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CNN Live Today
Jeb Bush Receives Stinging Report on State's Handling of Rilya Wilson Case
Aired May 28, 2002 - 12:26 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: In the meantime, we've got some news out of Florida. Florida Governor Jeb Bush received a stinging report today on the state's handling of the Rilya Wilson case. The 5-year- old girl, as you might recall, disappeared while under the state's supervision last year.
CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us form Miami with details on that report -- Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
After basically eight hearings, 30 hours of testimony, over the course of three weeks, today, the Blue Ribbon panel appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush did receive this 28-page report that is, as you indicated, a stinging indictment of the current child welfare system in the state of Florida. And made a number of recommendations. Let me give you just a handful of them.
They involve, in order to prevent another Rilya Wilson case from happening, mandating criminal background checks for all caregivers, including relatives; fingerprinting and photographing all dependent children at least four times a year; and increasing funding to meet overwhelming demands here in the state of Florida.
Now today, the governor accepted the recommendations that were handing to him. Said that he would study them thoroughly. But overall, gave them his support. Says that he will stand by his secretary who heads up this agency.
He did not say whether he favors criminal charges at this time against the caseworker involved in this matter and the supervisor and possibly even the caregiver. He said let the criminal investigation proceed. And he did agree that this panel that you see here should meet again in September to give a progress report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JEB BUSH (R) FLORIDA: How is it that a child could probably have lived her entire life without any degree of love? It's an amazing fact that exists not just in this case, but other cases in our state, where children are brought into the world and there is not love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now it is because of the disappearance of little Rilya Wilson that Florida is reexamining the way it takes care of dependent children. A lot of the recommendations today involve common sense. The question: why weren't these recommendations being followed until now?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARA HERALD, PANEL MEMBER: We are not a state that can hold ourselves up to be an ideal system for children. We pass laws and we say we are going to protect our children, but laws don't protect children, people do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: In fact, there have been 11 panels like this one over the course of the last 17 years all making recommendations. Many of those recommendations have been implemented in the past, and yet these scandals keep happening. But the bottom line here, Carol, is still this: no one can answer a fundamental question in this case, and that is, where is Rilya Wilson -- back to you.
LIN: Yeah, that indeed. All right, thank you very much. Susan Candiotti with the latest there.
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