Crist taps Democrat to lead Juvenile Justice

[seafan]

Just cleaning up more of Jeb's messes...



Crist taps Democrat to lead Juvenile Justice

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS
February 7, 2008

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Charlie Crist on Friday will again give the reins of a troubled state agency to a Democrat, naming St. Petersburg Rep. Frank Peterman as the next secretary of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Peterman, 45, is the ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on Juvenile Justice, a Baptist minister, and has served as director of Development for Juvenile Services Programs of St. Petersburg, a not-for-profit agency that contracts with DJJ.

He replaces Walt McNeil, former Tallahassee chief of police who is also a Democrat. Crist appointed McNeil juvenile justice secretary a year ago but last month made him secretary at the Department of Corrections.
Peterman, like McNeil, is black and has been tapped to head up an agency rocked by internal strife and controversy. Crist also appointed former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, to head the Department of Children & Families.
Children's advocates say DJJ, which was pummeled by legislators after the boot camp death of Martin Lee Anderson in Panama City, must shift from a ''lock 'em up'' mentality to a focus on prevention.

.....

The report, released this week, said that Florida locks up 90,000 teens a year, far exceeding the national average, and must move quickly to stop routing troubled teens to the juvenile justice system and into treatment programs and residential homes. There, research says, they are more likely to learn to stay out of trouble and the cost to the state would be a fraction of the cost of detention.

.....

But Peterman faces immediate challenges in the short term. The governor's budget recommends an $18.1 million cut to the agency budget; agency turnover has prompted the recent departure of several high-level staffers; and rumors are rampant that legislators are considering consolidating the agency with the Department of Corrections to help close the state's $300 million budget gap this year and a $2 billion revenue deficit next year.

''My joke is, these are jobs that no decent Republican would take anyway,'' said Rep. J.C. Planas, a Miami Republican, who served with Peterman on the House Juvenile Justice Committee. :eyes:

.....

(Roy Miller, president of the Children's Campaign) urged Peterman to ''get immediate assurances'' from the governor and legislative leaders ``that there's absolutely no plan to merge DJJ with DOC.''
Those assurances are needed he said, because ``people are wondering if it is going to remain a child-focused agency or revert back to a corrections model that failed under Jeb Bush.''

.....

[madeline_con]

1. Gotta love Frank!

Bill Would Make Bestiality A Felony In Florida
Published: January 2, 2008

Bestiality isn't a crime right now in Florida.

So a St. Petersburg lawmaker has filed a bill for this year's legislative session that would make it a first-degree felony for people to have sex with animals.

Rep. Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg, crafted the bill to prevent anyone from knowingly committing bestiality, knowingly causing or aiding another person to have sex with an animal, or knowingly permitting sex with an animal at a property under his control.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/jan/02/bill-would-make-bestiality-felony-florida/?news-breaking

..........................................

Thank GOD Frank's looking out for Florida animals! :yoiks:

[seafan]

2. Whoa, hadn't heard that one. This is Florida, after all.... lol.

[madeline_con]

3. Enuf with the Florida dissing!

:spank:

But, I do look forward to the day when I can legally do something about my weird neighbor who's been eying my dog. :rofl:

[seafan]

4. Eewwwww, lol. Better keep your neighbor on a leash instead of your dog.

[Sancho]

5. I hate to imagine unknowingly committing bestiality!

:crazy:

[Vet31203]

6. Seems to be a trend

Half the people in politics over the last 16 years have been cleaning up after the Bush family

William J Meyers for House 2008

[shenmue]

7. Yay!

About time somebody got things done.