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Butterworth's DCF Legacy: Integrity

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

For once, a Department of Children and Families chief is leaving too soon.

True to his reputation as a fixer, Bob Butterworth served the people of Florida - and most importantly abused and neglected children - with candor. He stepped down Tuesday after 19 months at the helm of the perpetually troubled agency.

It is unfortunate that Butterworth is leaving before DCF is fully transformed, but his brief tenure did much to put the agency on the right track.

Butterworth was quick to tackle the secretive and self-defensive culture in the agency by encouraging more public disclosure and transparency. He had no illusions that DCF would never make a mistake - one that could cost a child's life - but made certain employees understood they only compound tragedies by attempting to cover them up.

His accomplishments include more humane treatment for the jailed mentally ill who come under DCF's auspices and now no longer languish behind bars when they should be in treatment centers. He blunted the effects of budget cuts this spring that could have been devastating to the ranks of child-protective workers. He refused to drag those whom DCF injured through its ineptitude into costly litigation, and with Gov. Charlie Crist moved to settle claims that had lingered for years.

The agency still struggles to properly fund services to children, and caseloads for DCF and the agencies it works with, including local sheriffs, are sky high. The like-minded folks he has brought into the agency - like Tampa-area regional director Nick Cox, a former prosecutor - are left with the challenge of continuing to move the agency forward.

Butterworth's legacy in Florida as a crusading attorney general, former sheriff and law school dean was secure long before he took on this risky position. But when duty called, Butterworth answered. He brought DCF the one thing it needed most: integrity.

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