Summit • September 20 in Ft. Lauderdale at Nova Southeastern University • October 10 in Jacksonville in the Jacksonville City Council Chambers
The agenda and minutes for each of these meetings are provided as Appendix B of this Preliminary Task Force Report.
Background to this Task Force Report
Throughout its meetings, a number of issues surfaced and guided both Task Force discussions and recommendations. First, in the case which resulted in the creation of this body, we each have been struck by the human errors and failures in information sharing and exchange that prevented our child welfare system from effectively protecting this child. Such errors are inexcusable, particularly the over-reliance on electronic rather than personal contact between child protection staff from several agencies. We concur with Secretary Butterworth that it is the Department of Children and Families, not any outside agency, who must take the lead in assuring that corrective measures are in place and that those measures function now and in the future. Yet each agency, organization, and individual involved in this State’s child protection system plays a critical role in its day-to-day success and in our response to Florida’s children. Individuals throughout the system, both in public and private agencies, must understand their responsibilities and be held accountable for their actions. We
4 must ensure that all necessary elements are in place to protect Florida’s most vulnerable children; we must each recognize that, when individuals fail, our system of child protection must not.
Second, by the nature of our work, no element of the child protection system—the Department of Children and Families, our Community-Based Care agencies, other providers, advocates, or law enforcement—can afford to adopt an insensitive bureaucratic response to the needs of Florida’s vulnerable children. Our statutes, administrative codes, policies, and operating procedures cannot be so complex and burdensome that they prevent the effective, sensitive, and timely response of the system to the needs of our vulnerable children. Our actions must reflect the sense of urgency that such issues demand, and all elements of the system, at every level of service, must recognize that they are held accountable for our successes as well as our failures.
Third, we recognize that leadership cannot be designed simply through regulations, policies, and procedures. It is the culture of the Department of Children and Families and its partner agencies that is of critical importance and which must support a comprehensive and action-oriented approach to the needs of Florida’s children. This culture must be established by the leadership of each organization and must be manifested throughout each of the involved agencies at every point of leadership and with every involved member of staff. A culture that accepts and encourages only high expectations, high performance, high accountability, and maximum transparency is fundamental to the success of not only our individual organizations, but, through them, to Florida’s entire Child Protection System.
Fourth, this State must operate and promulgate a data driven system of care which integrates information and best practices from the myriad affected agencies and organizations. That system must support knowing what the most
5 current research indicates and what best practices are applicable, what data within our own system indicate, and how we can best effect continuous improvement of the individuals served by the system, as well as of the system itself. We must define and drive our measurements in such a manner that we— and those we serve—understand what constitutes success.
Fifth, we live in a state in which crisis is the norm and band-aid solutions to complex problems a common approach. In protecting the lives and health of our children, Florida can no longer react to individual incidents, nor ineffectively and incompletely implement necessary changes and improvements to our system. Instead, we must institutionalize and assure a comprehensive, effective, consistent system of protection and care that is adequately funded, staffed, and professionally competent to deal with the changing and complex needs of our children and society.
Finally, as we have heard repeatedly in testimony and in our own discussion, success in our child protection system must rest on the core principle that all agencies and individuals involved in prevention, protection, and treatment services for Florida’s children must effectively communicate and collaborate. The safety of our children is too important to allow petty grievances, personal agendas, and turf wars to interfere.
6 CHARGE 1:1 Review the reports of the Office of Quality Assurance and Office of Inspector General to determine specific individual, agency, and system deficiencies in the case of Courtney Clark.
The Task Force received and reviewed these reports and heard presentations from appropriate Departmental staff in its early deliberations. Copies of these reports, a timeline of key events, and a monitoring instrument for actions already taken by the Department are included in Appendix C.
Findings: It is clear that, in the case of Courtney Clark, a number of critical elements of the system and individuals charged with her protection did not perform up to standard. The Department and the Community-Based Care Agency failed to adequately provide for the care, safety, and protection of this child and only through exceptional efforts by personnel within law enforcement assigned to the missing child case was further tragedy avoided. As noted in the reports, failures throughout the system could be attributed to: - poorly established protocols within contract provisions - lack of proper contract oversight by the Department - weak internal controls by the Community-Based Care Agency
- poor documentation - ineffective communication by all parties - ineffective quality assurance reviews by the department and the Community-Based Care Agency - the lack of a sense of urgency on the part of many individuals involved in the case
Recommen d ations: • The Department has already developed a series of required actions as a result of this case which are included in Appendix C. The Task
7 Force endorses these actions, particularly the effort to reduce the review time period for children not seen by a caseworker to 31 days. However, we recognize that, to be effective, the implementation of these steps requires a sense of urgency on the part of both the Department and the Community-Based Care agencies. Further, the corrective actions must be monitored, compliance assured, and personnel at all levels held accountable for their actions.
• The Task Force recommends that the Department, utilizing information compiled from law enforcement and Community-Based Care Lead Agencies provide a report on the status of these corrective actions at each of its upcoming meetings.
8 CHARGE 2:2 Review the reports of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Child Protection (2002) and Operation SafeKids (2003) to determine the Department’s continued compliance with the recommendations of these reports.
The Task Force reviewed these reports and heard presentations from appropriate Departmental staff early in its deliberations. An updated compliance report regarding the recommendations of these reports is included in Appendix D.
Findings: Each of these reports provided specific recommendations to deal with deficiencies identified in Florida’s child location system. Unfortunately, in a number of cases, these necessary and appropriate enhancements have not been permanently incorporated into the Department or system response through policy, procedures, or training.
The Blue Ribbon Panel recommended that case files contain a current photograph, fingerprints, and birth verification of every dependent child, and State statute and Departmental rule now address this requirement. This Report additionally recommended that the Department review the feasibility of a DNA swab for every dependent child. Operation SafeKids also recommended that the Department collect and store DNA samples without analysis for all children under school age. Although the Department collects DNA samples when there is a question of paternity, it has indicated that there are no plans to expand this practice. This Task Force on Child Protection has noted that DNA is a more thorough and, under certain circumstances, successful technology for positively identifying a person than is the use of fingerprints.
9 Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department review the individual recommendations included in the most current compliance reports for the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel and Operation SafeKids to determine their current need, viability, applicability, and alternative practices; identify those that are not currently being systematically implemented but remain necessary, and identify any barriers for implementation; and take action to assure complete implementation in a timely fashion, on-going monitoring, and accountability of assigned personnel. • The Task Force recommends that the Department provide this Task Force with an on-going report on the status of such implementation, using information compiled from law enforcement and Community-Based Care Lead Agencies, at each of its upcoming meetings. • The Task Force recommends that a workgroup including the Department of Children and Families, local law enforcement, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Chief Child Advocate in the Office of the Governor, and appropriate legal and children’s advocates, be created to determine the feasibility of collecting DNA from children that are in the custody of the Department and recommends to this Task Force procedures regarding DNA collection, storage, testing, destruction, and privacy issues for consideration in preparation for its next report.
10 CHARGE 3:3 Conduct public hearings as necessary to gain further input from individuals, including parents, children, and advocates, involved in the child welfare and criminal justice systems in Florida.
The Task Force offered an opportunity for public presentations and comments at its meetings on August 16, September 5, September 20, and October 10. A total of 41 individuals presented at the request of the Task Force or offered public comments. Among those who addressed the Task Force were former Governor Buddy MacKay; Senator Ronda Storms, Chair of the Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee; Senator Nan Rich, Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee; and Representative Bill Galvano, Chair of the Healthy Families Committee. A list of all those who appeared before the Task Force, including presenters and members of the community, is included in Appendix B.
11 CHARGE 4:4 Review and make recommendations regarding deficiencies and issues identified in the reports regarding the case of Courtney Clark including reunification, stabilization and permanency during foster care, courtesy supervision, non-relative care, and other critical child welfare and protection issues.
Findings: Current statutory language governing the background screening requirements for relatives, non-relatives, foster parents, and other potential caregivers for children who are the subjects of Chapter 39 proceedings are inconsistent and at times contradictory. As a result, adequate screening prior to placement of a child may not occur. Additionally, judicial approval of and licensing requirements for non-relative placement are insufficient. It is important for the Task Force to reaffirm that the ultimate goal of screening is to ensure that children are placed with safe and nurturing caregivers and that permanency is achieved for children who are not reunified with their families, placed with relatives, or adopted.
Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department develop and propose legislation which will strengthen and standardize background screening requirements for all potential caregivers for children who are subject to Chapter 39 proceedings, as well as others residing in the home; enhance judicial oversight of children in non-relative placement; and explore the impact of licensing requirements for non-relative caregivers.
12 CHARGE 5:5 Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any legislative actions necessary to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing.
Findings: The Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs has taken as an interim project a review of laws and procedures governing the reporting of missing children. The staff report is due on October 2, and this Task Force looks forward to reviewing those recommendations.
As evidenced by this case, there is a lack of statutory clarity regarding the taking of missing children reports by law enforcement when a child is alleged to be in the company of a biological parent who flees during an open child abuse investigation or open protective supervision case.
Once reported, missing children are routinely entered into the Florida Crime Information Center (FCIC) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). However, as this Task Force has heard, absent a specific criminal violation, the parent or guardian who has removed them may not automatically be entered into either of these law enforcement information-sharing systems.
Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department and appropriate law enforcement entities provide support to the Senate interim project on the development of legislation requiring law enforcement to accept a missing child report when that child is in the legal custody of the Department and is alleged to be in the custody of a biological parent who flees during an open child abuse or open protective supervision case. • The Task Force recommends that, in conjunction with a workgroup of Community-Based care providers, law enforcement, state
13 attorneys, youth, and other appropriate stakeholders, the Department develop appropriate administrative rules governing child location procedures and practices, including procedures for reporting missing children in the custody of the Department or Community-Based care provider agencies and a standard protocol for efforts to locate the missing child. • The Task Force recommends that the Department develop and propose statutory language which clarifies the violation of removing a child from the state or concealing a child during dependency proceedings or abuse or neglect investigations contrary to state agency instruction or court order. • The Task Force recommends that, in conjunction with a workgroup of law enforcement, the Department of Children and Families, and other involved stakeholders, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement develop appropriate legislation, rule, or other needed administrative action that would allow the linking of adult “persons of interest” and their vehicles with a missing child in the FCIC/NCIC systems.
14 CHARGE 6:6 Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any policy, procedure, administrative, or contractual actions needed to be taken by the Department of Children and Families and by Community-Based Care Lead Agency providers or their sub-contractors to better protect our children and to enhance the reporting and recovery of children determined to be missing.
Findings: The relationship among the Department, Community-Based Care agencies, and law enforcement is particularly critical in cases involving children who are reported to be missing or abused. Written agreements and protocols based on best practices must be worked out and exist among all agencies involved in any aspect of the response to ensure clarity of roles, responsibilities, and actions when the situation occurs.
Many children who are reported as missing are runaways, frequently repeating this behavior. Efforts to identify and correct the causative factors behind this repeated behavior are inconsistent and sporadic, and a significant portion of Florida’s missing juveniles are chronic runaways.
Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department, in conjunction with representatives from Community-Based Care agencies, the Florida Sheriffs Association, and the Florida Police Chiefs Association, develop a model memorandum of understanding for use by agencies throughout the state and governing law enforcement and social service response during and after normal business hours. • The Task Force recommends that the Department, in conjunction with the Community-Based Care agencies, Florida Network for Youth and Family Services, and local law enforcement, undertake a
15 coordinated effort to identify and target for improvement shelters which reflect a high incidence of runaways; develop a protocol for debriefing chronic runaways; and conduct intervention assessments in an effort to reduce the initial as well as the chronic incidence of runaways.
16 CHARGE 7:7 Identify specific concerns and make recommendations regarding any educational or training efforts which should be undertaken to enhance the ability of agencies within the State’s child welfare and criminal justice systems to protect Florida’s children.
Findings: The Courtney Clark case and other issues involving missing, abused, and exploited children have shown a need for both a closer working relationship with law enforcement and enhanced training for law enforcement and social service personnel.
Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department, in conjunction with the State’s Community-Based Care Lead Agencies and the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission, undertake a review of the training available for criminal justice and social service personnel in order to develop a coordinated, comprehensive approach to professional education. Such joint training efforts should include sharing of information and coordination of efforts between law enforcement and protective investigators.
17 CHARGE 8:8 Make any other substantive recommendations which will enhance the State’s child welfare and protection system.
Findings: Current statutory language requires the Department and sheriff offices to complete a child protective investigation within 60 days regardless of the disposition of the case. The requirement can be problematic in three situations: in child death cases, where it routinely takes more than 60 days to receive a final medical examiner’s report on the case of death; in investigations involving missing children in which the child is not located within the 60 day timeframe; and in reports that involve an on-going concurrent criminal investigation and in which the closing of the abuse case and release of information would jeopardize the other criminal case.
The decision-making process to remove a child from his/her family and place that child in foster care must balance a number of considerations: diligent efforts to prevent removal, impact of placement on safety/risk factors, and availability of services to remediate the problem for the family. The trauma of separation and placement in foster care presents its own set of safety/risk factors. Prevention of removal and intensive in-home services must be thoroughly explored by the entire child welfare system.
The Task Force heard testimony from child advocates concerning the all- too-common practice of moving children between different foster homes for a variety of reasons, including lack of sufficient foster home placement choices for appropriate matches for children and caretakers. Youth representatives on the Task Force echoed these concerns, relating their personal experiences with such disruptions that negatively impacted their school life, social life, and contact with siblings. The Task Force was also made aware that Federal audits of placement stability indicate a downward trend on this performance measure that places Florida at risk for financial penalties. We recognize that improvements in the
18 availability of front end services will result in additional reductions in placements in foster care and damage associated with repeated placements.
Children within the system of care frequently need additional “eyes” protecting their interests. Legal assistance, however, is not available for all children in need. It is our responsibility to ensure that children have the opportunity to appear in court when their cases are heard; that children are heard during those hearings; and that children have necessary representation during the legal process.
Existing Florida laws at times thwart the necessary exchange of information between social service agencies and at times impede the effectiveness of service delivery. Additionally, in a number of cases discussed with the Task Force, information which should be made public or at least shared with involved individuals, including the child or his/her legal representative, is restricted by statute. In other situations, foster and adoptive parents have not had access to full and complete information concerning the children in their care.
Recommendations: • The Task Force recommends that the Department draft and propose language to amend Section 39.301, F.S., to allow for an extension of the investigatory timeframe in certain clearly defined circumstances. • The Task Force recommends that the Department and Community- Based Care Lead Agencies explore the promise of the IV-E waiver implemented in October 2006 and the opportunity to use available funds to prevent removal by providing intensive and effective home services. • The Task Force recommends that the Department and Community- Based Care Lead Agencies work with the Youth Law Center to develop strategies for recruitment and retention of foster care and
19 adoptive placements. The Task Force requests an update on the results of current discussions between the Youth Law Center and the Department’s executive management on this issue at its meeting in January 2008. • The Task Force recommends that the State assure adequate funding and support for the Guardian Ad Litem program. • The Task Force recommends that the Department expand its efforts to assure that a guardian ad litem or attorney is appointed for each child within the State’s child protection system. • The Task Force recommends that the Department propose such legislative changes and administrative rules as are necessary to ensure that a child aging out of foster care has full access to his/her files and records; • The Task Force recommends that the Department develop and implement a strategy to enforce current statutes and rules that require caregivers to be provided all background information, including medical and psychiatric reports, for the children in their care. • The Task Force recommends that the Department develop and propose legislation to update statutes regarding confidentiality practices, privacy protection, and information sharing between agencies involved in child protection and welfare, especially in regard to: o Child welfare and child protection records o Educational records o Medical and behavioral health records o Juvenile justice records o Specialized services
20 Additional Task Force Activity
In defining its mission and organizing its work, the Task Force has established six workgroups to conduct independent review of current child protection processes and laws/rules, identify deficiencies, and develop recommendations and proposed action plans for further consideration by the Task Force in the following areas: • Home study form/process and implementation • Out of county services • Child protective investigation to services transition • Systems of care • Stabilization and permanency • Child recovery and Operation SafeKids follow-up
Future Activities of the Task Force on Child Protection
With the hearings conducted thus far and with the submission of this Preliminary Report, it is clear to the Task Force that our work has just begun and that, to fully review and recommend long-term improvements to Florida’s Child Protection System, we must continue to commit appropriate time, effort, and energy. In addition to the suggestions for on-going activities included throughout this Report, we anticipate future discussions and recommendations concerning:
• The structure, measures and guiding principles of our Community- Based Care Lead Agencies; • Clarification of the roles, responsibilities, and interactions of the Department, the Community Alliances, and the CBCs; • The development of an accountability system, including clearly defined outcome performance measures and quality assurance/quality improvement processes, that guides the entire
21 Child Protection System from the Department through the subcontracted agencies; • A standardized and consistent methodology for payment to the Community-Based Care Lead Agencies; • Certification of Community-Based Care Lead Agencies;
• Turnover rates of personnel within the child welfare system and strategies for enhanced personnel retention; • The establishment of an on-going estimating conference to regularly analyze system demand and cost of care; • The complexity of the statutes, administrative rules, and operating procedures governing child protection within the State of Florida; • Mediation and its role in the initial development of a case plan; • Child on child sexual abuse; • Identification of minimum standards of care, model programs, and best practices for our child welfare and protection system; • Strategies to successfully implement and institutionalize necessary changes throughout the child welfare and protection system.
This Task Force has focused its preliminary efforts primarily on issues related to missing children and on specific points which can be readily addressed in the upcoming session of the Legislature. However, in order to make comprehensive recommendations concerning the overall child welfare system, to pursue the critical issues which must be examined, and to avoid distraction by other concerns, we anticipate that the full Task Force will meet on a bi-monthly basis through September 2008. We believe that this will allow us to effectively use our committee structure to more fully explore the issues which we have identified and, at the same time, provide for on-going monitoring of the efforts of the Department, our Community-Based Care Lead Agencies, our social service and criminal justice partners, and the Florida Legislature to address these preliminary recommendations.
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Task Force on Child Protection
Appendix B 2007-2008 FAMILY SAFETY Training/Meeting Events
# of atten Event Date City Target Audience dees November All Child Welfare Regional Training 11-29-30/07 Ft. Lauderdale Professionals 200 December All Child Welfare Regional Training 12/3-4/07 Panama City Professionals 200 All Child Welfare Regional Training 12/5-6/07 Jacksonville Professionals 200 All Child Welfare Regional Training 12/11-12/07 Orlando Professionals 200
Child Welfare Child Welfare Leadership Leadership Progam Program members (CWLP) and Florida and Youth Youth Leadership Leadership Academy (FYLA) Kickoff 12/12-14/07 Orlando Academy members All Child Welfare Regional Training 12/13-14/07 Tampa Professionals 200 January CWLP Meeting - Project Management All Child Welfare Curriculum 1/16-18/08 St. Augustine Professionals Foster Parent Recruitment Training 1/16-17/08 Tampa February CWLP Meeting - Legislative and Budget All Child Welfare Planning 2/20-21/08 Tallahassee Professionals CPI supervisors, specialist and program Second Party Review 2/25/08 Web X Administrators CPI supervisors, specialist and program Second Party Review 2/26/08 Web X Administrators DCF local Alternative Response leadership and site System Pilot Training 2/27/08 Bay County participants 20 March Alternative Response System Pilot Training 3/6/08 Duval County 20
Foster Parent Recruitment & Foster Care Retention Ft.Lauderdale 3/17/08 Ft. Lauderdale Recruitment Teams
Prepared by Roach-Saundra 11/5/2008 Page 1 # of atten Event Date City Target Audience dees
Independent Living Independent Living Workforce conference 3/17/08 Jacksonville Coordinators Foster Parent Recruitment & Foster Care Retention Orlando 3/18/08 Orlando Recruitment Teams Children's Legal Services(Regional Childrens Legal Directors, CLS Services -Leadership Executive Team & Meeting Managing 3/18/08 Orlando Attorneys)
Child Welfare Child Welfare Leadership Progam Leadership (CWLP) 3/18-20/08 Orlando Program members Child Protection Child Protection Task Task Force Force 3/20/08 Orlando Members
Quality Assurance Plan, ALL QA Managers Model & Manual 3/27-28/08 Orlando (CBC and DCF April Alternative Response System Pilot Training 4/2/08 Duval County
Florida Youth Florida Youth Leadership Leadership Academy Academy members (FYLA) 4/4/08 Ocala and sponsors Child Protective John Reid Training 4/7/08 Orlando Investigators Alternative Response System Pilot Training 4/8-11/08 Seminole 20 CPI Supervisory and CBC QA Supervisory 4/8/08 Orlando Supervisorys CPI Supervisory and CBC QA Supervisory 4/9/08 Orlando Supervisorys CPI Supervisory and CBC QA Supervisory 4/10/08 Miami Supervisorys Alternative Response System Pilot Training 4/14-15/08 Bay
Child Welfare Child Welfare Leadership Progam Leadership (CWLP) 4/14-16/08 Jacksonville Program members
Prepared by Roach-Saundra 11/5/2008 Page 2 # of atten Event Date City Target Audience dees One Church One Child National Conference 4/17-18/08 Jacksonville OPEN Participation May FSFN Management Stakeholder Workgroup 5/1/08 Orlando Leadership 15 DCF and CBC Licensing Rule 5/8-9/08 Orlando licensing staff All CLS attorneys and select CPI CLS -All Attorneys 5/2/08 Orlando Supervisors
Child Welfare Child Welfare Leadership Progam Leadership (CWLP) 5/19-20/2008 Sarasota Program members Performance Measures Workgroup 5/21/08 Orlando Adoption Counselors and Adoption Information Supervisor and Center -New Directions GAL and Mental in Adoptions 5/22-23/2008 Orlando Health June Foster Parent Workshop with Youth Law Center 06/10/08 Tampa All Child Welfare Regional Training-Miami 06/06/08 Miami Professionals 200 Regional Training - All Child Welfare Orlando 06/04/08 Orlando Professionals 200 Regional Training - All Child Welfare Tallahassee 06/02/08 Tallahassee Professionals 200
Regional Training - John Child Protective Reid & Associates 06/17/08 Miami Investigators 50 Quality Assurance Reviewer Training 06/18/20 Orlando
Independent Living State Advisory Counsel 06/27/08 Tampa ILSAC Members
Teen Case Manager, Teen Case Foster Parents and Manager, Foster Independent Living Parents and Coordinator Independent Living Training/Meeting 6/20-22/08 Orlando Coordinators July
Prepared by Roach-Saundra 11/5/2008 Page 3 # of atten Event Date City Target Audience dees
Child Welfare Child Welfare Leadership Progam 7/14/08 - 7/16- Leadership (CWLP) 08 Sarasota Program members Quality Assurance 7/9-11/08 Tallahassee Quality Assurance 7/16-18/08 Tampa Quality Assurance 7/23-25/08 Ft. Lauderdale
Boy Scout Camp - Foster care youth Camp Sib 7/27-30/08 Paisley Florida and siblings 140 August 2008 DEPENDENCY 8/27/2008 - OPEN SUMMIT 8/29/2008 Orlando Participation 1600
Prepared by Roach-Saundra 11/5/2008 Page 4
Task Force on Child Protection
Appendix C APPENDIX C
Child Protection Task Force Meetings
Friday, November 2, 2007- Ft Myers Thursday, January 31, 2008- Tallahassee Thursday, March 20, 2008- Orlando Thursday, May 8, 2008- Boynton Beach Thursday, July 17, 2008- Miami Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008 – Tallahassee
Child Protection Task Force Members State Attorney Barry Krischer Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Chairman
Barry Krischer was initially sworn in as State Attorney for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County on January 7, 1993. Mr. Krischer has gained national recognition both as a prosecutor and as a former defense attorney winning challenging cases. Barry Krischer is a member of the New York Bar, Colorado Bar, Palm Beach County Bar Association and of the Florida Bar, Criminal Law Section and is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, and in the Federal Court for the Southern District of Florida. He is past Chairman of the Executive Council of the Criminal Law Section of the Florida Bar, a member of the Criminal Rules Committee, and a member of the National Association of District Attorneys. He is a former member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the American Inns of Court, Palm Beach County Chapter.
Judge David M. Gooding Fourth Judicial Circuit David M. Gooding was elected Circuit Court Judge in 2002 and serves as a member of and faculty for the Florida Conference of Circuit Court Judges Education Committee and serves as a member of the Florida Supreme Court Steering Committee on Families and Children in the Courts, where he chairs a subcommittee, and continues to serve with a number of charitable and religious organizations. A frequent speaker at educational conferences for judges, lawyers, foster care community and case workers, Judge Gooding recently addressed the nation's Chief Justices at A Summit on Children, jointly presented by the National Conference of Chief Justices and the National Center for State Courts to share best practices for expediting adoptions.
Major Connie Shingledecker Manatee County Sheriff's Office Maj. Connie Shingledecker is a 30-year veteran law enforcement officer with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office. She is currently the Investigative Bureau Chief over Criminal Investigations, Child Protective Investigations and Narcotics and Vice. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Administration with a minor in Criminology, graduating Summa Cum Laude from Saint Leo College, and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico Virginia.
Donna Uzzell Director of Criminal Justice Information Services, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Donna Uzzell, Director of the Criminal Justice Information Program of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), considers the safety of the children in Florida the most important part of her job. She is responsible for the operation of Florida's Missing Children Information Clearinghouse and for the creation and maintenance of Florida's Sexual Offender and Sexual Predator registration and notification program. She is a graduate of Florida State University where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminology.
Glen Casel Executive Director, Community-Based Care of Seminole, Inc. Glen Casel has been an advocate for children in Florida for more than 15 years. He currently serves as the President/CEO of Community-Based Care (CBC) of Seminole, the lead foster care and related services agency in Seminole County. He was a Vice President at The Children's Home Society of Florida (CHS) for almost five years, an agency providing a full array of services to children in need. Glen is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor Degree in Public Administration and a Masters Degree in Health Services Administration.
Jim Kallinger Chief Child Advocate, Office of the Governor Appointed by Governor Charlie Crist in 2007, Jim is Florida's Chief Child Advocate. He serves as the Director of the Office of Adoption and Child Protection within the Executive Office of the Governor. He is a former two-term member of the Florida House of Representatives (2000-2004). Jim attended the University of Vienna (1981-82) and graduated from Lake Forrest College in 1983 with a B.A. degree in International Relations.
Richard C. Komando Program Director, Guardian Ad Litem, Fourth Judicial Circuit Richard works as the statewide Director of Advocacy Reviews and the Circuit Director in the Fourth Judicial Circuit for the Guardian ad Litem Program. A native of the Florida panhandle Richard grew up in Niceville, Florida. He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Florida State University, a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University, New Orleans and a Masters of Business Administration from Florida State University.
Patricia Badland Director, Department of Children and Families Family Safety Program Patricia Badland is the Director of the Family Safety Program Office for Florida's Department of Children and Families. The Program Office is charged with developing child welfare policy from investigations through reunification or adoption, and overseeing statewide training and technology initiatives. Ms. Badland has served the judicial branch at both the trial court and state court administrative level. As Chief of the Office of Court Improvement, she led judicial education and case processing analysis initiatives for dependency, delinquency, child support, domestic violence and family law courts. Ms. Badland is a 1980 graduate of the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
Alan Abramowitz Circuit Administrator, Department of Children and Families Alan Abramowitz currently serves as Regional Administrator for the Southern Region for the Department of Children and Families. This region consists of the 11th and 16th Judicial Circuits (Miami-Dade and Monroe counties). He previously served as Circuit Administrator for the 18th Judicial Circuit (Brevard and Seminole counties) and was Acting Circuit Administrator for the 15th Judicial Circuit (Palm Beach county). Abramowitz holds a Juris Doctorate from Florida State University, Master degrees in Public Administration and Sociology and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. He has chaired The Florida Bar’s Rules of Juvenile Procedure committee and is currently on the Florida Bar Legal Needs of Children Committee.
Judge Daniel Dawson Ninth Judicial Circuit Daniel Dawson has served as a former Assistant State Attorney and Chief of the Circuit Court’s Juvenile Division. Judge Dawson has been chairman of the Florida Bar Juvenile Rules Committee, Juvenile Justice Committee of Florida Prosecuting Attorney’s Association, and Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Children, Youth and Family Statewide Advisory Council. He has been a member of Florida Shocap Advisory Board, Florida Family Court Steering Committee, Orange County Children and Family Services Board, Child Welfare Standards and Training Council and the Advisory Council of the Child Protection Team Sex Abuse Treatment Program. Judge Dawson is the author of the Florida Bar CLE Chapter entitled “Families and Children in Need of Services.” Judge Dawson has been instrumental in the development of each year’s Department of Children and Families Dependency Summit.
Robin Singleton Robin Singleton brings to the Task Force her knowledge of the foster care system from the inside. She has been in and out of care since the age of two. In July 2006, she aged out of the foster care system and has since dedicated her time as a Florida Youth SHINE member and advocate. Florida Youth SHINE, a youth advocacy group, is a project of Florida's Children First. She continues to work and is beginning her post- secondary education. Robin has served as secretary of the statewide organization and was elected vice chair.
Mike Dunlavy Mike Dunlavy spent most of his childhood in foster care, moving from home to home, family to family, school to school, until he finally settled in at the Boys' Home Association in Jacksonville, Florida. Mike is a 2004 graduate of Jacksonville University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He spent three years with a local event production company where he gained insight into community relations. Mike is currently working part-time as the Northeast Florida Youth Organizer for Youth SHINE, a project of Florida's Children First, and is developing his own marketing company.
Task Force on Child Protection
Appendix D Task Force on Child Protection Draft Meeting Agenda Tallahassee September 18, 2008 9:00 – 3:00
Call to Order Barry Krischer, Chair
Remarks from Secretary George Sheldon, Interim Secretary
Child on Child Sexual Abuse Howard Talenfeld, Esq. Chairman, Florida’s Children First
Work Group Reports Pat Badland
Working Lunch
Status on Final Report to Secretary Pat Badland
Public Comments
Adjournment
Task Force on Child Protection
Meeting Summary Tallahassee, Florida September 18, 2008 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks
• Barry Krischer, Chairman of the Task Force, called the meeting to order at 9:23 a.m.
• Task Force Members Present: Jim Kallinger, Judge David Gooding, Glen Casel, Tana Ebbole, Alan Abramowitz, Pat Badland, Judge Daniel Dawson, Donna Uzzell, Mike Dunlavy, and Robin Singleton
• Walt Cook, Regional Director of the Northwest Region, welcomed the Task Force Members to Tallahassee on behalf of Secretary Sheldon. Mr. Cook also thanked the Task Force members on behalf of the Northwest Region and Secretary Sheldon for devoting a year to the Task Force and expressed his belief that the work done will have benefits for years to come.
Child on Child Sexual Abuse Presentation by Howard Talenfeld
Howard Talenfeld, Esquire, Chairman of Florida’s Children First, shared a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Solutions to Address Florida’s Epidemic of Child-On-Child Sexual Abuse.”
Mr. Talenfeld previously represented the Department when it was Health and Rehabilitative Services in all class action proceedings. He indicated that during that time, the Department was struggling due to historical underfunding and significant child welfare problems; problems that account for the reasons the Department has transformed itself into community based care. Subsequent to the work on these class actions, there came a point in time when he was lead counsel in Ward vs. Feaver then Ward vs. Kearney case, a class action addressing issues of children abused or neglected while in department care. The most significant concerns raised in that case related to the history of child-on-child sexual abuse, which Mr. Talenfeld referred to as in epidemic proportions and which he believes continues to this day.
In 1990, having recognized the problem, the Legislature directed the Department to conduct a study of sexual abuse among foster children while in the care and custody of the Department. The Department was directed to include recommendations regarding prevention, identification, treatment, and after care of victims and perpetrators along with recommendations for any legislative action needed. From this directive came the 1991 study of sexual assault among foster children in the State of Florida. At that time, it was determined that 9.5 percent or 1,168 children in foster care had engaged in sexual behavior that was of concern to the foster care
1 counselor. It was also determined that child-on-child sexual abuse was an underreported statistics and that a lack of appropriate placement options existed.
As a result of the study, the Department took appropriate action and promulgated rule 65C- 13.015, Florida Administrative Code, which established procedures for plans of care for kids identified as victims or perpetrators of child-on-child sexual abuse. In 1994, the Legislature mandated reporting to the Abuse Hotline to include child-on-child sexual abuse as well.
Mr. Talenfeld also discussed the 1995 Department of Juvenile Justice Task Force on Juvenile Sexual Offenders and Their Victims, which he felt made wonderful recommendations but ignored the child welfare function of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services. He believes legislative changes are needed to ensure the Department of Children and Families can exercise the child welfare functions of identifying and treating children who are victims and perpetrators of child-on-child sexual abuse.
The recommendations by the 1995 Task Force centralized mandated reporting of all child-on- child sexual abuse. It directed the Department to investigate all reports involving children 12 years of age or younger. Unfortunately, calls involving kids 13 and older are diverted to law enforcement. Children involved in these reports never come to the attention of the Department of Children and Families, particularly if they not prosecuted. Important information and data on these children is lost.
Mr. Talenfeld indicated that in 1999, the Department established a crucial operating procedure, CFOP 175-88, to assist children in care who are known alleged juvenile sexual offenders, sexual aggressors, or sexually reactive children, or who are known victims of sexual abuse.
Mr. Talenfeld also talked about the 2005 Task Force recommendations and findings, which recognized that child-on-child cases do not receive the same treatment or focus as the adult-on- child cases findings of 2005.
Mr. Talenfeld expressed concern that the first call for help comes into the Hotline and many are diverted off to law enforcement and the lead agencies. He believes the Department never has any idea of what the needs are and if the children are getting the help needed and if a safety plan is created so other children are not harmed and providers are held accountable.
Mr. Talenfeld’s recommendations to the Task Force are:
• Age distinction is eliminated in all child welfare statutes and rules including all definitions making such distinctions.
• Require the Abuse Hotline to accept all reports alleging child-on-child sexual abuse between children in substitute care regardless of age, both as a special conditions referral and as caregiver neglect.
2 • Require the Department to conduct dual investigations into the special conditions referral and the responsible caregiver for inadequate supervision. All information, including treatment information, needs to be captured, tracked, and kept in FSFN.
• Review, update, and codify CFOP 175-88 to address child-on-child sexual abuse.
• Provide advanced training and education to all child welfare staff and responsible caregivers.
After further discussion of the recommendations presented, Mr. Talenfeld added that he would embrace a recommendation from the Task Force that regardless of age, if a report is received on a child that is within the care of the court, that the appropriate judge is notified.
The group also discussed possible changes to current practices and procedures that could be made immediately.
Chairman Krischer advised that he wanted to make sure something concrete resulted from the discussion surrounding Mr. Talenfeld’s presentation. He indicated he is in agreement that something short term needs to be done immediately and that based on the level of interest noted in the discussion of the group, he believes the Task Force would like to be part of the change process.
Mr. Talenfeld acknowledged that the importance of short term fixes that can be easily done should not be ignored, but urged that the Department should include recommendations in their legislative package as well.
Remarks from the Secretary
Chairman Krischer introduced Secretary George Sheldon. Secretary Sheldon agreed the issues raised by Mr. Talenfeld are critical and have to be dealt with. He shared that he is scheduled to visit a sexual predator facility that is at capacity. Over 70 percent of the people in that facility are there for sexually abusing a child, and the vast majority of those who are there were sexually abused as a children. A new facility will open in April, but will be at capacity immediately.
Secretary Sheldon shared the particulars of Operation Do Drop In, which involves spot checking group homes and indicated the Department is going to aggressively begin to pursue that initiative. Secretary Sheldon asked for the Task Force’s recommendations in this area and pledged that the Department will immediately review the protocol as it relates both to the Hotline and these changes. He advised that a Hotline workgroup was established and recommendations were made. Steve Holmes, who previously served as Chief of Staff, headed up the workgroup and is now over the Hotline. The Department is slowly and deliberately implementing some of the recommendations of that workgroup. He assured the Task Force that the Department would immediately begin looking at implementation of their recommendations relating to Hotline protocols. He also shared with the group that at the Hotline, we found that 81 percent of calls were being referred to the field and the national average is about 67. The question becomes are the right ones getting to the field. What has been found is every call from a professional reporter
3 is automatically referred for investigation. What we are looking at implementing in that arena is sending these reports to a supervisor instead of doing a full investigation. Let the supervisor evaluate it at the same time the counselor is evaluating it. If we are putting protective investigators in a situation where they are carrying case loads of 30 and 40, we are not protecting kids. We have to do an appropriate assessment at the Hotline. There are alternative ways to get something to the field other than a full blown investigation. Secretary Sheldon indicated that he is very optimistic that this workgroup will continue meeting and invited suggestions from the Task Force.
Secretary Sheldon thanked the Task Force for their work and remarkable progress in the last year. He stressed the importance of reflecting back to where we were before the Task Force started and the recommendations that have been made. A missing child locater was created and Ed Hardy came along to run criminal justice coordination statewide. Manual daily lists of children not seen were implemented and provided to the individual circuits, which has greatly reduced the number of children not seen in 31 days. An Invitation to Negotiate will be released in about three weeks for mobile devices. Secretary Sheldon believes that by January or February we will be rolling out mobile devices statewide for all case managers and all protective investigators. This will give the front line case worker the ability to enter their notes into the system from the field. We will also have GPS so we know what locations the case worker visits, and the time and duration of the visit. Photo capability and alert capability will also be available.
Other changes have been made in the way the Department represents children. The General Counsel’s office has been separated from Children’s Legal Services. Secretary Butterworth said that General Counsel’s office is to defend the Department. Lawyers in Children’s Legal Services are to do what is right for the kids, speaking on their behalf with the judge, guardian, volunteers, etc.
Another commitment is to reduce children in out of home care by 50 percent in the year 2012. There are 6,700 fewer kids in out of home care today than there were 18 months ago. This is due, to a large extent, to the IVE Waiver, which gives the Department the ability to use federal foster care money in the home to keep children out of care.
Secretary Sheldon also indicated that the Department has started hiring children aging out of the foster care system. One of the big issues when a child ages out is education and getting a job. The Department has hired 100 children and community partners have hired another 60 children. The Department is now challenging other state agencies to do the same.
Secretary Sheldon advised that the Department will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding to require that children affected by more than one agency be appointed a Champion who will have the authority to cut through any level of bureaucracy to get to the deputy secretary level within any of the five agencies without dealing with supervisors.
Secretary Sheldon told the Task Force members that there are a couple of other exciting things on the horizon that the Department is not yet ready to announce. One is a major effort in the area of independent living, independent of the Department, with substantial private sector dollars. The second involves the critical area of information sharing.
4
Secretary Sheldon indicated that the legislative session will be very tough, especially from a budget standpoint. He believes that Governor Crist will make the kind of recommendations that will give the Department the tools necessary to do the job and that the new legislative leadership recognizes that this agency and our community partners have been cut to the bone. He indicated the Department will be aggressive in articulating our needs. He also shared that the state is going through an exercise for a 4 percent hold back, which is prudent on the part of the governor, but it is not a done deal. The real battle is going to be 2009-2010 because of the possibility of a $3.3 billion additional shortfall.
Secretary Sheldon advised that it is his intent to continue the Child Protection Task Force and indicated that some changes will be made in membership. An announcement will be made, hopefully, within the next three weeks or so. He advised that he thinks the Task Force is also important in terms of the subgroups and suggested that other subgroups, such as child-on-child sexual abuse, be considered.
Secretary Sheldon closed by again thanking the Task Force for their work.
Approval of Minutes:
The minutes from the July 17, 2008 meeting were approved unanimously.
Workgroup Reports:
Summit Conference Planning Workgroup
Pat Badland directed the group to two action plans contained in their meeting packets. She shared that the Dependency Summit is an opportunity for workshops, for professional development sessions, plenary sessions and most importantly dividing folks up by their judicial circuits and requiring them to develop local action plans on how they are going to make changes and improvements in the coming year. Every judicial circuit has completed a circuit action plan. Those were sent them back out a few days ago for further refinement and development. The action plans will be posted on the Department’s website so everyone can take a look at the status of what other circuits have done. The Department will be working jointly with State Court Administration to monitor these on a quarterly basis. Updates to these plans will be available in December, March, and June.
Earlier this year, Task Force Chair Krischer announced the Secretary’s intent to blend the Children’s Justice Act Task Force with this particular task force to streamline efforts. Judge Dawson is chair of Children’s Justice Act Task Force, which is one of the funding vehicles used to develop the Dependency Summit on an annual basis. Ms. Badland called on Judge Dawson to discuss what that entails.
Judge Dawson informed the group that a few years ago the CJA Task Force made a decision to make reactivating the Dependency Summit and getting it back on track a primary goal. Federal money comes through to the CJA Task Force that can be spent on specific things, one of which
5 is training and one of which is to make the system better and less dramatic for the participants. The Summit covers the majority of the issues the CJA Task Force is to address so a large share of the federal money is spent for the Summit. One of the main purposes of the Summit is to provide workshops people can learn from. This is even more important now as many such events are being cancelled. The other piece, which has always been extremely important, is that it is the only time that all the pieces of the process get to come together at one time and be face- to-face.
A planning group will begin meeting again for next year’s Summit once feedback is received from the most recent Summit. Judge Dawson indicated he had been approached by the Department of Juvenile Justice about the possibility of having a children’s or juvenile summit tacked on to the end of the Summit. He also indicated in the future a possibility of making the Summit a week long event.
Child Protective Investigation to Services Transition Workgroup
Tana Ebbole directed the Task Force to the recommendations of the Child Protective Investigation to Services Transition Workgroup. The first recommendation of the Workgroup is a modification to Florida Statutes to allow the Florida Child Abuse Death Review Team to review all child deaths ages five and under. The workgroup feels this is particularly important due to the number of unexplained deaths of children 5 and under. The second recommendation is to support the Child Death Review Team’s data collection for child deaths at the time the legislation allows for a review of all child deaths. The Workgroup believes these recommendations will provide insight into child death prevention.
Alan Abramowitz continued with the Workgroup’s third recommendation, the manner in which we close cases. Under the current system, we have verified, some indicators, and no indicators. The interesting thing is some indicators mean less preponderance of the evidence, yet it is counted against the Department as reabuse and negates itself. The data needs to be transparent, so the workgroup came up with verified and unsubstantiated. Unsubstantiated would have two subcategories: (1) no indicators and (2) with indicators. This will allow those people looking at priors to still be able to red flag those cases, but it would almost be like guilty or not guilty instead of guilty or no proof of guilt but not innocent.
Tana Ebbole advised the Task Force that the Workgroup is also recommending training for law enforcement on how to call in a child death report and a change to Hotline procedure that would allow the calls to be flagged for diversion when a child dies and there is no abuse or neglect allegation. The Workgroup feels that law enforcement might view a child death as accidental when, in fact, there may be circumstances around the death that need to be tied into the child death review. This could provide information relative to preventing accidental child deaths.
The final recommendation was a discussion around prevention. The Workgroup didn’t have time to come up with conclusionary aspects but does think it is a continued important discussion. There are three levels of discussion on prevention. One is preventing the need for a call ever having to be made to the Hotline by providing services and supports that help families and children to develop. Another level is when there is a call to the Hotline and the goal is to prevent
6 the child from getting into foster care those diversionary kinds of services. Those services need to be structured, organized, and formalized into a system of care with community based care that is just as strenuous in design as the foster care system. The third discussion is preventing children from returning when they leave foster care. The Workgroup felt this is an area that really needs to be continued and flushed and the approach for each has to be distinct and different.
Lunch Break
Chairman Krischer reconvened the meeting following lunch and suggested that the recommendation of the Transitions Workgroup be put to a vote. A motion was made, seconded and the recommendations were approved unanimously.
Chairman Krischer asked the Task Force to take a few minutes to read pages 15 - 20 of the 2008 Child Protection Task Force draft report dated September 18 for the purpose of discussion or voting prior to the close of the meeting.
Stabilization and Permanency Workgroup
Jim Kallinger was recognized to report from the Stabilization and Permanency Workgroup. Jim reported that the Workgroup determined that the most effective use of their talents and resources was to focus on developing specific recommendations for accomplishing major case work activities for children once termination of parental rights has occurred. The primary goal of the group was to ensure children don’t lag in foster care after termination of parental rights. The Workgroup developed a one page set of timeframes to ensure timely permanence for children post TPR. Those timeframes were based on the child’s individual situation. The work group recommended that the language (on page 2 of the handout) be promulgated into the Florida Administrative Code.
The Workgroup also provided a best practices document for community based care providers for services. The Workgroup identified that it is important that there are successful adoptive parent support groups for families who adopt, including support groups for Spanish speaking adoptive parents and those in rural areas, with at least a monthly or quarterly distribution of a newsletter. With regard to adoption finalization, the Workgroup suggested a document that explains the process for accessing post adoption services. It was further suggested that, at minimum, temporary case management is needed for emotional support, accessing services, medical subsidy, changes in subsidy, referral services, etc. It was also suggested that adoptive parents should be informed of training and educational opportunities. Another suggestion was that a post adoption case manager be allowed to assist the child protective investigator with investigations that involve an adoptive child, and finally, discuss adoptive teen support groups for teens who are adopted or waiting to be adopted. Mr. Kallinger indicated that he will present these recommendations to the Governor’s Child Abuse Prevention and Permanency Advisory Council for inclusion in the 18-month state plan and to the state legislature by the end of this year.
7 The floor was opened for comments and the issues of enforcing the timeframes and holding providers accountable were discussed.
Chairman Krischer asked the Task Force if there was a sentiment that the Workgroup be requested to take the report just as it is back to address the responsiveness issue. After further discussion, Chairman Krischer recommended that key questions on accountability be added to numbers 17 and 18 for future exploration by the next reconstituted Task Force. However, he agreed that the Task Force proceed with what has been recommended by the Workgroup. The Task Force agreed to approve the Workgroup’s recommendations and Pat Badland will incorporate dealing with the enforcement issue into her recommendations for the next Task Force.
Operations Safe Kids Update Workgroup
Donna Uzzell was recognized to provide her Workgroup’s report and she advised that Lee Condon, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, would be presenting with her.
Ms. Condon directed the Task Force to a PowerPoint presentation outlining specific recommendations. She indicated that over the last year and a half, some real specific issues have been identified, including child trafficking. She stated that child trafficking is a major problem in the United States and in Florida, and that it is a major problem for children in the Department of Children and Families’ care and custody. One of the things the Missing Children Clearinghouse does is identify victims and provide the information to the Department. The Department in turn provides the information to the community based care provider. Ms. Condon advised that several things need to happen. The community based care providers need to work with law enforcement so they can identify the criminal organizations that are putting these kids out on the street, develop an emergency intervention plan so that something can happen immediately for these children when they are located, and complete an assessment for not only that child, but for other kids that come into care.
Ms. Condon indicated that she believes the Task Force has an opportunity to say they want to see the Department of Juvenile Justice, law enforcement, the Department of Children and Families, and the community based care providers all working together to help these children to prevent them from going back on the streets and being further victimized.
Ms. Condon also discussed a delay in seeing reports of children who go missing that are in Department care or supervision, a delay in receiving information on their location, not seeing the forensic interviews, and not seeing the debriefings of these children.
Ms. Condon stated that the issue of judicial closings has improved throughout the state, but there are still instances where children go missing and the Department loses jurisdiction over them because the case is closed in court.
On the issue of fingerprinting, Ms. Condon stated that fingerprints of children who go missing can be entered into a national data base so that if the child is later arrested or ends up deceased, he/she can be identified. She advised that the Clearinghouse has received two fingerprints in the
8 last three years of kids who go missing. She also raised the issue of kids being arrested while on missing status and taken to Department of Juvenile Justice facilities and being released to anyone that is 18 or over and can show state identification.
The next topic of discussion was new language in 937 which says that law enforcement will attempt to obtain DNA for persons missing more than 90 days. She suggested requiring the parent or guardian of kids going into Department custody to take and maintain the child’s DNA. This would provide one more tool for use in locating the child if he/she goes missing.
Ms. Condon also discussed the quality and age of photographs available of missing children.
It was suggested by Donna Uzzell that the Department should track cases and issues to determine gaps in the services so we can handle the individual cases and determine systemic issues that can be used to create change. Maintaining, tracking, and sharing the data would assist in identifying any breakdowns and patterns and the responsible entity can be held accountable. She also suggested that an ongoing Operations Workgroup is needed to immediately address these issues.
Hans Soder pointed out to the Task Force that today’s numbers indicate there are 328 kids missing from care and supervision of the Department, a very low number compared to previous years. There are runaway prevention programs that have been initiated and, in general, those programs have been highly successful in reducing the frequency of kids who run and the duration that kids are running because the single best predictor of whether a child will run in the future from a dependency setting is where they have run in the past. As they run more times, it exponentially goes up with the probability that they will continue to run. So sometimes the win isn’t that you stop the kid from running. Sometimes the win is they stay out for a shorter period of time. These programs have been relatively successful in reducing the numbers. So these strategies are being developed. Mr. Soder also advised that the Department is fairly aggressive in tracking issues. Currently, throughout the 2008 year, there have been 10 cases that have been closed judicially, while whereabouts of the child remains unknown. Every case that is judicially closed is reviewed to see if there something else the Department could have done or if it should be considered for appeal.
With regard to photographs, Mr. Soder advised that, as of today, out of the 328 kids who are reported as missing, 11 don’t have photographs, which represents a total of about 3 percent. This is down from 20 percent when the Task Force began. Of that total approximately 72 percent of those kids have photos that fall within the established parameters.
Mr. Soder indicated that currently the problem with fingerprints is that it is a paper process and the ability for us to collect and move fingerprints in an orderly fashion from a community based care locale for loading into the Automated Fingerprinting Information System is difficult. It is difficult to do transactions on an ongoing basis because of the nature of sending the only copy of fingerprints through the mail.
Donna Uzzell added that the recommendations already made needed to be implemented and the discussion moved back to the subject of DNA collection. The group talked about continued funding of a DNA project that is a President’s initiative between the FBI and University of North
9 Texas. Concern was expressed that the project is based on a three year grant, and Chairman Krischer suggested that the Task Force might want to consider a recommendation that a permanent funding stream be identified so the project continues at the end of the third year.
The group also discussed that the Department should have protocols in place to respond to law enforcement on requests for DNA for missing children who are under the care and custody of the Department.
A motion was made to accept the recommendations presented by the workgroup, including identifying a continued funding stream for the DNA project and Department protocols for responding to law enforcement requests for DNA of children under the care and custody of the Department that are missing for more than 90 days. There was noted objection to the fingerprint recommendation, and the motion was revised to reflect the concern. The motion was seconded and the Task Force approved the recommendations.
Status on Final Report to Secretary
Pat Badland directed the Task Force to the draft final report contained in their packets and provided a brief overview of its content.
She advised that in considering the format of the Final Report, it was decided that the approach would be to take the charges Secretary Butterworth put forth to the Task Force and provide conclusions to each one. Pat stated that Department staff will follow up with the chairs of the individual workgroups to make sure the conclusions drawn are adequately phrased in terms of the work product. She also told the Task Force that within the next two weeks, a modified report would be sent out based on feedback from today’s meeting, and specific questions will be asked of workgroup chairs to ensure their recommendations have been addressed.
A concern was voiced that at several meetings, the report card concept was discussed, but was not reflected in the Final Report as an overarching recommendation and was only referred to indirectly.
Chairman Krischer advised that he did not feel it was appropriate to take a motion on the Final Report at this time.
Pat Badland shared that the final vote would probably have to be done by mail and asked that members weigh in preliminary on the approach.
Public Comment
Chairman Krischer opened the floor for public comment and there was none.
Adjournment
Chairman Krischer personally thanked the Task Force for their services, and adjourned the meeting at 2:52 p.m.
10 Task Force on Child Protection
Meeting Agenda Ryder Conference Room of the United Way Building 3250 SW 3rd Avenue Miami
July 17, 2008 9:00 – 3:00
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks Barry Krischer, Chair
Introduction of New Members Barry Krischer, Chair
Implementation of Task Force Recommendations • Training Pat Badland • Operations Nick Cox
Introduction of Children’s Legal Services Model George Sheldon
Sustainability of the New CLS Model Tana Ebbole, Mary Cagle
Darius Clark Update Perry Borman, Mary Cagle
Task Force Goal Setting Adam Goldstein, Glen Casel, Pat Badland
Status Brief by Work Groups Work Group Leads • Judicial Case Closing Monitoring Report Ed Hardy
Public Comments
Adjournment
Draft Task Force on Child Protection
Meeting Summary Miami, Florida July 17, 2008
Call to Order and Welcome Remarks • Barry Krischer, Chair of the Task Force, called the meeting to order and welcomed the participants. • Task Force Members in Attendance: Alan Abramowitz, Glen Casel, Major Connie Shingledecker, Pat Badland, Adam Goldstein, Judge Daniel Dawson, Tana Ebbole, Jim Kallinger, Judge David M. Gooding, John Toppa, Saundra Roach, Perry Borman, Mary Cagle, George Sheldon, Robin Singleton and Mike Dunlavy. • Joni Goodman, Guardian Ad Litem, 11th Judicial Circuit, Candice Maze, Executive Director to the Miami-Dade Community Based Care Alliance, Charles Auslander, Chief Programs and Operations Officer to The Children’s Trust, Modesto E. Abety, President and CEO to The Children’s Trust, Gilda Ferradaz, Circuit 11 Administrator for the Department of Children and Families were also present.
Barry Krischer, Chair of the Task Force thanked everyone in committee for attending and as a welcome remark commented that over the last few months the critical nature and immediacy of the workgroup when started almost 18 months ago has only been highlighted by the budget cuts seen throughout the state. He continued by stating that for whatever reason the legislature has placed our children at risk.
In addition, Chairman Krischer stated that the Children Services Council enabling legislature on the ballot in this environment is very frightening requiring the workgroup to double efforts.
Chairman Krischer continue by stating that what the Secretary envisioned by putting this group together is even more important now than what it was when it began.
Chairman Krischer informed that at the next meeting in September the Secretary will announce future plans for the group. Chairman Krischer announced he would like to continue with the workgroup even after retiring at the end of the year because of the important work that needs to be done and even more so because of what has happened to the funding of children’s programs.
Chairman Krischer congratulated Judge Gooding who generated a list of good news to include adoptions.
1 Assistant Secretary, George Sheldon introduced new members to the task force. In addition he thanked the task force for the work done in the past 18 months. Mr. Sheldon stated that the Secretary appointed two new members to the task force Robin Singleton and Mike Dunlavy whom he has met and are active members of Youth Shine.
Both Mike Dunlavy and Robin Singleton expressed their interest in learning from the workgroup as well as excited to be able to provide recommendations from their perspectives as former foster children.
Approval of the May 8, 2008 Meeting Summary • Chair Barry Krischer requested that Task Force approve the May 8, 2008 minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously.
Presentation: Implementation of Task Force Recommendations
Presentation on Training by Pat Badland, Director of Office of Family Safety for DCF:
Ms. Badland directed members to a handout on all training initiatives that the department in partnership with lead agencies has put together training programs to implement improvements.
Ms. Badland highlighted some of the trainings that directly relates to the discussion the workgroup has had throughout the year starting with “missing person procedures”. The department has done a lot of training in the area of missing person and put out publications and tools that protective investigators and caseworkers can utilize when notified of a missing person. Ms. Badland informed that under the leadership of Ed Hardy six criminal justice coordinators were identified in each of the regions and are working on defining the daily reports and level of scrutiny on each case.
Ms. Badland mentioned that there were concerns with the home study process and the various forms used. As a result of a workgroup we now have one unified home study form implemented on FSFN (Florida Safe Families Network). This is a one single document submitted to court with all necessary and background information on a case. Training began in April and will conclude in August of this year.
Recruitment and Retention was another issued identified particularly in the approach of finding foster homes for our children. A redesigned more data driven approach was created by looking at how well we know our population now. Every lead agency is required to team with the department and establish a plan guided by experts hired through the Youth Law center. Plans are to be submitted to team of experts.
The Secretary approved a redesign of our Quality Assurance approach.
2 The second part of the Quality Assurance approach focuses on training of supervisors and new employees. Pete Digre’s study is being utilized to conduct series of trainings for supervisors.
Secretary Butterworth in May of last year asked to implement a response system to better engage families.
Legislative training with the establishment of Children’s Legal Services office has teamed with lawyers in ways never done in the past. Chapter 39 has been handed out over training to lawyers.
FSFN (Florida Safe Families Network) pilot updated release one of the new system where it provided a new way from intake to transfer case only. There was no case management capacity just like HSN.
Last year through a series of design sessions involving 360 people including people from the Sherriff’s office in developing features to release and provide one single case plan for everywhere in the state, one single home study, one single judicial review and one safety plan. The new feature in FSFN was piloted in May and June in the Northwest region of the state through Big Bend CBC and is now rolling out. Training will occur on a monthly basis between July through October releasing part of the system by region.
Quality Assurance training got a new system implemented on July 1 developing needs to move from client driven to process driven where first contact occurs within 24 hours.
The Center for Child Welfare Practice includes a series of trainings that are available and can be downloaded. The website features PowerPoint presentations on second party reviews and Chapter 39 updates.
Presentation by Nick Cox, Suncoast Regional Director:
After the Courtney Cox case Secretary Butterworth put together a committee to review the CBC in Pinellas County. The recommendation regarding operation was no to continue with Pinellas Pasco area. There was an intent to negotiate last year for bids for new CBC.
Eckerd Youth Alternative and Camelot Community Care were the bidders. This was the first time two CBC’s were bidding. The problem that Pinellas Pasco was having was that they were not home grown operations. The lack of community partnership was hurting. This process engaged community in the selection process. Process also outnumbered the department staff and members when voting in the CBC selection process. State attorneys, public defenders, members of community alliance involved, child protection team, Andrea Moore, Robin Rosenburg, and foster parents were all part of the evaluation process. This interview process brought in partners such as state attorneys, Sherriff and the juvenile justice. This process allowed members of the community to
3 come in and ask questions to the perspective bidders. This was an unprecedented time in working together with our partners and CBCs. The manner in which it was handled was effective and true to the community.
Engaging the community paid dividends in helping us and making this a community process and buy in. As of July 1st Eckerd Youth Alternative became the new CBC. This selection brings an organization that is home grown and everyone is from the Pinellas area. Eckerd has invested in the arts and sciences and juvenile justice. The transition has been seamless.
Recently there was a child in Pinellas who needed a liver transplant. It was a difficult case resulting in lots of involvement including Carol Marbin Miller, reporter from The Miami Herald, DCF, Eckerd and Florida Children First. This child had transplant this past Sunday and is doing well. Eckerd made everything happen with no startup contract and the transition was smooth.
Recommendation was made to include operations. There has been a 29% decrease in the number of kids missing. In Duval county there has been a 60% reduction in the number of runaway teens. In Pinellas county the reduction in runaway teens reduced by 41%. This was as a direct result of the increased focus on issues spearheaded by Assistant Secretary George Sheldon by increasing tension in highlighting issues.
Criminal Justice Coordinators brought more focus to issues in locating and reporting missing children.
Incredible emphasis is given on reviewing foster children that have not been seen in 55 days or more as a direct result of a 30 day report received from the Assistant Secretary George Sheldon. The average number of children not seen in September of last year has now been reduced to 93%, averaging one or less per month. Special notices are sent for those few cases of children not seen over 55 days to follow up and determine why they have not been seen. A huge strive has been made to reduce the number of children not seen over 55 days. A plan to do away with the report of 55 days is on its way reducing it to 45 days instead.
They are exploring technology to verify whereabouts of children in care. Hand held devices could be utilized to track children and visitations. This concept was derived from UPS when General Butterworth stated why UPS is able to track packages around the world but we could not track our children. This gives the ability to track the duration of workers with the children during visitation and take pictures of children as well.
Missing pictures of children has dropped from 28% as of last month to 4%.
About the review of Community Based Care contract language, the statutory and regulatory requirements included, has been completed and it continues by the General Counsels’ Office.
4 Statewide criminal justice coordinator Ed Hardy has increased attention to law enforcement a great deal by establishing and maintaining contact through DCF and the Criminal Justice Coordinators with law enforcement.
Emphasis on the importance of the reorganization of Ft. Myers became part of the Suncoast Region. The culture down there has been negative and has been overlooked by the department. One of the first things that were noticed was that the Sherriff was highly critical of DCF publicly. The relationship has been mended and reinstituted the specialized child abuse team. This is a huge step for us to be involved in law enforcement. They have tripled the amount of arrests on child abuse cases last year and first half of this year and quadrupled the amount of referrals from law enforcement by our investigators.
The establishment of Child Protection Specialist has been completed. The Region has lead efforts in ensuring partners are working hard and are seen every 30 days. A great deal of training and involvement with law enforcement has resulted. Statewide regional justice coordination has seen over 170 law enforcement agencies statewide.
As a result of the Courtney Clark case and recommendation by the review team progress has been tracked.
As a result of a big issue in reference to the poor operating procedures not being updated, an extensive review of all CBC s operating procedure was completed ensuring the operating procedures could work with state statutes guidelines and the administrative rules. There was an intense effort and focus on case plan.
Reunification in the Courtney Clark case was identified as a big problem area. It was identified that child visitation, missing children and family assessments were increasingly important with efforts in trying to keep families unified.
A year and a half ago Hillsborough Kids had almost 6000 kids in care. The diversion effort resulted in decreasing that number to 3200 children in care leaving to believe that the so called “Abramowtiz” effect in keeping kids with their families is successful and can be done. Only one case came back with the child being mistreated but child was not hurt.
The diversion program ensures people are with the protective investigators, Sherriff or DCF and special resources in mental health and/ or substance abuse is provided. These services to keep families intact have a huge effect on people. This results in manageable case loads for PIs to be able to work effectively on their cases.
Pinella’s county was having a crisis with kids in the system longer than what they needed to be. “Firefighter” Alan would review with case managers and CBC in order to discuss individual case and get the families services. The number of children dropped 17%. General Butterworth wants to see a reduction of children in care by 50 % by
5 2012. We can say we are on our way when our PIs do not maintain unbearable case loads and our children are kept home safely.
We have reached out to the University of South Florida with a training focus on 2nd party reviews to spot potential problems and how to go about in counseling our PIs utilizing red flag training assessments where there has been signs of abuse that were often overlooked because of not being properly trained.
Efforts on the retention efforts of protective investigators are being looked at. During the exit interview process it was discovered that people left the department for not having been trained on their jobs properly.
The diversion of YMCA North had an average of 50 cases per worker. As of last month it decreased to only 22 cases per worker, still high but more manageable. We are heading in the right direction. We should be treating kids in the role of parents.
Chair Krischer commented on missing children DNA collection so that when a child goes missing there are resources that aid the investigation process.
Alan Abramowitz recalls some discussion about the method of DNA collection through a swab.
Assistant Secretary George Sheldon stated that the department has not made a final decision in this area.
Tana Ebbole stated that this is just a beginning to look at an opportunity in obtaining DNA and that it does not mean you will incur cost until DNA is made available or until it is needed.
Robin Singleton mentioned that there should be some law in place that DNA will not be held against a child in the prosecution of a case. She also mentioned that it is difficult enough to track medical records without the additional worry of tracking DNA samples.
Departmental Update – George Sheldon, Assistant Secretary for Operations (recording is inaudible)
• There are a lot of positive things being done in Florida’s budget. • When the economy goes down our services go up. • Food stamps are increasing. • Calls are up from 70% to 82%. We need to evaluate who’s making the calls. Mary Cagle to review calls. Hotline refers all calls to investigators. Maybe hotline needs to have an option in which to forward calls because all calls do not warrant investigations. Protocol at the Hotline has to evolve. • False reporting – the Hotline is not about retaliation.
6 Jim Kallinger – The working relationship between Our Kids and DCF has gone from terrible to excellent. What is the prevention effect between the CBCs and the Partnerships?
George Sheldon – Prevention is the help that we can extend to the family. Diversion is removing an individual to administer services.
Presentation on Sustainability of the New CLS Model by Mary Cagel, Director of Children’s Legal Services
• New Model first introduced to this Task Force. • Lawyers of CLS represent the people of the state and have the children’s best interest at heart. • There will be some push back where the implementation of the model is concerned, but that’s to be expected. • The Hotline, Family Safety, and CLS have to be a seamless process; we must have tremendous communication.
Barry Krischer – Next Task Force Meeting will be September, in Tallahassee, FL. There will be a Task Force Workshop at the Dependency Summit, Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 11:30 a.m.
Presentation on Darius Clark Update by Perry Borman, Circuit 15 Administrator
4/21 – Darius Clark dies from overdose of cocaine and oxycodone (father had been staying in house). 1. Care deemed “high risk” by PI specialist prior to staffing with CLS. Designation not properly communicated to/decided with CLS. • Who needs to be involved in making the decision? • How consistent is our terminology? • Ch. 39.301 (8)(b): A petition for dependency shall be filed in all cases classified by the department as “high risk”. 2. While considered, arguably not enough emphasis placed on • Father’s criminal & drug abuse background • Mother’s history of non-compliance prior to previous direct file case (2004) 3. Mother said she would seek restraining order (twice) • We failed to learn that she did not appear at hearing 4. How often should PI have attempted to visit mother during course of investigation? 5. Case review and external media contact • In rush to release records we did not properly review and summarize case -Initial release to media minimized our role 6. Action Plan Process – 6/21/08 • Article in Palm Beach Post • Initial D. Clark action plan developed 7. Action Highlights since 6/21/08
7 • Action Plan workgroup established • Drafted procedure for screening, staffing and tracking high risk cases • Drafted checklist of documents for high risk classification • Drafted revised High Risk screening and staffing form • Created prototype of the Service Referral Internet Portal (SRIP) o Provides a core service referral management and tracking system o Strengthens & expands service provider relationships o Increases communication & follow-up • Meeting with DV education/prevention providers on July 24th 8. Other recommendations that require finalization and implementation/training • Increase focus on obtaining specific background information during investigations and from PI when staffing cases by PI supervisor and CLS • PI verify status of restraining order on county website • Further guidance to PI on use of DV injunction • Create guidelines on service referral follow-up • Create guidelines on when more frequent visits to home are appropriate • Create timeframes in safety plan • Finalization and then training on high risk classification definitions, staffing process • Formalize review and summary of case
Public Comments:
Joni Goodman, Guardian Ad Litem – What do you feel is the role of GAL and do you believe that there is conflict and duplication of efforts in representing the interest of the state and representing the interest of the child? I understand that the CLS Model is a work in progress.
Mary Cagel, Director of Children’s Legal Services – There isn’t a lot of money and therefore we do want to define the roles. Can we collaborate to write one brief? There’s no money; we don’t need to duplicate efforts.
Joni Goodman – There has been an ongoing dialogue regarding GAL representation and attorney representation for children with two different types of representation. In addition to the dialogue there are express wishes versus best interest and now duplication of efforts. For some children we will be on the same side, doing similar kinds of things and for others we won’t be. GAL has been working 20 years making sure we have various set criteria and values representing the best interest of the children, that’s what we do. I’m hoping that as we determine that the lawyers, for the department will work in the best interest of the children, that there are some very clear guidelines and criteria, that it isn’t just someone’s suggested determination about what best interest is. GAL has 16 best interest criterias.
Judge Daniel P. Dawson – The program deems what’s the best interest of the child, not the CLS. CLS is not the social worker.
8 George Sheldon – Lay aside all preconceived notions and come together and come up with a consensus.
Andrea Moore – Stated that the Secretary’s Model is a huge step forward with many details to be worked out. Ms. Moore suggested that the taskforce go back and review existing reports on GAL program. Ms. Moore stated that the youth want to be heard at court during the planning conferences giving them a voice.
Closing Remarks and Adjournment: The Chair thanked everyone for attending the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
9 Task Force on Child Protection Meeting Agenda Children's Services Council Offices Boynton Beach
May 8,2008 10:OO - 3:OO
(9:OO - 10:OO Task Force members are welcome to join Tana Ebole's workgroup on Child Protection lnvestigation to Services Transition as they plan their two day workshop on issues related to prevention, removal and permanency.)
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Effects of Foster Care Placement Dr. Joseph Doyle, MIT Sloan School of Management
Lunch
Status Brief by Work Groups Work Group Leads 1. Out of County Services 2. Child Protection Investigation to Services Transition 3. Systems of Care 4. Stabilization and Permanency 5. Child Recovery and Operation Safe Kids follow-up
Summary of 2008 Legislative Session George Sheldon, Deputy Secretary for Operations
Task Force Goal Setting Adam Bernstein, Glen Casel, Pat Badland
2:OO - 3:OO Public Comments
Adjournment
Task Force on Child Protection Revised Draft Meeting Agenda SpringHill Suites Airport -Hazeltine B 5828 Hazeltine National Drive Orlando, Florida 32822
March 20,2008 9:OO - 3:OO
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks Tana Ebole, acting Chair for State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Overview of GPS Pilot in Miami-Dade Alan Abramowitz, Regional Director
Review of 2008 Legislation: Pat Badland, Director, Office of Family Safety Update on Statue of Child Protection Legislation - Review of Child on Child Language
Taking Stock:
Action Plan Analysis Pat Badland, Director, Office of Family Safety Headquarters Activities
Action Plan Analysis Stephanie Weis, Family Safety Program Manager Regional Director Activities Central Region
Roundtable Gap Analysis Pat Badland, Director, Office of Family Safety Workgroup Activities
Lunch
Status Brief by Work Groups Work Group Leads 1. Home Study FormlProcess and Implementation 2. Out of County Services 3. Child Protection Investigation to Services Transition 4. Systems of Care 5. Stabilization and Permanency 6. Child Recovery and Operation Safe Kids follow-up
2:OO - 3:OO Public Comments
Adjournment
Task Force on Child Protection Tallahassee City Hall: City Commission Chambers 300 South Adams St. Tallahassee, Fl. 32301
January 31, 2008 9:00 – 3:00
Agenda
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Welcoming Remarks John Marks, Mayor The City of Tallahassee
Approval of November 2nd Mtg. Summary State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Presentation: Janice Ereth, Ph.D., Special Advisor Structured Decision Making Children's Research Center, National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Child and Family Services Review Pat Badland Preliminary Findings
Discussion: Connie Shingledecker The Florida Child Abuse Death Review December 2007 Report
Casey 2020 initiative Paul Dilorenzo Casey Family Program office
Update: Pat Badland DCF Legislative Proposals
Lunch Break (11:30 – 12:30)
Work Group Presentations State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Discussion: Structuring the Workgroup Connie Schingledecker
1. Investigations to Services Connie Schingledecker 2. Operation Safekids Donna Uzzell and Connie Schingledecker 3. Stabilization and Permanency Jim Kallinger 4. Home Study Forms/Process Pat Badland 5. Child on Child Sexual Abuse Barry Krischer
1:45 – 2:45 Public Comments
Closing Remarks and Adjournment State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Task Force on Child Protection Ft. Myers City Hall 2200 Second Street Ft Myers FL 33901
November 2, 2007 10:00 – 3:00
Agenda
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Approval of Minutes and 2008 Meeting Dates State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Approval of the Task Force Report Jim Sewell
Remarks Secretary Robert A. Butterworth
Agency for Persons with Disabilities Matt Claps, APD Current Challenges and Solutions Senior Management Analyst II
Lunch Break
12:30 – 3:00 Public Comments
3:00 Adjournment State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chair
Task Force on Child Protection
Meeting Summary Ft. Myers City Hall November 2, 2007
Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks ♦ State Attorney Barry Krischer, Chairman of the Task Force, opened the meeting and welcomed the participants.
Welcoming Remarks: Ft. Myers Mayor Jim Humphrey ♦ Ft. Myers City Mayor Jim Humphrey welcomed the Task Force and stated he appreciated their mission. He stated he was very pleased they selected Ft. Myers and City Hall for the location of their meeting and hoped they had time to visit downtown and see the revitalization taking place. He made the following additional statements: - He hoped they would have time to see the revitalization taking place downtown. - Local government has proposed additional funding for at risk youth that will come from a variety of sources including local, state and federal grants.
Approval of 10/10 Meeting Summary and 2008 Meeting Dates ♦ The Task Force approved the October 10th meeting summary. ♦ The Task Force approved the proposed 2008 Task Force meeting dates. The January 17th, 2008 meeting will be held in Tallahassee. Locations of future meetings are to be determined. ♦ The 2008 Task Force meeting dates are as follows: - January 17th in Tallahassee - March 20th - May 15th - July 17th - September 18th
Approval of the Task Force Preliminary Report ♦ Jim Sewell addressed the Task Force reportand made the following statements regarding the preliminary report: - The preliminary Task Force compiled all of the recommendations of the Task Force. - The Task Force will continue to meet every other month through 2008 to continue their assessment of the child welfare system and guide the implementation their recommendations. - The final Task Force report will be drafted in September of 2008.
1 - The preliminary report is ready to submit to Secretary Butterworth once approved by the Task Force and will be posted on the Department of Children and Families web site as soon as it is approved. ♦ The Task Force approved the preliminary report without exception and thanked those who assisted the Task Force in drafting the report.
Remarks: Secretary Bob Butterworth, Department of Children and Families ♦ Secretary Butterworth received the preliminary report from the Task Force, thanked them for the report and their time and made additional statements summarized below: - It is historical that something as fine as the Task Force preliminary report could be delivered so quickly. - The Task Force will continue to meet to insure their recommendations are implemented and with a sense of urgency. - One of the issues in the Courtney Clarke case was no sense of urgency and we are trying to get this across to our employees and partners. There is no reason to wait. We must take effective action. - These are our children. We need a sense of urgency and to use common sense. - If rules and procedures are giving the wrong result, move it up the chain and change it. - The Department is implementing a two sense approach: 1. A common sense approach. 2. A sense of urgency. - The Department has already started implementing recommendations made by the Task Force.
Remarks: State Attorney Barry Krischer, Task Force Chairman ♦ Barry Krischer made the following statement charging the work groups to continue moving forward and to prepare to present progress made at the next Task Force meeting scheduled for January 17th, 2008.
Thank you, General Butterworth, for your remarks. I have been honored to chair this Task
Force. Each of our members has demonstrated their commitment through their
involvement and participation over the last several months. Clearly we’ve laid the
groundwork, but that only emphasizes that there is much more hard work needed. I
believe that in the end the effort will be worth it for Florida’s most at risk and vulnerable
children.
In order to take advantage of both our momentum and the working group structure we’ve
already established, and in consultation with Assistant Secretary George Sheldon, I’d like
2 to ask three of our groups to work over the next two months and report back to the full
Task Force at our January 17 meeting. Specifically, I am referring to:
o The child protective investigations to services transition workgroup,
led by Tana Ebbole and Connie Shingledecker;
o Workgroup on stabilization and permanency, led by Richard
Komando and Jim Kallinger, and lastly the
o Workgroup on home study form/process and implementation, led by
Pat Badland
Additionally, in light of the future activities we identified in this Preliminary Report, I’d like to create another workgroup to specifically examine the issue of child on child sexual abuse. In as much as I encourage a similar workgroup to be formed in Palm Beach
County that has examined this issue, I will take the prerogative of the Chair to volunteer myself to lead the group.
I’d ask these groups to do several things over the next two months:
o To analyze in-depth each of these issues, identifying deficiencies in
law, procedures or practices and focusing on areas of needed
improvement;
o To conduct such research as necessary, including interviews with
appropriate experts, participants, and advocates, to determine ways
in which these elements of our child protection system might be
improved;
o To keep the full Task Force aware of any meetings or conference
calls you have so that other members may participate as their
schedule permits;
3 o To be prepared to discuss your assigned area at the next Task Force
meeting and present either recommendations for the Task Force’s
consideration or recommended issues or speakers which should be
heard by the entire Task Force.
DCF staff is prepared to support your activities. As we have discussed, there may be
appropriate outside individuals who could be involved in your work, and I would
encourage you to make use of them. I think that it’s critically important for the success of
this Task Force that we reach beyond just our membership and DCF staff to collaborate
with a cross section of our colleagues in the system and to benefit from their ideas and
suggestions.
I know this is asking a lot of each of you. We’ve identified a number of future activities
that will take a lot of hard work on all of our part over the next several months. Are there
any questions or comments from the Task Force?
♦ Task Force Responses: - Retention (of staff, foster parents, etc.) is a big issue that needs to stay on the table. - Alan Abramowitz thanked Secretary Butterworth for allowing the Task Force to feel they have made a difference and stated he appreciates the opportunity to continue working. Every meeting has been a great experience. - The proposed legislation by the Department is waiting for approval by the Governor. Pat Badland will be the Department point person for the Task Force related to the proposed legislation.
Presentation: Agency for Persons with Disabilities: Challenges and Solutions ♦ Matt Claps, Senior Management Analyst II for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD) provided a power point to the Task Force and thanked them for the opportunity to present to them. Mr. Claps presentation is summarized below. - Overview of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities • Created in 2004 • Serves individuals with Autism (Aspergers Syndrome excluded), Mental Retardation, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Prader-Willi Syndrome.
4 • APD administers three waivers: Home and Community Based Waiver, Family Supported Living Waiver, Consumer Directed Care and Waiver. • Fully privatized agency. Has approximately 1,000 Support Coordinators and 3,500 providers. • APD operates 3 facilities in the state of Florida • 1.1 billion dollar operating budget with the majority in community based services. - There is a wait list of 15,000 individuals for the waiver services, which is fluid. • APD provides services long-term and in most cases for life • Limited funds to serve new clients. Have a responsibility to serve existing clients • Mechanisms to control funding are limited: reduction of services, rate setting and control of caseload. • In 2005 – 2006, 6,000 additional people were brought into waiver. • Waiver wait list is managed on a first come, first serve basis. • Statutorily directed to serve individuals in crisis, such as those who are homeless or are a danger to themselves or others. A committee looks at the need for inclusion into the waiver based on crisis on a case by case basis. - APD facing a number of challenges • Projected 120 million dollar deficit. • Costs continuing to increase. Services are deemed medically necessary and have to be provided. • The number of individuals needing services increasing. - Efforts to address challenges include: Infusion of funds over the next 3 years. 75 positions will be created within APD to complete assessments, currently done by contracted Support Coordinators to better identify real need and develop better service plans and projected plans. Develop a new residential rehabilitation structure Strengthen strategic planning process Service reduction and service elimination: little impact to children - Chapter 393, F.S. requires priority status for children and youth in foster care on the wait list. • In October of 2006, 340 children in foster care on the wait list were brought into the waiver: • About half were brought into the Home and Community Based Rehab waiver and half into the Family Supported Living Waiver. - Integration of services and supports between APD and DCF : • Short term and long term thinking and planning across agencies and services needed to meet the immediate and longer-term needs of individuals. • Guardianship Issue: Who can sign releases and approval for services if the child’s parent/guardian has not had their parental rights terminated? Can the guardian ad litem, the community based care agency? Does not seem to be a frequent problem. Response: Statute amended 2 years ago that should allow sharing sharing of information. A good case manager should also be able to problem-solve.
5 • Ongoing challenges: Getting children served by DCF and community based care providers services from APD; Local and state level resource development, especially for children with medical complexities and those dually diagnosed with mental health needs and developmental disabilities: Shared decision making and collaboration: need to collaborate at the team level to maximize resources and better serve individuals. Transition to adulthood. - Question for Discussion: How can DCF and APD establish policies and a framework to collaborate consistently to the meet the needs of individuals served by both?
♦ Discussion
- Nadereh Salim, CEO of Children’s Network of Southwest Florida discussed the challenges community based care providers face in serving children with developmental disabilities. Her presentation to the Task Force is summarized below: • Children’s Network of Southwest Florida served 10 children with developmental disabilities at a cost of $600,000.00 - $650,000.00 for one year. They worked well with DCF and APD to locate services and offset some of the cost, but there are not enough resources. • The way to help community based care agencies to the help APD. • Need to dually license of foster homes to allow placement of children by ADP and DCF and create a resource for these children. Children’s Network of Southwest Florida wanted to place a child in a home licensed by APD, but was told they could not. • Need to know the status of the Memorandum of Understanding signed by DCF, APD and community based care agencies. • Share status of children on wait list with community based care providers at the local level to allow them to better plan for the provision of services. • Nadereh Salim stated she can’t emphasize enough how needy dually diagnosed children are and how expensive services can be. They had to send one child out of state to receive services that were not available in Florida and that cost the agency $350,00.00. The risk pool assisted in off-setting some of the cost. • Community based care agencies could put general revenue dollars on the table to get federal match to better serve these children, as APD does.
♦ Task Force Discussion and Comments - A Task Force member asked a basic question: How can we serve children and not play who gets the hot potato? The risk pool is not the answer. This issue needs to be looked at in total. - Comment from Task Force member: Would knowing the waiting list help to project budget? Should help budget planning between agencies. The cost of serving a handful of children could put the community based care structure at risk.
6 - A Task Force member raised a question about limited/no capacity to treat dually diagnosed children. • Matt Claps suggested the DCF, the Agency for Health Care Administration and APD partner to develop services. An example would be to develop a Request for Proposal for a Statewide Inpatient Psychiatric Program service provider to develop a program tailored to meet the unique needs children with developmental disabilities requiring residential mental health treatment. Also, target behavioral and mental health service providers at the local level to expand the current service array. Use front-end assessments to identify and project need. - A Task Force member commented that the shift to community based care service delivery has brought this “hot potato” issue to the forefront and suggested it be addressed at the cabinet level. - The Task Force requested that Matt Claps develop a workgroup to address this issue and report to Task Force. The workgroup will align with the Permanency and Stabilization workgroup. Richard Komando will contact Sue Ross, Chief of Children’s Mental Health for DCF to include a children’s mental health person. - Jeff Rainey, Executive Director of Hillsborough Kids stated he had a workgroup with DCF to address at the local level and they came up with good recommendations. Community based care agencies serve children with developmental disabilities and case managers and placements, such as group homes are not trained to deal with them. These children are sometimes targeted as victims.
Public Comments:
1. Mr. Stan Applebaum, the Chair of the local Mental Health Advocacy Council addressed the Task Force on local mental health issues and his statements are summarized below: - Getting services for the dually diagnosed is a struggle. - Using Statewide Inpatient Psychiatric Program services for the dually diagnosed would be difficult, as they have lots of pressures and the ones they have dealt with have problems. - Suggested APD provide services to children in foster homes and other placements.
2. Mr. Brad Crispell addressed the Task Force and made suggestions for improving investigations of alleged child abuse. His statements are summarized below: - Anything that anyone does needs to be in the best interest of the child. - There is no process to appeal the findings of an abuse investigation. In one case, there was misinformation given by the child protective investigator and the team resulting in a verified finding. The only avenue to go through is to contact the State’s Attorney’s Office. • A member of the Task Force responded that the law changed in 1998 or 1999 that eliminated the name clearing process. - Investigations should be conducted the same way for foster parents as they are for biological parents. Foster parents are held to a higher standard. Child protective investigators need to be trained to conduct investigations the same, as they vary from investigator to investigator and from county to county.
7 - The law should be interpreted and applied the same. The outcomes of a child abuse investigation should be the same under the same circumstances. - Risk assessments should be done correctly. The resulting report should include everything and not just the information that will support the findings of the investigation. Example given was a case manager stated it was not in the best interest to remove children from a foster home, yet her statement was not included in the report. The supervisor and others reading the report didn’t know of the case manager’s recommendation. - Case managers should be involved in all aspects of a case, including abuse investigations. - Foster parents should have the right to a shelter hearing in front of a Judge just like a biological parent does. - The position of a parent advocate should be a foster parent. - Try to have uniform policy regarding child-care. Some counties have all young children in foster care attending day care where others have only those with special needs.
3. Representative Nick Thompson (District 73/Lee County) addressed the Task Force. Rep. Thompson’s remarks are summarized below: - Representative Thompson stated a grandparent requesting his help approached him regarding their grandchild. He discussed a case in which a child was returned to the biological mother after she passed a drug screen, despite the concerns of the grandparent and the child was beaten to death by the mother’s boyfriend. - Rep. Thompson stated he has spoken to other states, Judges and others on the subject of grandparent’s rights. Grandparents are a tremendous resource and we should make better use of them. - Grandparents should have more rights to carry out the responsibilities of the parent, since in many cases they are the primary caregivers. We need to look at the majority of the time where the child lives. When it is with the grandparents, they need commiserate rights. - We need to broaden the focus on abuse investigations and reunification to consider grandparents. - Would like to see criteria in case plans change for reunification to require parents to prove they are ready to be parents.
4. Ms. Roseann Albertario, LCSW addressed the Task Force on the mental health needs of children in the entire system and not just in foster care and children with disabilities. Ms. Albertario’s statements are summarized below: - Ms. Albertario asked the Task Force if they are looking at different ways to investigate child abuse reports when a custody issue is involved. She stated she was concerned about the amount of time taken with parents using the system in custody issues and the resources that are taken away from children who really need them. • Response: Pat Badland, Director of the Department of Children and Families Family Safety Program and Task Force member stated that if an abuse allegation is accepted by the Abuse Hotline, there is a unified approach to completing the investigation, as the investigator needs to make a determination if the child is being abused.
8 - Are there any changes taking place that will help all children with mental health needs. Suggest the Department and community based care agencies work more closely with mental health professionals and professional organizations, such as the National Association of Social Workers. • Responses from the Task Force: ▪ Judge Leifman has been asked to complete an assessment of the children’s mental health system and a report is due November 13th. The Task Force will review this information. ▪ Judge Gooding made the following statements: ~ There is some discrepancy in how “the best interest of the child” is defined in statute (Chapters 39, 61, 63, 751) and suggested the Legislature should define consistently across all statutes. ~ There needs to be some statement of children’s rights in statute, such as children have the right to live in a home free from domestic violence, drugs, etc.
5. Nadereh Salim, CEO of Children’s Network of Southwest Florida provided the Task Force with highlights of current agency activities summarized below: - The Children’s Network of Southwest Florida has an adoption goal of 83 children per their contract and is half way there in only four months. Over the last 15 months, they have seen an increase in abuse reports. The number of children to be served has increased from 1,400 to 1,800. - Ms. Salim is concern about pending budget cuts, as prevention efforts are the first to be cut. - A mentoring program is being developed that will pair older children in foster care with younger children in foster care. - The number of youth running from care and the number of episodes has decreased significantly. - Children’s Network of Southwest Florida is very proud of their successes and is committed to children.
6. Mr. Millian addressed the Task Force related to the rights of fathers. Mr. Millian’s statements are summarized below: - He has been involved in a custody battle for the last 2 years. - He has a case plan for his son. There are allegations that his home is not sufficient, but the caseworker has never been to his home. - He requested that the Task Force consider the rights of fathers.
7. Casey Heidkamp, representative for Florida Youth Shine addressed the Task Force and her statements are summarized below: - Ms. Heidkamp stated she wants to make sure the booklets on Youth’s Rights are out there. - She and other youth are working hard to get laws change and with the help of the Task Force and Secretary Butterworth, they can. - At the age of 14, she found out she had the right to talk to the Judge and began attending court. Barriers to children in foster care attending court are transportation and children not knowing they have the right to do so.
9 8. Mr. James Scolleal addressed the Task Force related to the participation of children and youth in court. Mr. Scolleal’s questions and statements are summarized below: - How many Dependency Judges are there is the state of Florida? • Task Force Response: 100 - Is it important to you have hear what a child has to say? Do all Judges speak to the Child? • Task Force Response: It is important to get input from all children. Sometimes they are not able to give meaningful input due to age or other reasons. A Judge can get their input from a therapist if being in court or providing testimony will be traumatic for the child.
9. Ms. Sharon Pooler addressed the Task Force related to grandparents raising their grandchildren. Ms. Pooler’s statements are summarized below: - Ms. Pooler called the Task Force’s attention to an article in Grand Magazine and a section in the magazine on kinship care. - There was the first international summit held for grandparents raising grand children. - Ms. Pooler encouraged the Task Force to review the magazine and get a copy of a particular article that lists resources for grandparents.
♦ Task Force Discussion/Comments - One Task Force member requested that a copy of the “Frequently Asked Questions for Youth Transitioning to Foster Care” be provided to the Task Force. - One Task Force member made the following suggestions and comments: ▪ Grandparents work with legal aid to get guardianship, as grandparents can’t enroll children in school, access child care, etc. ▪ At one time, individual mental health providers were used via direct contracts with them. The challenge was maintaining funding streams and access to Medicaid funding. Not sure if this can still be done, but should be explored to provide increased access to specialized services. ▪ How is the Department going to work with the privatized system with an increase in the number of children coming into care? Need to have a formula that automatically revises the budget and need to wait until the budget is spent to access the risk pool. - Jim Kallinger, Task Force member and Chief Child Advocate, Office of the Governor stated the Governor’s Office is convening an advisory council to finalize a five year plan on child abuse prevention and he will work with this group to collaborate.
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Task Force on Child Protection
Appendix E
Appendix E:
Task Force on Child Protection Web Links and Electronic Resources
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/
2007-2007 Task Force on Child Protection Member Biographies http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/members.shtml
Meeting Schedules http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/meetings.shtml
Meeting Materials(agendas, presentations, etc.) http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/mtgMaterials.shtml
Task Force on Child Protection Preliminary Report July - October, 2007 http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/prelimreport.shtml
Task Force on Child Protection Memo July 12, 2007 http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/docs/task_force_child_prot ection.pdf
Task Force Press Announcements http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/pressReleases.shtml
Task Force on Child Protection News Articles http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/admin/childSafety/news.shtml