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Panel Leader Discusses Florida Child Care

Aired May 28, 2002 - 11:25   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KRIS OSBORN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to talk about the case of missing Rilya Wilson. A blue ribbon panel put a blistering report on the desk of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush today. The commission concludes the state's child welfare system is in sad shape.

Now, Gov. Bush appointed the commission after the system lost track of 5-year-old Rilya Wilson. You see her here. Someone apparently posing as a social worker took the child in January of 2001, but state officials did not determine Rilya was missing until just last month.

Case workers were supposed to check on Rilya regularly, but they didn't. So the governor's commission is recommending 45 changes for the Florida child welfare system.

Former "Miami Herald" publisher David Lawrence Jr. leads the panel. He joins us now live from Miami this morning.

Good morning to you, David. How are you?

DAVID LAWRENCE, CHMN. FLORIDA COMMISSION ON CHILD PROTECTION: Excellent.

OSBORN: Well, sir, let's just begin with the obvious passage of time here. Missing for so long before anything was said. It seems like quite an injustice.

LAWRENCE: It's a terrible injustice, and it's the kind of injustice that we ought to do something about.

OSBORN: About that, what were some of the principal recommendations from the panel?

LAWRENCE: We have three sets of recommendations. And, as you mentioned, the numbers are significantly more than three dozen. The first 20 or so ought to be done in the next 90 days, no ifs, ands, or buts. They include such things as knowing where every child is every month. They include fingerprints on every child, photos on every child.

Some of them are longer term, and some will require legislative action when the legislature begins to meet again next March. More money is required, but there are lots of things that need to be done at the same time. OSBORN: Now I understand, Mr. Lawrence, one of the other aspects of the panel's findings was, in fact, that the DCF had not been doing background checks.

LAWRENCE: Well, yes. And in fact, one of the important specifics is to take advantage of national, state, and local databases so that we know that someone has served time or been convicted or has a terrible credit record or whatever else. And the department, I think, now is committed to make sure that background checks are done on every potential caregiver.

OSBORN: You were talking a bit about this earlier, about the timing of when these new recommendations would be implemented. Is there a difference between what you're looking for as short term and immediately in terms of changes on the ground now, and what you're looking for more long term?

LAWRENCE: We think there are some things that can be done starting tomorrow, next week, next month. So we have outlined 21 different suggestions that beginning tomorrow, need to get done between now and September 1. The governor has asked that the panel be reconvened in September so the community and the state will have a progress report.

Then we asked for another set of goals that will be completed between now and March 1 that require more money and more time. And then we have asked the legislature in almost a dozen areas to take a look at things that specifically need to be done that will make the chances of this sort of tragedy from occurring again.

OSBORN: Well the recommendations in the report from your panel were very, very scathing, very, very harsh. Certainly, the welfare of little Rilya Wilson is certainly on the minds of the panel, as well as other potential victims.

LAWRENCE: Well, as it absolutely should be. We don't think of people, and shouldn't, in terms of groups. We ought to think of them in terms of individuals. And it is unacceptable in America that children are lost. And we can and, I think, will do something about this.

And the governor today was very bullish on what the panel had to say. And I think these will have not only the full support of the governor, but also of the departmental secretary, the local administration, and, frankly, other people who need to play a part in this, including the court system.

OSBORN: Now, I understand, according to your report, that blame is placed much more squarely on the caseworker, as opposed to the guardians.

LAWRENCE: Well, yes. The blame is placed very squarely on the caseworker and, frankly, her supervisor. But we certainly don't exonerate in any way the caregiver situation. And indeed, in a couple of these cases that might well pertain to both the caseworker and the caregiver, I think there are significant allegations of malfeasance. And if there have been criminal violations, people ought to be prosecuted, and no questions about it.

But the failure here is a human failure. The departmental secretary has taken full responsibility, as she should. The local district administrator has taken on full responsibility.

But what you need to make sure is that we have the checks and balances throughout the system. And that, I think, is what will happen. If it doesn't happen, then folks ought to think about do we have at all the right people in place. But I think it's possible that we have the right people in place. And with these sorts of strictures, I think the community and the state could feel far more comfortable about future Rilya Wilson cases.

OSBORN: David Lawrence, live from (UNINTELLIGIBLE). We thank you for your time and for taking the effort to highlight some of the important aspects of the panel's findings and recommendations for reforming the child welfare system. So we appreciate it.

LAWRENCE: Thank you, sir.

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