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Florida Community Based Care Execs Reap Big Money; Foster Children Left to Languish

April 4th, 2011   No Comments   Abuse

What a waste of Florida taxpayer money, abuse of the public trust and departure from the Legislature’s original intent for the Florida Department of Children and Families when a CEO and other executives from Our Kids, South Florida’s community-based care provider serving foster and at-risk children, can earn six-figure salaries and take bonuses — while cutting the payments to foster children who are finishing high school and going to college.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, “Florida’s privatization of child welfare services was supposed to be good for kids and taxpayers. But in the decade since the state began making private agencies responsible for the care of abused and neglected children, one cost has soared — the salaries of top employees.”

The paper continued: “Child welfare executives throughout Florida are now making six-figure salaries, with some topping $200,000 — double what state employees used to be paid to do the same work.”

“They should not under any circumstances be paid these sorts of outrageous salaries,” paper quoted state Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico and chairwoman of the Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs. “If you get your money from taxpayer funds, you should not be paid more than the governor.”

Read the entire story here.

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