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Cuts Imperil Child Abuse Probes

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By SHERRI ACKERMAN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 15, 2008

TAMPA - When Florida sheriff's offices began investigating child abuse cases for the state in 1999, some sheriffs warned the switch would work only if the Legislature gave departments enough money to do the job right.

Now, with state funding dropping, some Tampa Bay area sheriffs are worried they may have to turn investigations back over to the Department of Children & Families within the next year or two, even as calls to Florida's abuse hot line have increased 15 percent.

"We're in a tough situation," said Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats, one of the first Florida sheriffs to handle child abuse investigations for the Department of Children & Families. "We're still committed to the program. But if it's not funded properly, we'll have to give that back to DCF."

State funding for his program has remained stagnant for three years, Coats said. And this year, as a struggling economy has resulted in an increase in abuse reports, legislators slashed Coats' child protection budget by nearly 6 percent.

About eight vacancies will remain open, which means higher caseloads for investigators, the sheriff said. New equipment purchases are on hold.

"Caseloads are going up," said Coats, whose budget is $10 million for the 2008-09 fiscal year that begins July 1. "The cost of doing business is going up."

The situation is not as dire in Hillsborough County, where the sheriff took over state child abuse investigations in 2006 and received a $1 million grant for start-up costs.

"We're holding pretty steady," said Capt. Clyde Eisenberg, who credited high turnover and several vacancies with stretching Hillsborough's $12.3 million budget, which is about $1 million less than last fiscal year.

"But if we have to go for another couple of years like Pinellas," Eisenberg said, "we could be in serious trouble."

Legislators were among advocates of handing over investigations to sheriff's offices, where workers would benefit from more experience and better training. Hillsborough and Pinellas are among seven counties doing the job. Citrus County signed on last year.

The fear expressed by sheriffs is real to DCF Secretary Bob Butterworth, who warned lawmakers during this year's legislative session that they did not want to step backward with child welfare.

DCF's $2.9 billion budget for last fiscal year was cut by $60 million so far. The sheriffs' child protection units lost $2.4 million. Recently, lawmakers agreed to restore some items, including 71 child protection investigator positions.

Butterworth describes those jobs as the state's first line of defense. He's worried that with more calls for help and fewer workers, those investigators will suffer.

"You cannot burn out your investigators," said the secretary, who is re-evaluating how workers respond to such calls.

One idea is a new screening system that will prioritize hotline calls, with some resulting in a visit from an investigator while others won't, Butterworth said.

"If we respond to 80 percent now, maybe we only respond to 72 percent," he said. "We have to make sure no one is jeopardy. But when you're in this position, you have to ration your resources."

Caseloads also are up statewide, said Butterworth, who blamed the economic downturn.

Pinellas sheriff's investigators have about 30 cases each. Hillsborough workers have about 20. The Child Welfare League of American recommends 12 to 15 per worker.

Butterworth said safety is still the No. 1 priority.

"We certainly hope nobody will slip through the cracks," he said. "But there's no guarantee."

Reporter Sherri Ackerman can be reached at (813) 259-7144 or sackerman@tampatrib.com.

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