Legislature slammed over child-welfare budgeting

[flashl]

State child-welfare administrators blamed a lack of funding for the high turnover rate of abuse investigators.

A panel of child welfare administrators from throughout Florida -- gathered to recommend reforms in the wake of a high-profile missing-child case -- blasted lawmakers Thursday for funding state agencies so poorly that turnover among child abuse investigators has reached ''dangerous'' levels.

Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer, who chairs the Task Force on Child Protection, said the Florida Legislature is largely to blame for the high vacancy rate among child-abuse investigators and supervisors. Lawmakers, he said, have failed to set aside enough money for salaries and training.

...

With upward of 55 vacancies, Sheldon said, investigators in Lee County were juggling an average of 76 abuse or neglect cases at any moment -- far above the average recommended by most child protection groups. If a caseworker is handling ''60 or 70 cases, we are not protecting children,'' Sheldon said.

The task force -- which includes DCF administrators, law enforcement, judges, advocates and Krischer, a chief prosecutor -- was formed after a two-year-old Central Florida girl, Courtney Clark, had vanished for 3 ½ months before caseworkers even reported her missing.

Miami Herald