Agency mishandled case, DCF secretary says

By BILL VARIAN

Department of Children and Families Secretary Jerry Regier said Thursday his agency mishandled the cases of a teenage boy and his 10-year-old half-sister, who weighed 29 pounds when she was removed last month from a Hernando County home.

"It is clear that the casework for these children was not up to standard," Regier said in his first public comments on the case. "Had it been, this tragic event would not have happened. ... We are thankful the children are now safe."

He said he has ordered an independent review of all cases handled by the DCF caseworkers who oversaw the children. That review team will be expanded to include a child protection doctor, a retired judge, a foster parent, a member from the agency's community-based care alliance, and a DCF district administrator from outside the area.

"Clearly, as the details come out, our casework on this was not exemplary," Regier said at a news conference at DCF offices in Hillsborough County. "It doesn't rise to the standards I have set for this department."

The DCF secretary briefed Gov. Jeb Bush about the case Thursday.

"When these issues come up there needs to be a quick, detailed investigation of what happened and then a consistent response if the department has problems," Bush said before speaking with Regier.

Authorities said earlier this week the girl was "at risk of imminent death" when she was discovered and that her weight had dropped from 43 to 29 pounds. They say she was dehydrated and malnourished. The girl and her half-brother said she spent time locked in her room at the Hernando home of Arthur and Lori Allain. DCF had made the Allains the long-term caregivers for the children.

The boy ran away last month and told authorities who found him about his half-sister. Hernando Sheriff's Office investigators say she has been gaining weight since being removed from the Allains' home.

The Allains were arrested on charges of aggravated child abuse and neglect last week and are free on $10,000 bail each. They deny any wrongdoing and say they tried to provide appropriate care for the girl and her half-brother, who had been in their care since June 2000.

They say the girl had an eating disorder and suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome, which required them to try to control how much food she ate.

The Allains say they agreed to take both children because they had known their mother, whose parental rights were being terminated. Because the Allains were not licensed foster parents, they did not receive monthly payments from the state to help feed and clothe the children.

DCF decided to keep the girl in the Allains' home on long-term placement, or indefinitely. Caseworkers were required to make monthly visits to the girl until late 2002, when the visits stopped because the case was closed.

But caseworkers started returning to the home for monthly visits late last year to see her half-brother, who returned to the Allains' home from a juvenile facility.

Regier said Thursday he expanded the independent review after receiving additional information about the ongoing investigation. He did not characterize that information but said the public expects nothing short of perfection in its safeguarding of vulnerable children.

"We're not perfect every time," Regier said. "Certainly in this case we should have done a better job."

Earlier this week, the DCF district administrator for the area that includes Hernando County announced two policy changes in light of this case. It will ask judges to ensure that foster children go to public or private schools and not allow home-schooling. The girl in this case had been home schooled for two years by the Allains.

DCF also will begin keeping photos on file of the houses where abused or neglected children are placed as a way to ensure the homes are in good condition, another issue raised in this case.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.