Crime Records of Fla. Agents Cited
MIAMI (AP)--Florida's child welfare agency employs at least 183 people with criminal pasts, including felonies such as child molestation, child abuse, sex crimes and drug dealing, according to a report.
Among the Department of Children & Families employees with criminal records, three were punished for child abuse, 22 for grand theft, seven for aggravated battery, two for DUI manslaughter, three for dealing drugs, 10 for aggravated assault with a weapon and nine for welfare fraud, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.
One employee, the head of the agency's data-security team in Tallahassee, is listed on the state's list of sexual predators for molesting a 5-year-old boy. DCF spokesman Tim Bottcher said the agency does not consider the man a risk because he does not come into contact with clients.
DCF officials said the agency was aware in most cases of the charges against the employees and conducted background checks to make sure their lives were on track and that DCF clients would not be in danger. But administrators acknowledged that in some cases the agency did not know about the criminal pasts.
Bottcher said the 183 employees with records should be considered in the context of the number of people the agency employs statewide, about 24,000.
The DCF has been under fire for months because of its handling of cases involving missing children.
The fallout led to the resignation of department Secretary Kathleen Kearney. Kearney's departure came amid a series of troubling cases, including the disappearance of 5-year-old Rilya Wilson, who was missing from her foster home for 15 months before the agency noticed.
Three employees submitted their resignations this week after the newspaper exposed that they had not disclosed their criminal records to the DCF as required.
Spokesman Tom Barnes said it can be difficult to fill demanding jobs that pay so little.
``We are very aware that the most vulnerable people in our community are trusted to people in circumstances where there is a potential for these kinds of backgrounds,'' he said. ``It's a constant battle to keep these positions filled.''
Even when I was in court I would listen to the judge and think: Typical government employee – and all that that implies. In my humble opinion, the lowest form of employment, for any job skill, is working in the public sector. From teachers, judges, public defenders, road workers to anything else I can think of – You work for the government when nobody else will hire you, or you’re too lazy to find better employment.
And that's the way it should be.