News clips:

(too much on DCF to post here - check newsclips archives....)

Copies of DCF IDs found in Rilya caregiver's home
MIAMI — Documents confiscated from the home of Rilya Wilson's caregivers included two packets of Department of Children & Families identification cards printed in April, about the time the girl's disappearance was publicized. 10/9/02

Ditch money pit
Sentinel's position: DCF's clumsy computer system could be making things worse. 10/1/02

Florida to stop offering homes to foster children at age 18-- They're 18 years old and have been rejected by drug-addicted mothers, molested by stepfathers or beaten down by any number of horrors.- 
Many have been in the state child welfare system for as long as they can remember, shuffling through foster care homes, meeting with counselors and lagging behind in school. Some fight depression so great they've considered suicide.
Starting today, they're on their own.... 10/01/02

DCF woes are widespread
DCF records released Friday show missing children were not isolated incidents. 9/28/02

Child advocates, attorneys form watchdog organization
ORLANDO — A group of children's advocates and attorneys said Thursday they formed a watchdog group aimed at reforming the state's child welfare system through education, lobbying and lawsuits. Child welfare advocates say they are upset that chronic problems within the Department of Children & Families aren't being fixed. 9/27/02

Court traces line between abuse and corporal punishment
TALLAHASSEE — Parents can be convicted of charges less serious than aggravated child abuse, the state Supreme Court ruled, rejecting an appeal from a man in prison for beating his girlfriend's daughter with a belt. 9/27/02

Justices: Spanking child can be abuse
Parents can spank their children, but if they leave welts they can be charged with child abuse, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a decision that wades into an arena some consider private. 9/27/02

Chief: DCF's system behind
While the agency has progressed, its computer system is too difficult to use, Secretary Jerry Regier says. 9/24/02

Costly DCF files blasted
A $230 million computer system hailed as a solution to Florida's inability to keep children safe is too hard to use and may need drastic fixes, the state's social services chief said Monday. 9/24/02

DCF workers perform miracles for children
As Jerry Regier takes over Florida's scandalized Department of Children & Families, not the least of his challenges is salvaging the morale of the caseworkers and investigators who struggle to protect imperiled kids. 9/22/02

Child search may be extended
A program funded by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has made some headway in locating children originally reported missing by the state. 9/22/02

Caseworker pleads guilty to falsifying records; gets probation
BARTOW — A Department of Children and Families caseworker fired following the death of a toddler pleaded guilty Friday to falsifying records in the case. Erica Jones was sentenced to three years probation and is prohibited from working in any field involving children or the elderly. 9/21/02

Missing children list called `a myth'
Florida's long list of children labeled as ''missing'' by social workers is grossly exaggerated because it includes hundreds of chronic teenage runaways and children who simply walk away from foster homes to live with family and friends, according to a statewide task force set up to find the kids. 9/19/02

DCF secretary to ask for $474 million more
TALLAHASSEE — Florida needs to hire more people to investigate reports of child abuse and pay them better, the new head of the state Department of Children & Families said Tuesday. DCF Secretary Jerry Regier said he will recommend that state lawmakers next year boost his agency's $3.6 billion budget by $474 million... 9/18

Miami, central Florida DCF directors resign
MIAMI — The director of the state's child welfare agency in the district where 5-year-old Rilya Wilson was missing for 15 months before the agency reported her disappearance announced his resignation Tuesday. Charles Auslander resigned Sept. 2. He will stay in the post until Nov. 15, unless Department of Children & Families Secretary Jerry Regier finds a replacement sooner... 9/18

Kearney to join FSU's faculty
Kathleen Kearney, the former embattled head of the state Department of Children & Families, will join the faculty at Florida State University this fall. 9/16

DCF Agency Didn't Screen Temp-- ST. PETERSBURG - After a few minutes of training on her first day of a new job, a temporary office worker was given access to a confidential 50-page list of abused and neglected children, along with the confidential addresses of their foster homes and shelters, she says. 9/16

Broward DCF chief criticized for e-mails -- The top child welfare administrator in Broward County is under fire for writing inflammatory e-mails that describe a former child advocate as a "sourpuss" and seek to oust a legislator from a key committee post. 9/14

DCF to run more frequent checks for employee criminal history
MIAMI — The state Department of Children & Families will run employee names through criminal databases twice a year, the agency's new chief said Monday after a newspaper probe found at least 183 DCF employees had criminal records. DCF Secretary Jerry Regier responded to the report that found some of those employees had committed felonies such as child molestation, child abuse, sex crimes and drug dealing. 9/10

Leaders: DCF Changes Arduous
TAMPA - Sometimes good intentions have unintended consequences. Child welfare workers in Pinellas and Pasco counties, complying with a new state guideline to photograph and ... 9/10

Regier defends timing of hiring
A least a week before former Department of Children & Families Secretary Kathleen Kearney resigned, members of Gov. Jeb Bush's staff told her eventual successor that they had concerns about her future with the agency 9/8/02

Bush's office: We didn't get Regier essay before hire - TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush's staff did not obtain a copy of a controversial 1988 essay written by Jerry Regier until after he had already been offered the job as the state's new child-welfare chief, the governor's spokeswoman clarified Saturday.-- 
Katie Muniz said she made a mistake Friday when she described a set of documents provided to The Herald in response to a public records request as information staff had gathered prior to Regier being offered the job. ''I misunderstood'' a colleague's description of the documents, Muniz said Saturday. 9/8/02

More Regier `values' articles released -- TALLAHASSEE· New DCF Secretary Jerry Regier once wrote a string of articles that provide a blueprint for turning religious values into public policy, suggest that households headed by women may produce homosexual children and complain that taxpayer-supported day-care centers could put religious day care out of business.
Gov. Jeb Bush released a stack of documents late Friday that indicate Regier's writings and speeches on the roles of women, religion and politics in public life are more numerous than previously revealed. Several magazine articles and book submissions reiterate Regier's stance that wives should submit to their husbands, but also highlight his opposition to abortion, homosexuality, most sex education and publicly funded health clinics for schoolchildren.
All of the works were published in the late 1980s. Bush has previously said he didn't know about the writings before naming Regier to head the Department of Children & Families.
"One's values are critical to policy direction; values have become an integral part of public policy," Regier wrote for a 1987 conference sponsored by the Family Research Council, which he founded.
He advocated "four pillars" of success: values, data, credible spokespeople and implementation.
"Ideas based on values and data must become effective functioning policy. ... It is a process which demands considerable expertise and understanding of the governmental system," Regier wrote.... 9/7/02

New rules will rate all child abuse hotline calls as priority-- WEST PALM BEACH · Regardless of whether a child is suffering from head lice or has been severely beaten, any calls coming into Palm Beach County's child abuse hotline will be considered priority calls under a new set of guidelines the Law Enforcement Planning Council announced Thursday. 9/7/02

Regier authored earlier article condoning "the rod"
The new head of Florida's child welfare system was the sole author of an article 14 years ago that condoned "manly" discipline called for in the Bible and said women should work at home, a newspaper reported Friday.-- 
Jerry Regier argued for a restoration of family values based on "biblical norms" in the 1988 article, which is similar to one written a year later that Regier distanced himself from last week. 8/23/02

More DCF Clips...

DCF going to Hell in a handbasket.

Gov Jeb is ready to chop DCF into little pieces, and then flush them down the toilet. The proposed plan is to eliminate 1200 DCF employees in 2004, then another 700 in 2005, then finally 3600 employees in 2006. All this in the name of privatization. In addition, create 'zones' whereby all existing districts will be combined into much larger areas. Between the zoning and reduction in staff, and privatization to corporations that are only interested in millions of dollars from the state - you can be assured that the children, elderly and less fortunate will have less support than ever. Don't forget about DCF Secretary Jerry Regier who only wants to be campaign manager for his buddies in Oklahoma while paying little attention to Florida most needy. Jeb poo-pooed this idea, but now Jeb agrees to be his brothers campaign manager for next years presidential election. My my, it's okay for the Governor to shirk his responsibilities to the citizens of Florida, but his DCF secretary can't do it. What do we pay these people for anyway?

J - DCF Employee

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DCF does not follow through on their open cases

I am writing to let everybody know that DCF does not know what they are doing. They put an "apb" out for me. They want to take my child into custody on sight. All for allegations. 
They make me do a drug test, tell them my new address, they will send a worker out within 24 hrs.
4 Weeks and 3 days pass. I don't hear anything. Then I get a call from the worker. She will be to my home at 6 that evening. 
No show!! I call her supervisor on her cell phone. Voice mail. So I leave a message. 
It's now been 1 week. Where are they?? 
Thank god I am not a monster. 
Left in her hands, my kids could of been long dead by now.  
What about the ones who are being abused?
God help them.
I just want them to leave me alone.
... Mom of 3/bm, 1/22/02

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Changes needed at DCF hotline

If you'd like to make changes, you may want to begin here.  Seasoned hotline staff tell stories of the good old days...days when staff worked diligently...were permitted some variance in their job duties and were treated with respect.  Of course, all of it wasn't perfect and some of the old ways needed improvement.

Word is that Christine McMillan-Lane was hired to rid "the dinosaurs."  These were the staff who assisted co-workers and advocated for workers through the AFSCME union.  These were people who knew the job, knew Florida laws, and had prevailed through years-and-years of changes.

Why rid the dinosaurs?  It seems the public complained of unanswered telephone calls, some workers were performing below standard, and quality of service could not be assessed.  More importantly, dinosaurs protected workers' rights and were less obedient when it came to supervisors requesting workers do activities that may've been illegal, immoral or just plain wrong.  The dinosaurs were more likely to know the work and not want to play political games to impress supervisors.  The political game-players were more likely to provide sub-standard work, but appear above-average in their skills which earned them bonuses by Florida's Governor.

So, what occurred?  The new Chief, trained in military rule, invented a Hotline floor that mostly resembled a telemarketer floor.  Staff are now subjected to ungodly amounts of noise projected from other counselors, loud supervisors who sometimes exhibit party-like behaviors around the call floor, offensive odors affecting those with pulmonary illnesses, and a floor that maintains colonized and dominated workers.  Staff were told they could not read a newspaper, that BIG BROTHER was ALWAYS watching them, that they must account for trips to the bathroom with medical excuses, that 3-minute tardiness could mean dismissal, that they could not speak to friends or co-workers in other units, that supervisors could not speak to co-workers in other units, and that ANYTHING they did could be used a month, 3 months or 6 months later to orchestrate dismissal.  Workers were warned to NOT access the Internet on their computers, were warned that ALL of the telephones at the Hotline were recorded (workers don't dare speak to their doctors because there are no private conversations), that no seasonal displays or birthday parties would be practiced, and that staff would be kept separate and ignorant akin to life on a plantation.

It gets better!  Many supervisors were elevated NOT because they were "good at their jobs," but for other reasons.  Workers watched as a person with a sports' college degree ... was hired to manage computer operations.  Resume's and state applications were fradulently developed to enable those with little-to-no computer experience to obtain positions requiring computer experience and education ....  A worker ... in computers "disappeared" for HOURS over many months, as he attended class outside of DCF and was paid by the Hotline.  When will qualified persons with computer experience be hired at the Hotline?

How did (the HR department) allow (a staffer) to hire (the staffer's) child to the Hotline floor, when the (child) possessed a felony criminal history?  How is it that (one worker) was paid extra money to work on the Spanish line at the Hotline, when other Spanish workers reported that (this worker) barely knew any Spanish and was NOT fluent?  ...  

Yes, the changes in management have increased completed telephone reports.  But, wait!  Counselors are responsible for a daily quota on their reports.  So, why do you imagine that some NEW workers were able to receive bonuses for high productivity, while those same workers had so much extra time to socialize?  Well, it seems some workers said their motto was to "GET ONE CODE."  This means these workers weren't interested in obtaining a good, brief picture of information to give to protective service workers.  These workers wanted ONE ABUSE CODE, and then then pretended their telephones disconnected or would RID THE CALLERS.  Typically, their reports are BARE BONES and you WOULDN'T want these counselors answering the telephone at a time when you needed to report an emergency abuse.  These counselors COULDN'T CARE LESS.  They are there to earn bonuses and GET THEIR QUOTA!   Persons hired to provide consumer-oriented services and protect the public from harm have found a way to "beat the system" and get rewarded!

Supervisors?  Well, there's a spectrum of sorts.  There's the experienced and capable supervisor, the supervisor who was elevated RIGHT AFTER receiving warning evaluations, the supervisor with chemical dependency problems and who probably should be at some in-patient facility, the supervisor who jokes about "cleaning himself out" at drug-testing time, the supervisor who permits a sexual harassing person to act as supervisor (females try to stay home on those days when they feel in danger), and the supervisor hell-bent on targeting SOMEONE on the floor (stand around during calls, sit in different seats around the worker, follow the worker everywhere with assistance by some needy 1984-type co-workers who want to be liked by the supervisor).

So, in the end, what needs to be done?  I would begin by informing counselors and staff that the intent was not to make them feel BIG BROTHER was watching...the intent was for everyone to provide quality and a quantity of work.  The Hotline staff would be reinforced for working as a TEAM, and the team would assist needy staff to advance to a standard.  Workers who have tried their best for 15 years would not be threatened with dismissal, while those who learned how to "beat the system" would escape notice

Supervisors would all be trained equally and monitored.  Targeting, illegal activities and civil rights violations would be ELIMINATED.  Drug testing would be random and more often.

Workers would be permitted to experience SOME LATITUDE in work-site enjoyment...not threatened with firing if no calls are in the cue and a worker reads a book until the next call, and after all work has been completed.  Workers would be treated as professionals, rather than children waiting to get in trouble.

Workers would be hired according to their qualifications, according to their experience, because they were the best persons for the jobs and all workers would be treated equally.  Criminal background requirements for one worker, would apply to all workers. 

The Hotline would return to hiring quality workers, rather than persons capable of telemarketing abilities.  The floor would be more conducive to handling confidential and sensitive calls, and workers who HANG UP on callers would not be rewarded with bonuses.  Supervisors, or those persons assessing staff, would be qualified, experienced and monitored.  They would not be able to "rise up the ladder" because (of who they knew).  Computer illiterate trainers would not be assigned responsibility to train or assess co-workers on computer program use.  Staff would not be targeted because they weren't valued by cruel over-seers.  Statistics would not be STRETCHED by (staff), persons who could use proper English and were trained in developing employee policy & procedure would be assigned those duties (Hotline's manual is REPLETE with NON-ENGLISH and improper punctuation or grammar, and makes state workers appear incompetent), and the State would spend more time developing quality programs than trying to oppress workers and "pull the wool over someone's eyes."

Stop wasting taxpayer dollars by hiring incompetent people to manage business.   Begin rewarding employees who have dedicated their lives to DCF, some for decades.  Begin uniting workers as a team with a common goal, rather than advancing BIG BROTHER politics and control because YOU CAN.  Talk to staff and learn about the real day-to-day realities of the Hotline.  Ensure DCFs employees are protected and safe from forms of mental manipulation, targeting and abuse.  Stop ignoring illegal behavior, stop placing reporters on trial for witch-craft and watching them burn at the stake when they refuse to submit to illegal or wrong managerial procedures. 

DCF's Hotline has some of the finest and hardest working staff in the State.  It's time to eliminate the oppressed, and reward the loyal and diligent workers who have been targeted for so long.  Listen to the workers.  They may have DCFs and the State of Florida's best interest at heart.
... advocate people, 11/18/02

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Jeb Further Disables DCF With Scandal-ridden, Ultra-conservative Appointee Jerry Regier

Think Jerry Regier is just a kook? Well, he's a lousy public servant, too. Read this article and learn why we need to get rid of him... quick.

All Floridians--even the most conservative of Christian fundamentalists--should be appalled at Governor Jeb Bush's appointment Thursday of Jerry Regier as secretary of the ailing Department of Children and Families. While the immediate need for leadership resulting from former DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney's resignation last Tuesday demanded prompt action from Gov. Bush, the Governor's choice of a man who has touted social views that run counter to current public policy and employment practices, while at the same time repeatedly coming under fire for dodging state regulations to funnel millions of dollars in critical funding to his friends... well, it is nothing short of an outrage. 

So just who is Jerry Regier? He has an impressive resume of service in the state of Oklahoma as the Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Services, where for five years he oversaw more than 80 boards, commissions, and agencies, and he has served on the federal level for the administrations of Presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan. This much is true: he has stood at the helm of large state agencies and implemented a firestorm of controversial policies.

One might, on the surface, simply consider him a man of his convictions who deserves to be respected as such. But closer examination of his record points toward quite a different conclusion: Jerry Regier is an unscrupulous politician who manipulates his way around laws and regulations to advance an ultra-conservative agenda designed to benefit himself and his cronies, not the people he serves.

You've likely heard about Regier's notoriety for his involvement with the Family Research Council and the Coalition on Revival, but the controversy of these affiliations pale in comparison to his behavior in the arena of public administration.

Consider his most recent bid for governor of Oklahoma, where we might find some insight into what we might be able to expect from him as the newly appointed "czar" of Florida Children and Families. In January 2002, Regier resigned from his appointment as Oklahoma Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Services to run for governor of that state. Regier lived in Oklahoma from age 10 until he left for college at age 18, and then he moved back to the state at age 50 and has lived there for the past seven years while serving in government. Regier considers himself an Oklahoman (despite having lived all but 15 of his 57 years elsewhere), but he learned some months into his gubernatorial campaign that there's a pesky requirement in the Oklahoma constitution stating that any candidate for state office reside in the state during the ten years prior to running for office. Regier was three years short.

One might guess that, as a conservative, Regier would respect state sovereignty in such matters. But, as Regier states on his campaign site at www.jerryregier.com , he would have challenged the constitutionality of this requirement (a legal challenge being the "only way around this requirement") if it weren't for the months that such an action would have delayed his campaign... thereby costing him the election. So he withdrew. But Regier's apparent readiness to treat the state's residency requirement as an arbitrary rule, as well as his willingness to announce this openly, is emblematic of his approach to the policies and statutes he has been obligated to both enforce and abide by as a public officer. In short, Regier's "service" has been characterized by an approach that enforces only what he chooses, and the blatant manipulation of those rules that prevent him from advancing his own career and dishing out favors to his friends.

The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative: An exercise in government waste and cronyism.

In 1999, while serving as Gov. Keating's appointee as Health Secretary, Regier spearheaded the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, the first initiative of its kind to take $10 million in federal welfare funding (justified, Regier said, by the "surplus" created by cutting mothers from state welfare rolls) and spend that money on programs designed specifically to keep needy people married. The initiative itself proved controversial, and the committee of researchers designated by Keating to evaluate the initiative has yet to detect any positive results.

The federal funds are earmarked for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, helping low-income families and single mothers take care of their children in their home or by relatives. This immediate assistance is TANF's primary purpose, but additional goals of this federal program include "promoting job preparation, work, and marriage" to end dependence on government assistance, to "prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies," and to "encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families."

Most of us will likely agree that, taken as a holistic program, TANF's goals address the immediate needs of parents and children while also seeking long-term solutions aimed at building healthy communities--by preparing needy people to succeed and advance in the workplace and to share their financial burdens with a partner. But the purpose of the Keating-Regier Marriage Initiative is to focus on promoting and sustaining marriages for single parents with children--which complies with TANF goals, yet works in isolation from addressing the immediate needs of children and families in crisis or enabling self-sufficiency for families once those immediate needs are met.

The initiative, rather, diverts this money away to allegedly "get at the root of the problem" by funding programs for churches that make "community covenants" to reduce the divorce rate; establishing a "scholar-in-residence" as a "national expert" on marriage as well as funding research programs on marriage; education programs designed to "change the attitudes of young people" toward marriage and divorce; improving data systems to better track divorce rates; media programs designed to keep marriage concerns in the public forum; and sponsoring various conferences and events that bring attention to the initiative. Other TANF programs in Oklahoma, such as Fatherhood Projects, Mother Mentoring, and Children First are listed as "integrated" into the initiative's purposes--there are no unique programs under this initiative that provide direct contact with needy families. (source: www.governor.state.ok.us/mitanf.htm )

In other words, the "Marriage Initiative" was created for the sole purpose of diverting federal funds earmarked to directly help families in crisis to instead pay white-collar professionals to tackle a "root problem" that is as yet unproven and even ludicrous in its conception. But Jerry Regier took this pet funding program yet a step further by skirting regulations to blatantly hand over $2 million in contracts to his old friend and former Republican political consultant Mary Myrick.

Myrick's consulting firm, Public Strategies Inc., was the beneficiary of Regier's acrobatic skirting of Oklahoma's competitive bidding regulations when it comes to awarding government contracts. Myrick's firm was awarded a $70,000 sole-source contract to serve as facilitator for the Marriage Initiative, and Regier himself signed the affidavit swearing that Myrick was the only vendor capable of providing this service. Myrick's firm additionally won a four-year contract under this initiative, totaling nearly $1.6 million by being the only bidder to provide consulting and public relations services that were tailored specifically for the firm. (source:  http://www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/Press_Rel01/ pr041201.html  )

Among the services that Myrick billed the state of Oklahoma for were: reading books, watching videos, creating crowds for media events, arranging dinner meetings for Regier, and replying to Regier's email. (source: www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/Press_Rel01/pr092701.html  and www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/ Press_Rel01/pr032901.html ) Valuable services, indeed.

Regier's "Cleanup" of Oklahoma's Health Department: Handouts of $$$ and Jobs for Friends

Regier was named the 2001 "Oklahoma Administrator of the Year" by the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration for his "cleanup" of the scandal-ridden Department of Health. As Cabinet Secretary of Health and Human Services, Regier took credit for getting at the bottom of scandals in nursing home administration, incidence of "ghost employees" who were receiving compensation for unverified work or other charges, and ending political patronage practices that were responsible for massive government waste and inefficiency. (source: www.health.state.ok.us/program/hpromo/news/news2-01/admin.htm )

But closer examination of Regier's record suggests, rather, that he took a problem-riddled agency and just created a new set of problems for it. In an October 9, 2000, Oklahoma House of Representatives press release, State Rep. Mike Mass explained that Regier merely replaced these so-called "ghost employees," most of them Democrats, with Republican cronies. Mass observed, "If those folks really weren't doing anything at the Health Department, why were they replaced?"

Regier was charged with the responsibility of guiding the Health Department after its deputy commissioner, Brent VanMeter, was arrested on federal bribery charges arising from nursing home oversight. Within five months, 32 Health Department employees and consultants were fired or forced to resign. Among them were three Democrat former legislators, people who received employment references from Democrat legislators, relatives of Democrat lawmakers, and associates of VanMeter. Those employees who were fired were unclassified employees, exempt from state merit system protections. The annual payroll for those 32 workers, excluding benefits, was $1.42 million.

During the same five-month period, the State Health Department added 26 new employees, all unclassified and exempt from the merit system. The annual payroll for those employees, at least six of whom worked for Regier at the Office of Juvenile Affairs when he was executive director of that agency, is $1.175 million. Additionally, two administrative contracts cost another $145,000, which boosted the total replacement cost to $1.32 million.

An October 29, 2000, AP newswire report states that one employee fired, Janet Wiles, believed that her termination was due in part to her salary of $36,000 per year as an office manager after serving the agency for 15 years, as well as her recent pregnancy and maternity leave. Wiles had no connection whatsoever to the nursing home scandal, and was planning a statewide conference on HIV infection when she received notice that she would be terminated.

In another case, November 3, 2001, AP newswire report states that Richard Mullins, another employee fired as a "ghost," sued the state for $100,000 for wrongful dismissal. When the AP asked Regier about the case, Regier said that he "probably would have reinstated" him if Mullins had not already hired a lawyer to handle the suit. Most employee terminations were executed for "management reasons."

To replace the dismissed employees, Regier gave positions and contracts to prominent Republicans and a Republican-run contracting firm. Among them: Republican former state Senator Gary Gardenhire was hired as the Health Department's new general counsel, at a salary of $75,000. Regier contracted for the services of Deputy Labor Commissioner Jim Marshall, a former Republican candidate for State Labor Commissioner, at a rate of $70,137 per year to assist the Health Department in its reorganization efforts. Regier also contracted with the Fidelis Group to investigate any areas of the Health Department the acting director requests. The Attorney General's Office and the State Auditor and Inspector both perform the same services the Fidelis Group is providing under a $75,000 open- ended, sole-source contract that was secured without competitive bids. Both principals in the Fidelis Group, Errol Myers and Henry Gibbons, are registered Republicans. Another of Regier's new hires, despite his promises to end political patronage and bring integrity to nursing home administration, was Darren Burgess, a former associate at the national nursing home chain Beverly Enterprises, at a salary of $82,000 per year.

And don't think for a moment that Regier forgot about his friend Mary Myrick. Just days after Regier took the helm of the Health Department, Myrick received her first check from the agency. Myrick's firm was paid nearly $300,000 to organize the Tulsa Safe Schools Summit for the Department of Health. Myrick's firm was the sole bidder on this four-year contract, and will receive a total of $1.2 million at the contract's completion. State Sen. Kevin Easley commented, "While we were struggling to find money for nursing home inspectors, Jerry Regier was funneling health department money to a public relations firm." (source: www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/Press_Rel01/pr032901.html ) End political patronage and government waste? Hardly.

Regier's Spending Spree at the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs

An April 19, 2001 AP newswire report states that an Oklahoma House subcommittee finally had to designate state Auditor Clifton Scott to find out why the Office of Juvenile Affairs needed an additional $8 million in the 2002 budget to avert a deficit. The problem? Seems that Regier, who was director of OJA in 1999 and 2000, had somehow amounted some $6.1 million in administrative charges to cover program expenditures of $727,642. That means administrative charges were 126 percent of OJA's case management program during the two years. Regier's response to the AP's inquiries was to dispute the terminology of "administrative charges," and he also said the money in question covered services the OJA rendered in different years. But Regier did agree that $8 million was needed for the next year.

So where did all the money go? The audit report apparently never made it to the newswire. But, as you might guess, over $450,000 went to Mary Myrick for those invaluable services that are unique to her firm. Some $400,000 of that amount was paid to Myrick over an 11-day period, with one check totaling $250,000, for organizing a one-day Safe and Drug-Free School Summit in Oklahoma City. The contract, of course, was once again a sole-source contract, with Regier signing an affidavit stating that Myrick's firm was the only one who could organize the conference. State records also show that a total of $1.25 million in federal funding was diverted from community-based prevention programs for the Summit and similar conferences under Regier's watch.

State Sen. Larry Dickerson commented, "I don't understand why we're taking money away from people who are on the front lines of the drug war and giving it to a political consultant to plan a one-day seminar. Community-based prevention programs are some of the best tools we have to protect our young people from the dangers of drugs. We shouldn't be draining their already limited resources." (source: www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/Press_Rel01/pr032901.html  and www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/ Press_Rel01/pr040501b.html  )

But even prior to the mysterious "administrative charges" black hole, an audit by the Oklahoma Health Care Authority showed that the OJA had charged federal and state governments $1.2 million more than it was eligible to receive during a period of 19 months. An April 11, 2001, AP newswire reports stated that the agency double-billed for services it provided to troubled youths, in addition to occasionally filing claims for juveniles who were no longer clients. The OJA had to repay $884,653 to the federal government for overbilling.

Regier's Style of Mismanagement: The Blame Game

In 2000, Regier led the effort to close Eastern State Hospital, a mental health facility in Vinita, Oklahoma. But when problems with his plan arose, Regier did his best to dodge responsibility and shift the blame. From the beginning, legislators and mental health advocates warned about the dangers of moving too quickly to close the mental hospital. But in August 1999 after the plan was approved by the Oklahoma legislature, Regier pushed for closure by January 1 of 2000, even though the law stipulated that it not take place until 2001. When the legislature called a hearing on the subject, Regier downplayed concerns that community programs were not ready to handle the influx of patients that would result from such a speedy transition, saying that the process could be expedited without any problems.

But Regier was wrong. Most of the problems arising from the Eastern State closing revolved around the inability of a Tulsa mental health facility to deal with the large influx of mental patients formerly at Eastern State. Yet in a published report about these problems, Regier attempted to distance himself from the issue and shift blame to two oversight panels involved in the transition, even though those panels are "advisory" only and had little authority in the process. The main entities responsible for the Eastern State shutdown were Regier and the Mental Health Department that he oversaw as cabinet secretary.

State Sen. Rick Littlefield commented, "Trying to push responsibility off on a couple of advisory panels that have no real power is really a stretch. That's like a head coach trying to blame the cheerleaders for his bad coaching decisions. Mr. Regier and his people dropped the ball on this one, but they just don't want to admit it." He further commented, "What we're dealing with now is the same kind of crisis situation that Secretary Regier assured everyone would not happen. When we warned him about potential problems, his attitude was 'don't worry about it.' Now that the problems have materialized, he wants to run and hide. I think it would be a lot more productive if he just took responsibility for his management mistakes and worked to correct them." (source: www.lsb.state.ok.us/senate/Press_Rel00/PR000920.html )

Regier's "World View"

News of Regier's association with the now infamous document, "The Christian World View of the Family," drafted by the Coalition on Revival to standardize Christian beliefs and inform public policy, has been the topic of conversation since Gov. Bush appointed Regier as DCF secretary last week. Regier has distanced himself from the organization, claiming that he did not serve as an author of the document (even though he is the second name listed in large, bold type on the document's title page) and that he long ago requested that the COR no longer associate his name with the organization because he no longer shared those views. But COR listed on him on their website at www.revival.net even as recently as April 2001 as a national steering committee member, and the copyright on the 1989 document was renewed--with Regier's name remaining on the title page--in 1999.

The document (www.reformation.net/cor/cordocs/family.pdf ) states:

"We deny that premarital and extramarital sexual relationships, promiscuity, adultery, homosexuality, bestiality, exhibitionism, pornography, adult-child sexual relations, prostitution, and sex-act entertainment, masturbation, and other sexual deviations should be sanctioned or accepted as 'normal' or legal...." (page 6)

"We deny that a husband must earn his headship; that he may be deposed by his wife; and that he may deny his headship in order to evade the responsibilities that attend it." (page 7)

"We deny that married mothers of minor children should seek male economic provider roles...." (page 9)

"We affirm that Biblical spanking may cause temporary bruises or welts that do not constitute child abuse, but that proven brutality to a child resulting in disfigurement or serious injury should be punished by law." (page 16)

Regier claims that these beliefs are a little extreme for him. As Oklahoma health secretary, he reveled in forcing needy single mothers off the welfare rolls and into whatever jobs they could find (thereby giving him that "surplus" of federal funds he then funneled to friends like Mary Myrick), so this reporter believes him. But Regier does have an extensive history with conservative social groups.

In 1981, Regier was instrumental in founding the Family Research Council. He served as President and CEO of the organization from 1984-1988, and is credited with guiding the organization to connect public policy makers directly with their agenda. The FRC's avowed purpose is to "champion marriage and family as the foundation of civilization, the seedbed of virtue, and the wellspring of society," to "shape public debate and formulate public policy that values human life and upholds the institutions of marriage and the family," and to "promote the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for a just, free, and stable society." The FRC has, in the past, referred to abortion practitioners as "terrorists," and has more recently made a niche for itself in the media and in lobbying efforts by vehemently opposing both abortion and rights for homosexuals. (source: www.frc.org )

So what does all of this mean for Florida and our troubled Department of Children and Families? Governor Bush has told us that Regier's record "speaks for itself." But, taking Regier's career into full consideration, his record is exactly the problem.
... by good soldier, from 8/20/02 Tallahassee/RedHills IMC, 9/16/02

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Taxpayers want to know

               

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Regier LISTENING to DCF is a MYTH!  It's another SCAM!

"If I've learned anything in the 22 years that I've been working in public service, I've learned to seek out -- and accept -- help and advice from a variety of sources. That's why I've embarked on a statewide "Listening Tour" -- to listen to the front-line employees about the problems they face in their jobs. And, what I'm hearing is bringing a new sense of understanding -- and urgency -- to my goal of improving the Department of Children & Families and the services we provide to Florida's families in crisis."....By Jerry Regier | My Word

            ...CIV, 9/16/02

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Child protection has many problems

As a former child protection agent with 26 years experience, I would like to make several comments.

First, in child protection, staff is almost always new. People quit, move to other positions in social services, and the agencies seem never to address why they cannot retain staff. This is almost universal in child protection.

A caseload of 50 protection cases is impossible to keep up with. Each of the 50 child victims has parents, grandparents, friends, and one is likely to be dealing with 250-300 persons that make demands of one sort or another. Truth be known, often these relatives and friends are not the best of folk.

In each agency, and in state and federal law, there is the dual and conflicting problem of protecting the child versus preserving the family. These forces seem to always have the power to challenge every decision that is made and bring the matter to the court when removal of the child is considered. The county agency I left two years ago was then in preservation mode, and protection was the outcast in funds and focus.

Imagine a job where one can be imprisoned for 15 years for "cheating" on a record, an act you were likely driven to by pressure to do more than possible. Enron's CEO, Ken Lay, is not facing anything close to this for cheating on his records.

I know that children die on child protection caseloads. Personally I am proud that I "only" lost two, but still live with what I could have, or should have done in a more perfect world.

As long as child protection remains an entry-level job, held by the newest and youngest employees with conflict as to what the role of interventions is, mistakes will continue. As long as we, as a society, are unsure about what we want and expect from child protection there will be controversy. Until we are willing to intervene ourselves in abuse and neglect situations, there is little hope of protection improving. Would you have taken, and kept this young caseworker's job for her pay of about $25,000? I think not.
-- PRH, letter to Editor St Petersburg times, 7/17/02

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Chicago institute polling Florida kindergarten classes about children and family services

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The case loads stated here come closer than JEB's "21"

"Gov. Bush, obsessed with using privatization and other right-wing deck-chair shuffles to avoid paying for a proper system, claimed last week that his administration has reduced to 21 the average caseload of DCF workers looking after children in the system. Not true, according to The Miami Herald. Gov. Bush's figures did not include protective investigators who investigate suspected abuse. Kind of an important category, don't you think? Statewide, they have an average caseload of 42. In Miami-Dade County, it's 63..."
Today's victims, tomorrow's killers, Palm Beach Post, 5/14/02
...ohmy, 5/14/02

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DCF agrees to negotiate ESS bonuses

 

As a foster kid myself i feel that DCF has neglected me as much as my parents were charged for

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