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DCF: Worker lied about home visits, made fake records
November 23, 2013 at 2:34 a.m. UTC
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Department of Children and Families case worker resigned after she got in trouble for falsifying records and making fake claims about checking on potential child-abuse victims.
The cases are from 2010, and even though they were investigated right away, the state attorney's office only filed charges against Mable Peters recently.
Peters was allowed to remain at DCF for more than five months after she was investigated.
DCF officials said they had to verify that she really was making fake records and figure out just how many times she lied about home visits.
During that time, she was transferred to another position within DCF.
Peters wasn't available for comment.
The former DCF case worker is facing prison time for allegedly lying about visiting homes where child abuse may have occurred.
"We have a zero tolerance for this because it is a matter of life and death in some cases," Carrie Proudfit of DCF said.
In the case that sparked the investigation, a mother was arrested for allegedly punching her daughter in the face and splitting her lip.
The state mandates that Peters had to make a home visit.
In Peter's official records, she wrote that she was at the home and the two children were free of marks, bruises or welts.
It was a lie that may never have come to light if it hadn't been for a supervisor's gut reaction.
"It just really didn't sit right with her. She knew the weather was really bad; she thought it was unlikely anyone would go out in that weather," Proudfit said.
The supervisor found out the family wasn't even home when Peters claimed she visited.
Peters worked for DCF for two years before the fake records were discovered, prompting the agency to go through all of the cases she was sent out on during that time.
"That way we can determine if it's an isolated incident or (if) we do in fact have a pattern or something bigger. In this case, I believe it did lead to some concerns over some other cases," Proudfit said.
One of those cases showed Peters never went to a home where a child had a broken arm that needed to be investigated.
Peters resigned just before DCF made the decision to fire her.
She could serve five years in prison if convicted."
DCF: Worker lied about home visits, made fake records
November 23, 2013 at 2:34 a.m. UTC
ORLANDO, Fla. — A Department of Children and Families case worker resigned after she got in trouble for falsifying records and making fake claims about checking on potential child-abuse victims.
The cases are from 2010, and even though they were investigated right away, the state attorney's office only filed charges against Mable Peters recently.
Peters was allowed to remain at DCF for more than five months after she was investigated.
DCF officials said they had to verify that she really was making fake records and figure out just how many times she lied about home visits.
During that time, she was transferred to another position within DCF.
Peters wasn't available for comment.
The former DCF case worker is facing prison time for allegedly lying about visiting homes where child abuse may have occurred.
"We have a zero tolerance for this because it is a matter of life and death in some cases," Carrie Proudfit of DCF said.
In the case that sparked the investigation, a mother was arrested for allegedly punching her daughter in the face and splitting her lip.
The state mandates that Peters had to make a home visit.
In Peter's official records, she wrote that she was at the home and the two children were free of marks, bruises or welts.
It was a lie that may never have come to light if it hadn't been for a supervisor's gut reaction.
"It just really didn't sit right with her. She knew the weather was really bad; she thought it was unlikely anyone would go out in that weather," Proudfit said.
The supervisor found out the family wasn't even home when Peters claimed she visited.
Peters worked for DCF for two years before the fake records were discovered, prompting the agency to go through all of the cases she was sent out on during that time.
"That way we can determine if it's an isolated incident or (if) we do in fact have a pattern or something bigger. In this case, I believe it did lead to some concerns over some other cases," Proudfit said.
One of those cases showed Peters never went to a home where a child had a broken arm that needed to be investigated.
Peters resigned just before DCF made the decision to fire her.
She could serve five years in prison if convicted."
