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 11/5/2008 1 2008 Task Force on Child Protection Annual Report 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. 11/5/2008 2 2008 Task Force on Child Protection Annual Report 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. 11/5/2008 3 2008 Task Force on Child Protection Annual Report 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) 11/5/2008 4 2008 Task Force on Child Protection Annual Report 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.