Posted on 09/19/2002 7:58:01 AM PDT by RedBloodedAmerican
MIAMI - A list of almost 400 children labeled "missing" under the state's care was exaggerated as many of the children have either been found, were chronic teenage runaways or ran from foster homes, a study by a statewide task force said.
In a statewide search of the children listed as missing in August by the Department of Children & Families, 139 out of 393 of the children have been located, the study said.
The task force is still looking for 242 remaining names on the "missing" list, many of whom investigators believe are considered chronic runaways or taken by noncustodial parents.
Only seven were cases in which "the juvenile's physical safety is in danger," the study said.
A large number of the children were found to be living with noncustodial parents, relatives or friends. Others were fugitives with arrest warrants and some were found in jails. Still others have become adults since their name was first put on the "missing" list, the task force said.
Investigators said they have contracted 12 more children on the list, but have kept their files open pending an in-person interview, said Harriet Janosky, a task force coordinator from the Miami-Dade police.
"It's a myth that should have been dispelled a long time ago that there are 500 missing kids," said Carlos Alvarez, director of Miami-Dade County police. "From the DCF list, there is only one child we have identified as truly missing, and this is Rilya Wilson."
Gov. Jeb Bush ordered the formation of the task force after controversy surrounding the case of the missing 5-year-old prompted the resignation of DCF Secretary Kathleen Kearney in August.
Rilya Wilson was reported missing from a Miami foster home in April. Her case worker is accused of waiting 15 months to report the child missing.
Many of the children were located by examining information provided by DCF social workers, the study said.
Charles Auslander, the Miami-Dade DCF administrator who announced his resignation Tuesday, said the search has lead to greater coordination with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
"The department has been labeled dysfunctional because of this inflated number of missing children," Auslander said. "As you can see, at least from law enforcement perspective if not from a commonsense perspective, we have overstated the problem.
This sounds a bit fishy. Kid XYZ is missing, so let's call him a runaway, or living with another parent. I would believe that, for a number of these kids, this would be the case.
But if they can't find these kids, they're still MISSING! regardless of the semantics used.
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