Agency blasted in abuse probe

In a blistering letter to the head of Florida's child welfare agency, the state attorney in Fort Pierce has accused Department of Children & Families caseworkers of ''coaching'' two children to falsely accuse their father of sexual abuse -- allegations that robbed the man of custody for several years.

State Attorney Bruce H. Colton blasts the agency for causing a father who may be innocent to lose his children, while an alcoholic, drug-addicted and neglectful mother was allowed to raise them.

'Although DCF employees are not technically guilty of committing a crime in this case, it is evident that these children have no chance to be `normal' due to the reckless mishandling of this family,'' Colton wrote in the March 29 letter to DCF Secretary Jerry Regier.

``If the children are telling the truth in their latest statements, the children have been sent on a six-year roller coaster ride of reckless indifference by DCF from which they will probably never recover.''

Colton's letter concerns an ongoing dispute between DCF investigators, caseworkers and attorneys in several Central and North Florida counties and Dennis Gaffney, the father of boys ages 16 and 10. DCF's actions in the case now are under investigation by the agency's Inspector General's Office in Tallahassee.

''I feel very strongly about ensuring integrity and accountability in our district offices,'' Regier wrote in a March 17 letter to Colton, asking the chief prosecutor to outline his concerns over DCF's handling of the case.

Gaffney said he was heartened by Colton's remarks, which serve as a kind of vindication. Since 1997, Gaffney has lived under a cloud of suspicion that he molested his own son, as well as the teenage daughter of his ex-wife's friend.

'It comes down to this: `Oops, we made a mistake,' '' Gaffney said. ``It is obvious DCF is not capable of policing themselves.''

Okeechobee sheriff's Capt. Dale LaFlam, who investigated the case, said he has concluded Gaffney ``has not done what he is accused of doing.''

In surprisingly harsh language, Colton suggested agency employees made a series of decisions over several years that left the two boys at great risk.

During most of the past seven years, DCF caseworkers went to great lengths to leave the two boys with their mother, Colton wrote, despite:

• An internal agency report that concluded ''the mother may not be a stable parent.'' One report concluded the mother's alcohol and drug abuse ``may present a substantial barrier to her achieving effective parenting skills.''

• Reports from officials at a halfway house in which DCF placed the mother and two boys said that they ''suspected that she leaves the premises to drink,'' does not require the boys to attend school, has allowed her car to be repossessed and is not allowed to visit her own mother due to a domestic violence injunction.

• A sworn statement from a doctor who said the mother ``brings [the] children to his office with alcohol on her breath.''

At a January 2001 court hearing, DCF officials blocked the introduction into evidence of a videotaped statement by the mother who said ''that DCF employees asked her to lie in order to obtain an injunction of protection against Gaffney,'' Colton wrote.

''DCF first took the children away from the father based on an inadequate investigation,'' Colton wrote. ``Then, DCF gave custody to the mother who had past criminal convictions, abused alcohol and controlled substances, and committed new crimes while having custody of the children.''

''Is it any wonder that the children are rebellious and uncontrollable at the present time,'' Colton added.