Bob Butterworth steps away after telling Judge Robert J. Morris Jr. in January 2007 that the Department of Children and Families would no longer fight efforts to obtain treatment for mentally ill inmates awaiting trial. Butterworth resigned from DCF on Tuesday.
Published: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 2:30 a.m.
Nineteen months at the helm of Florida's most challenging bureaucracy is just not enough time to solve its problems. But Bob Butterworth did make a difference in his leadership of the state Department of Children and Families.
Butterworth announced Tuesday that he would step down, as of Aug. 15, from the job he accepted in late December 2006. Gov. Charlie Crist said Butterworth had pledged to stay on 18 months, and more than met that promise.
Butterworth, a former sheriff, Florida attorney general and law school dean, brought his strong credibility to DCF at a time of turmoil. He took over as the agency was under fire for a logjam in treating mentally incompetent inmates awaiting trial. Butterworth helped negotiate a settlement and higher funding for such programs.
When a girl in foster care went missing for months -- a case overseen by the Sarasota YMCA and DCF -- Butterworth ordered a state review, which brought needed reforms. Child welfare problems in other districts, such as Palm Beach and Lee counties, were addressed too.
There were also setbacks -- especially the economic slowdown, which brought funding cuts that threaten DCF's ability to help vulnerable citizens.
'Keep it going'
"It's not that all the problems are solved," Butterworth acknowledged in his resignation letter. "This agency will never be able to say 'Mission Accomplished.' We can only look at the accomplishments of these past 19 months and say, 'Keep it going.'"
With a budget of nearly $3 billion, DCF is in charge of serving 2.6 million Floridians and the community-based agencies assigned to protect them. Its mission covers "Adult Services, Child Care Services, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Florida Abuse Hotline, Child Welfare and Community-Based Care, Domestic Violence, Mental Health Services, and Substance Abuse Services," according to OPPAGA (the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability).
The breadth of responsibilities helps explain why heading the DCF is sometimes called the most difficult job in state government. But DCF has made some progress.
For instance, the state has surpassed its goal for finalized adoptions. More children have been able to avoid foster care and safely stay with their families. The rate of children "re-abused" subsequent to a DCF investigation has declined, according to agency charts.
DCF has instituted new monitoring programs for its community-based care agencies, but it's too soon to tell how these quality-assurance changes are working, said a report by OPPAGA. Oversight of community-based care -- a decentralizing initiative that puts many child welfare duties in the hands of local agencies -- remains one of DCF's most important challenges.
DCF needs stability
We hope reforms continue to bring improvements. Butterworth contributed to them with his sense of directness and his appreciation for accountability.
But the agency also needs a stable period of leadership after years of management changes.
Florida should be -- and is -- grateful for Butterworth's service. The best way to thank him is to quickly appoint a strong, new leader.
Next time, we hope, the DCF post won't be temporary.
Nineteen months at the helm of Florida's most challenging bureaucracy is just not enough time to solve its problems. But Bob Butterworth did make a difference in his leadership of the state Department of Children and Families.
Butterworth announced Tuesday that he would step down, as of Aug. 15, from the job he accepted in late December 2006. Gov. Charlie Crist said Butterworth had pledged to stay on 18 months, and more than met that promise.
Butterworth, a former sheriff, Florida attorney general and law school dean, brought his strong credibility to DCF at a time of turmoil. He took over as the agency was under fire for a logjam in treating mentally incompetent inmates awaiting trial. Butterworth helped negotiate a settlement and higher funding for such programs.
When a girl in foster care went missing for months -- a case overseen by the Sarasota YMCA and DCF -- Butterworth ordered a state review, which brought needed reforms. Child welfare problems in other districts, such as Palm Beach and Lee counties, were addressed too.
There were also setbacks -- especially the economic slowdown, which brought funding cuts that threaten DCF's ability to help vulnerable citizens.
'Keep it going'
"It's not that all the problems are solved," Butterworth acknowledged in his resignation letter. "This agency will never be able to say 'Mission Accomplished.' We can only look at the accomplishments of these past 19 months and say, 'Keep it going.'"
With a budget of nearly $3 billion, DCF is in charge of serving 2.6 million Floridians and the community-based agencies assigned to protect them. Its mission covers "Adult Services, Child Care Services, Economic Self-Sufficiency, Florida Abuse Hotline, Child Welfare and Community-Based Care, Domestic Violence, Mental Health Services, and Substance Abuse Services," according to OPPAGA (the Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability).
The breadth of responsibilities helps explain why heading the DCF is sometimes called the most difficult job in state government. But DCF has made some progress.
For instance, the state has surpassed its goal for finalized adoptions. More children have been able to avoid foster care and safely stay with their families. The rate of children "re-abused" subsequent to a DCF investigation has declined, according to agency charts.
DCF has instituted new monitoring programs for its community-based care agencies, but it's too soon to tell how these quality-assurance changes are working, said a report by OPPAGA. Oversight of community-based care -- a decentralizing initiative that puts many child welfare duties in the hands of local agencies -- remains one of DCF's most important challenges.
DCF needs stability
We hope reforms continue to bring improvements. Butterworth contributed to them with his sense of directness and his appreciation for accountability.
But the agency also needs a stable period of leadership after years of management changes.
Florida should be -- and is -- grateful for Butterworth's service. The best way to thank him is to quickly appoint a strong, new leader.
Next time, we hope, the DCF post won't be temporary.
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