Florida felons granted child care licenses

Convicted felons and others with criminal histories have been licensed to care for children in Florida, despite state regulations barring applicants who committed certain felony offenses, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The Department of Children & Families' policy has been to disqualify child care applicants convicted of murder, sexual assault, child abuse and certain other felonies, as well as applicants who plead guilty or no contest to a number of other felony charges. But a little-known state law allows applicants to request an exemption to the state policy.

.......

DCF is not aware of any case where an applicant convicted of a violent felony such as murder, rape or aggravated child abuse, was granted an exemption, said DCF spokesman Andrew Ritter.

Some child advocates were surprised by the state child care policy exemptions, saying convicted felons should not be licensed for child care.



http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_FELONS_CHILD_CARE_FLOL-?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-12-18-17-15-10

n/t

:wow:

Florida: where the foster care system loses children and doesn't realize it for years
Florida: where lesbian moms can lose custody of their kids for being lesbian
Florida: where a child-abusers and murderers can turn their lives around by becoming a licensed child-care provider
Florida: where citizens and pols are so concerned for the welfare of the weak and helpless that they slandered Terri Schaivo's husband and made a continuous uproar outside her nursing home
Florida: run by Jeb Bush, true-blue Christian and brother of the president, so everything must be okay

Hekate

Glad to see they have their priorities straight~:eyes:

Can't wait to hear the RW noise machine's justification.

John Ellis Bush, you're doing a heckuva job!

It is as if we are in Alice in Wonderland. Up is down and right is wrong and the bad guys are wearing the white hats and the king of hearts is evil and running the country.

Yikes. How much more are we supposed to take?

Many crimes can vary widely, depending on how the prosecution decides to define an act. Was it murder or manslaughter or self defense? Sexual assault or simple assault or a simple misunderstanding? Child abuse or negligent parenting or pure ignorance? Race, class, and youth have a lot to do with who is determined to have committed a crime, and what sort of crime the person is charged with. Say some guy is convicted of sexual assault in the wake of a date rape when he was 19. He serves his time and stays out of trouble. He grows up, matures, and learns self-restraint and respect for other people. If he has character witnesses, why should his prior felony conviction keep him from getting a child care license when he's, say, forty? And a lot of people are accused and convicted of crimes on completely trumped up charges. If we don't have exceptions for these people, we compound the injustice. All the Florida law does is give people a chance for an administrative review of their particular case. It doesn't guarantee that an application will be approved. The one person cited by the article wasn't even convicted of a violent crime, just robbery and check fraud borne of poverty. Hey, here's a good idea---let's make sure she can never get a job!

The news article is just drumming up fear, and anyone who finds themselves falling for it needs to rewatch Bowling for Columbine.

435.07 Exemptions from disqualification.--Unless otherwise provided by law, the provisions of this section shall apply to exemptions from disqualification.

(1) The appropriate licensing agency may grant to any employee otherwise disqualified from employment an exemption from disqualification for:

(a) Felonies committed more than 3 years prior to the date of disqualification;

(b) Misdemeanors prohibited under any of the Florida Statutes cited in this chapter or under similar statutes of other jurisdictions;

(c) Offenses that were felonies when committed but are now misdemeanors;

(d) Findings of delinquency; or

(e) Commissions of acts of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.30.

For the purposes of this subsection, the term "felonies" means both felonies prohibited under any of the Florida Statutes cited in this chapter or under similar statutes of other jurisdictions.

(2) Persons employed by treatment providers who treat adolescents 13 years of age and older who are disqualified from employment solely because of crimes under s. 817.563, s. 893.13, or s. 893.147 may be exempted from disqualification from employment pursuant to this section without the 3-year waiting period.

(3) In order for a licensing department to grant an exemption to any employee, the employee must demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the employee should not be disqualified from employment. Employees seeking an exemption have the burden of setting forth sufficient evidence of rehabilitation, including, but not limited to, the circumstances surrounding the criminal incident for which an exemption is sought, the time period that has elapsed since the incident, the nature of the harm caused to the victim, and the history of the employee since the incident, or any other evidence or circumstances indicating that the employee will not present a danger if continued employment is allowed. The decision of the licensing department regarding an exemption may be contested through the hearing procedures set forth in chapter 120.

(4) Disqualification from employment under subsection (1) may not be removed from, nor may an exemption be granted to, any personnel who is found guilty of, regardless of adjudication, or who has entered a plea of nolo contendere or guilty to, any felony covered by s. 435.03 solely by reason of any pardon, executive clemency, or restoration of civil rights.

(5) Exemptions granted by one licensing agency shall be considered by subsequent licensing agencies, but are not binding on the subsequent licensing agency.

they can't vote