Posted on 02/24/2008 11:00:05 AM PST by BGHater
MIAMI — Florida's much-maligned child-welfare workers will soon begin carrying hand-held devices, like the ones delivery companies use to track packages, that show whether they really are checking in on the children under their supervision.
The touch-screen units, about the size of a book and featuring Global Positioning System technology, will record the amount of time caseworkers spend with each family, take photos of children in state care and allow the workers to update case information on the spot, Gov. Charlie Crist and Children & Families Secretary Bob Butterworth said Thursday at a news conference in front of a UPS truck.
The first-of-its-kind move follows a series of headline-grabbing cases in which workers lied about such visits and it turned out the children were missing or dead.
In 2002, the department discovered that Rilya Wilson, a 4-year-old Miami foster child, had been missing for more than year, but her caseworker had lied about visiting the home. The girl was never found and her caregiver has been charged with murder. The caseworker was fired and pleaded guilty to official misconduct, getting probation.
Last year, a 2-year-old foster girl was missing from a home for four months before police began searching for her.
She was found in Wisconsin, where she had apparently been taken by her mother in violation of a court order rescinding her custody. The mother and others have been charged with murdering another woman whose body was buried in the yard.
So let me get this right.... we can track civil servants doing their job but not illegal aliens doing theirs?
companies do this with sales reps.
What an invasion of PRIVACY!
See the contradiction?
Many in the private sector use GPS devices to track both personnel and equipment.
The government should be using this for all employees, after all, it's our money, and I want to know that they are working and not out drinking and getting layed on our dime.
Hypocrisy is the grease that keeps politics moving forward.
Eventually, when a worker for a company calls in sick, the company will insist that they call from home or from a trackable cell-phone every half-hour, or the employee will have to wear an ankle bracelet while sick.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.