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President George Bush recently proclaimed April 2004 as National Child Abuse Prevention Month while Governor Jeb Bush uses tax dollars to pay child abusers! Keep that in mind as you read these stories... Cathy Corry 04/25/04
Lockup injuries to 16-year-old North Lauderdale child trouble parents 04/22/04
Is it a chain overreaction?
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DJJ Under Fire:
Omar Paisley The mother of a 17-year-old boy who died of a ruptured appendix while in custody at a Miami-Dade County juvenile lockup has settled part of her multimillion dollar lawsuit against the state for $1.45 million. 06/23/04
Mom sues detention center,
hospital in son's death
06/09/04
A year after her son's death, a mother still struggles to heal 05/10/04 Changes
won't have desired effect 04/22/04
Miami-Dade guard denies
attacking boy who filed suit ...the officers have been removed from direct contact with youths until the investigations are complete. New administrators have been trying to change a work environment in which staff members said they feared reprisals for calling 911 or overstepping their authority by getting the boy help. Now workers are instructed to "treat every child as your own." Center already in spotlight after death in 2003 04/14/04
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice 04/13/04
House panel wants abuse facts 04/06/04
$200,000 deal a monument to political clout |
Excerpts from the department's chief
healthcare policy writer
The subpoenaed testimony of
Jane B. McNeely before the Select Committee on Juvenile Detention Facilities
- as
published in The Miami Herald, February 19. 2004
"You [the Legislature] richly funded this agency. And in my opinion, you can talk about budget cuts. Budget cuts did not kill Omar Paisley."
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03/31/04
Juvenile agency to alter job titles Megan O'Matz, Sun-Sentinel While a grand jury and a Florida House select committee were investigating how a teen languished for three days without medical attention in the Miami-Dade County juvenile detention center and died of a ruptured appendix, detention officials in Tallahassee were unrolling a plan to improve morale among front-line staff. The proposal: Give the employees military titles. "In the wake of the deaths of these two boys, this is what they're wasting their time on? Is that absurd?" asked Clearwater activist Cathy Corry, founder of the Web site Justice4Kids.org, which monitors the department. 03/30/04
Catherine.Arnold@djj.state.fl.us>
To: <cathycorry@juno.com> Ms Corry: It has come to my attention that you have posted on your site some information that is not up to date. You had asked about the use of stripes and law enforcement titles within the Department's Detention Services. A proposal had been made late 2003 to use law enforcement ranking designations. That proposal was reviewed and Deputy Secretary Alarcon approved part of the proposal. He approved that the stripes worn on the epilates would be moved to the shirt sleeve for enhanced visibility for Juvenile Detention Officers (upon certification) one stripe; for Senior Juvenile Detention Officers, two stripes; and for Juvenile Detention Officer Supervisors, three stripes. The working titles of corporal and sergeant may be used for the senior and supervising officers. The remainder of the proposal for detention staff was not approved for use in Detention Services. 03/01/04 In the months following the deaths of Omar Paisley and Danny Matthews, DJJ's solution is to enhance morale and instill pride in their Detention Branch by assigning MILITARY RANKS !
Ms. Corry: The Detention Branch reports that the decision to use military ranking in the detention centers was made late in 2003. The use of the titles is designed to enhance officer morale and professionalism, instill a sense of pride, and it falls in line with titles used in other criminal justice agencies - of which we are one. The stripes have been distributed in all the centers in each region. Each center is in various stages of having the stripes sewn on. The Central Region was the first to receive and distribute the stripes and already utilizes the titles. The titles will be used in all centers once all the stripes have been applied. It is anticipated that the other regions will begin using the titles by the end of March 2004. The rankings
are as follows: |
03/30/04
One restraint technique is banned at Florida juvenile centers Associated Press, The Miami Herald Interim Secretary C. George Denman notified the department's detention centers and residential facilities that the "hammerlock" can no longer be used on youths. The restraint involves bending an arm behind a youth's back and applying upward, painful pressure to end a struggle. "As I continue to review department policies and operations, I will make changes that I see as necessary to ensure that the youth in the department's care are safe," Denman said.
Committee has served well The sincere dedication of the House Select Committee on Juvenile Detention Facilities is the reason for the current shakeup at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The committee members are true representatives of the people of Florida. They have listened to testimony, pored through records and assimilated information in a manner that is putting DJJ under necessary scrutiny. Their diligent bipartisan efforts have peeled away the layers of systemic failures reflective of an institutional culture that has been allowed to fester by the very agency that should have prevented such a cancer. As an advocate with www.justice4kids.org I have carefully watched the no-nonsense style of this committee, led by Rep. Gus Barreiro. The process has been refreshing and rewarding to follow. I thank all of the members for honorably representing the citizens of our state. -- Cathy Corry, Clearwater
Cleaning house at DJJ Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice is getting cleaned out, and not a minute too soon. Top officials have been ousted, while Secretary Bill Bankhead - out on a face-saving medical leave - has been replaced, at least for now. The shakeup is good news, provided it brings to the department a new culture along with the fresh faces.
The walls of DJJ are crumbling...
Making
progress at Juvenile Justice
1/10/04
DJJ Secretary Bankhead's reply to the St.
Petersburg Times editorial of 12/25/03: |
02/27/04
Besieged Juvenile Justice chief [Bankhead] leaving
[extended leave
effective February 27, 2004]
Kathleen Chapman,
Palm Beach Post, February 21, 2004
The state's top juvenile justice official stepped aside Friday, as legislators blasted his handling of crises in a Miami detention center and the Florida Institute for Girls.
Reached at home Friday night, [Omar] Paisley's mother, Cherry Williams, said she was ''pleased'' with Bankhead's departure and that of the other high-ranking administrators.
''I know that Omar cannot come back. It would mean everything for me to have him. But that cannot happen,'' Williams said. "But thank God something is happening so that we will know another child will not have to lose their life."
Legislators say Bankhead has failed to answer for the death of a 17-year-old boy in a Miami lockup or sexual misconduct between guards and inmates at the girls institute in suburban West Palm Beach.
Bankhead's department asked a judge to seal all or part of the grand jury's investigation into the Florida Institute for Girls, saying sections were inaccurate. A judge ruled Thursday that the disputed portions were based on facts and should be released. The report will be published Monday.
"They deny, deny, deny and circle the wagons," Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach said.
Click here for complete Palm Beach Post article.
Click here for Bankhead's letter to Gov. Bush requesting medical leave.
03/10/04 LIAR: Frank Alarcon, DJJ Deputy Secretary, departs DJJ
Five years ago, Francisco ''Frank'' Alarcon was ousted as chief of California's juvenile justice agency amid a raging scandal over the mistreatment of youths in state custody.
''It's as if the culture they complained about in California has now imbued our agency,'' said state Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach.
Rep. Gustavo ''Gus'' Barreiro, R-Miami, chairman of the Select Committee on Juvenile Detention Centers, accused Alarcon of ''lying'' to the panel when he testified that he knew nothing about the circumstances of Paisley's death, other than what he had read in a 50-page grand jury report released last month.
''That's a lie,'' Barreiro said Thursday. ``He runs this agency, and the only thing he knows after eight months is what he read in the grand jury report?''
Click Spotlight on second in command over Paisley's death by Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2004, for the full story.
05/14/04 Bad Apple Alarcon lands $110,000 per year job as #2 in Georgia's DJJ
During Francisco "Frank" Alarcon's watch as #2 in Florida's DJJ, he can count 4 dead youth and hundreds of documented cases of child abuse in the juvenile justice facilities we paid him to oversee. California booted him out; Florida showed him the door and now he's landed in Georgia, what a "national reputation"! What does it take to stop this guy?
| May 14, 2004
Craig Schneider,
Jill Young Miller reporting in
The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A man with Mr. Alarcon's reputation is not good enough for Georgia's children and should not be welcome, declared Rick McDevitt, president of the Georgia Alliance for Children, an advocacy group. "He doesn't have a track record of running a clean system — a system not full of abuses." [Georgia's
Juvenile Justice Commissioner Albert Murray
said he stands by Alarcon. Florida state Rep. Gustavo "Gus" Barreiro, a Republican who was chairman of a legislative committee on juvenile detention centers, said, "Georgia has no idea what they are about to take on with this guy...I can't believe another state took this guy." |
08/13/04 Bad Apply Alarcon drops from Georgia's tree
August 13, 2004 Ga. youth prisons chief resigns
By JILL YOUNG MILLER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 08/13/04
After less than three months on the job, Georgia's deputy commissioner for youth prisons has resigned.
Francisco "Frank" Alarcon told Juvenile Justice Commissioner Albert Murray in an e-mail Thursday night: "It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that I am resigning from the position of Deputy Commissioner, Operations Division, for personal reasons."
Alarcon declined, via a DJJ spokeswoman, to be interviewed Friday, and Murray wasn't available, either. It was unclear Friday whether Alarcon's resignation was effective immediately.
Alarcon, whom Murray hired, started his $110,000-a-year job overseeing Georgia's youth prisons and detention centers on May 17.
He had resigned from Florida's juvenile justice system earlier that month amid controversy after a teenager died in custody. Previously he was ousted as California's juvenile justice chief, after that state's inspector general found mismanagement and sexual misconduct by staff members with girls at a correctional facility.
"I can't believe another state took this guy," Florida state Rep. Gustavo "Gus" Barreiro told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after Murray hired Alarcon.
At the time, Murray defended his choice, saying, "I believe he is a man who believes strongly in treatment and rehabilitation." He also said Alarcon had a strong record of creating delinquency prevention programs.
Ericka Davis, DJJ's spokeswoman, said Alarcon was not asked to resign. "It was his decision," she said.
Rick McDevitt, president of the advocacy group Georgia Alliance for Children, said that from the beginning Alarcon "was a poor choice to help run this troubled department of juvenile justice. And for whatever reasons he's resigned, politically or personally, we're glad to see him move on."
Murray himself was hired by Gov. Sonny Perdue in January to replace Orlando Martinez, hired in 1999 to correct what a federal report called "egregious" conditions in Georgia's juvenile prisons.
Davis said commissioner Murray "extends his best wishes for Mr. Alarcon in his future endeavors."
02/18/04 LIAR: Larry Lumpee dismissed from DJJ!
Expert: Alarms ignored in jail death
Marc Caputo and
Carol Marbin Miller,The Miami Herald, February 19, 2004
The dismissal late Wednesday of DJJ Assistant Secretary Larry Lumpee, a 30-year state veteran, and the two highest ranking DJJ administrators in South Florida. . . South Florida Regional Director Ron Fryer and South Florida Division Chief Bill Fine, constitute one of the most dramatic housecleanings in the recent history of state government.
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"And your problem is?" This was Larry Lumpee's response to the mother of Shawn Smith when she called him to say she has just learned that her son had died in his care. - 10/30/01 |
 To lean more about the Denman remark click these postings on our :
Click here to visit our DJJ Bulletin Board To send an email to C. George's boss, Gov. Jeb, click here. |
02/20/04
Former juvenile justice official in Miami-Dade married one-time inmate
Diana Marrero, Sun-Sentinel
Victor Davidson, former Assistant Superintendent of Miami-Dade JDC. . . had been arrested four times, including an arrest on drug charges in 1979 and another for assaulting his wife, Ruiz, in 1985; . . . Miami-Dade police responded to the couple's home to break up a fight. An officer found Ruiz with a fat lip and bruises on both sides of her face, according to the police report. Ruiz told the officer she had been talking on the phone when Davidson came up from behind her, and demanded to know if she was speaking to another man. According to the report, Davidson hit Ruiz several times in the face before putting a knife to her neck, saying, "If you talk to another man, I'll kill you."
Since the agency hired him in 1978, Davidson had been disciplined for negligence, insubordination and physical abuse of children in his care, according to state Department of Juvenile Justice records.
11/19/03
Youth lock up official losing his
job
Carol Marbin Miller,
The Miami Herald, Nov. 19, 2003
[Victor] Davidson, a juvenile justice employee for 25 years with a series of
arrests and administrative reprimands over the years, was in charge of the
Miami-Dade Juvenile Detention Center on June 9 when 17-year-old Omar Paisley
died of a ruptured appendix after begging nurses and officers for help.
11/09/03
State Juvenile Justice backgrounds raise concerns
Diana Marrero, Sun-Sentinel
Since the agency hired him in 1978, Davidson has been disciplined for negligence, insubordination and physical abuse of children in his care, state records show.
Click here for a reader's comment on this story.
Juvenile detention administrators subpoenaed A lawmaker [Rep. Gus Barreiro, R-Miami] investigating Florida's juvenile detention centers says he wants to 'find out the truth' about what happened to 17-year-old Omar Paisley. Click here to read The Miami Herald article of February 10, 2004. [Larry] Lumpee testified that all detention officers were able to seek emergency assistance from 911, though the report said such calls were blocked by the telephone system. ''That's definitely something we're going to discuss,'' Rep. Barreiro said. "We have not necessarily received the truth on certain occasions.
The Miami Herald has been relentless in its call for change within DJJ. Read these recent editorials by Jim DeFede.
2/17/04
"The
walls are starting to crumble within the Department
of Juvenile Justice."
2/03/04
'Three stooges' in youth's case should be ousted
1/29/04
"...detention center in Miami-Dade County was nothing more than a
house of horrors, and others need to be held accountable...
Unfortunately, that won't happen until the governor and the secretary
take their jobs as seriously as those 21 good men and women [of the
Grand Jury] took theirs."
1/17/04
State to pursue those culpable in teen's death
2/5/04 "The problems within the DJJ will not be corrected
until there is a wholesale change in management -- starting with
Bankhead and continuing right on through to Lumpee and LaFlam."
"These three men shouldn't be allowed to operate a kennel, let alone
a detention center for children."
Jim DeFede, Commentary, The Miami Herald -
Click here for the complete article.
Juvenile Justice needs accountability -
"Bill
Bankhead, when will you rid the DJJ of this culture of fear?"
Cathy Corry, OPINION, St.
Petersburg Times published 12/29/03
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Governor
Bush and Members of Select Committee on Juvenile Detention
Facilities: Please read the message below regarding problems at the Orange JDC in Orlando. The writer describes many serious issues and also extends an invitation to Representative Barreiro: "Mr. Barreiro, the JDOs and SJDOs would love to talk with you. Why not make a surprise visit to our facility?" Cathy Corry - - www.justice4kids.org _______ January 8, 2004 "We need help at ORJDC! It is a shame when the detainee's have to walk around with no underwear and proper uniforms. It is frustrating when at the middle of the night a detainee is very ill and has to be rushed to the emergency and the assistant superintendent is not available to give the approval. Mr. Nichols where were you that night in November 2003 when the staff kept calling you? Where is JUSTICE when the JDO's and SJO's are doing all the work and yet it is a sin to work overtime. By the way, where is the money going to? Many times we are in desperate need of supplies. They tell us we cannot get any for weeks. How do they expect us to do a good job. We are not to work overtime or they will write us up. What a shame! Yet parents are suing the department left and right. Management, wake up! Can't you see that perhaps by having more staff or allowing overtime it could avoid a lot of accidents? In 2003, $39,000.00 per year was given to the assistant superintendents. That is a shame that the JDOs and SJDOs and supervision who do all the hard work were not taken into consideration. Who is Ingrid at ORJDC that is making more money than the JDOs and SJDOs and is just a secretary? We are in desperate need of an investigation. What about the detainees that are released by mistake and it is kept a secret? We had about 12 last year. Due to the shortness of staff, the SJDOs are in charge of supervising during the weekend. So short of staff that many times it is one staff per mod. Mr. Langford, why are you just doing clerical work when we need your help? Perhaps it is time to hang up your white shirt and step down. Did you completed your par yet? Or is your buddy covering up for you? By the way Mr. Barreiro, the JDOs and SJDOs would love to talk with you. Why not make a surprise visit to our facility?" |
DJJ just doesn't get it...A boy dies from medical neglect and the problem
remains
"I got a hold of the Inspector General and he told me he can't help me. He
told me to call the abuse registry. He says they don't take complaints
like that over the phone; that I'd have to wait 'til Monday if I want him to
do anything. I told him Steven's leg was bleeding, the stitches were
ripped and he has a smell coming out of his leg and I fear the infection
could get bad enough to kill him if something isn't done and he told me he
couldn't help me."
~Steve Watson 11/26/03 "It is awful to be standing in a courtroom with a bunch of liars with licenses & uniforms & robes." ~D.B., 10/14/03 Cathy Corry to Bill Bankhead: "...stand with me..." This challenge appeared in the St. Petersburg Times on July 27, 2003. Click Sending out a challenge to state juvenile justice system to read this justice4kids.org invitation to Mr. Bankhead (head of Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice) to stand together at the door of the Pinellas Regional Juvenile Detention Center and listen to parents tell of the abuse or neglect their children experience. To learn more about this challenge, read these related articles and comments:
"Oh, I've got the kid's blood on me..." |
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From:
Catherine Arnold, Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
