State Children’s Agency Hired Felons, Paper Says

The state child welfare agency employs at least 183 people with criminal pasts, including felonies such as child molestation, child abuse, sex crimes and drug dealing, a newspaper found.

Among the Department of Children & Families employees with criminal records, three were punished for child abuse, 22 for grand theft, seven for aggravated battery, two for DUI manslaughter, three for dealing drugs, 10 for aggravated assault with a weapon and nine for welfare fraud, the Miami Herald reported.

One employee, the head of the agency’s data security team in Tallahassee, is listed on the state’s list of sexual predators for molesting a 5-year-old boy. A department spokesman said the agency does not consider the man a risk because he does not come into contact with clients.

DCF officials said the agency was aware in most cases of the charges against employees, but administrators acknowledged that in some cases the agency did not know about the criminal pasts.