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That little girl may still be alive, and going to school somewhere. Someone may still recognize her, even if her abductors gave her a different name. So -- you can not assume she is "dead."

Also, a lot more is happening that just "ho hum." See below:

Gov. Endorses Child Welfare Solution

By CATHERINE WILSON
Associated Press Writer

May 28, 2002, 6:10 PM EDT

MIAMI --Gov. Jeb Bush endorsed a low-cost approach Tuesday to solving some of the child-welfare problems cited by a panel examining the case of a 5-year-old girl in state care whose disappearance went unnoticed for 15 months.

Bush also promised to work with lawmakers on costlier, long-term issues.

"We know that we can do better and we have work to do," he said. "We have made significant progress in a very difficult, challenging, complicated area of public policy."

Bush was reacting to a 28-page report released Sunday by a committee he assigned to investigate the state's handling of Rilya Wilson, a 5-year-old girl who is still missing a month after her disappearance was noticed.

Bush called the wide-ranging report "a good solid blueprint" for change in the state Department of Children & Families and endorsed its leadership by Kathleen Kearney despite calls by others for her resignation.

But he said he was "wary" of the panel's call for a special legislative session to address the needs of Florida's abused and neglected children.

When asked if he supported raises for caseworkers and supervisors, Bush said the decision would be part of an overall review of employee retention, training and benefits.

The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform based in Alexandria, Va., on Monday called the report "nearly 100 percent useless," blaming Kearney's approach to child welfare in part for an increase in deaths under her tenure.

Democratic State Rep. Frederica Wilson of Miami, said she realistically expected "nothing" to happen in response to the report.

"There's a child missing who could possibly be dead," she said. "I don't even think that the community awareness has been heightened."

The review panel blamed two low-level state workers and Rilya's caretakers for the girl's long-unnoticed disappearance but also said DCF shortcomings were "manifest."

Bush said he hopes to see criminal charges come out of police investigations of allegedly fraudulent reports filed by state employees and the caretakers.

Some of the panel's short-term recommendations include conducting criminal background checks on new foster parents, photographing children every three months and having them come to court every six months; and ensuring caseworkers visit each of the 44,000 children in state care once a month so law enforcement can be notified immediately if a child is missing.

Key long-term, costlier recommendations include increasing pay for the agency workers and providing money for full criminal background checks.

Rilya was an infant when she was taken by the state from her homeless, crack-addicted mother and placed in caretaker Geralyn Graham's home in April 2000.

Graham filed for food stamps on behalf of Rilya as recently as March. But Graham now says Rilya was taken from her home in January 2001 by someone claiming to be a Department worker. The agency says it didn't learn of the disappearance until this spring.

Copyright © 2002, The Associated Press