Chapter Sixteen: Enlightened by DCF

Chapter 16: Enlightened by DCF (Department of Children and Families)

It is Friday night and raining hard. I am drenched. My yellow suit with the white embroidery drips rain water and looks gray-tinged in the flickering, dim light of the DCF office. I shiver and my stomach growls. My husband is flying in for the three day Labor Day weekend. I planned to get back to my apartment in time to grab dinner before heading to the Orlando airport, but that is clearly not going to happen. Shasta, my transportation coordinator, Roxanne, one of my students and I are in the lobby of the DCF office waiting to talk with a caseworker.

Roxanne is a thirteen-year-old slim, blond, white girl. She was reported as a run away about two weeks ago. She just returned to school today. At lunch, Roxanne talks to Ernie about her problems and tells him she ran away because her stepfather hits her. She is afraid to be at home for the long weekend and if we make her go, she will run away again. Since Roxanne has chosen Ernie as her confidante, he is mandated to report this to DCF. Ernie brings Roxanne to my office and tells me he doesn’t know what to do. I explain he should call DCF and give him the phone number. He tells me he can’t and that I must handle this. Then he abruptly departs leaving me and Roxanne in my office.

I can run after him and insist he handle this, or I can do it myself. I look at Roxanne’s face. I phone DCF. They want a great deal of detailed information and I finally hand the phone to Roxanne. They ask her how many marks or bruises she has. They seem to be trying to determine whether she is fabricating the abuse. After the interrogation I take the phone again and the DCF worker tells me they will come pick up Roxanne at school, but they have a “four hour rule” so they will be here anytime between now and 5:15. I express my concern since the students depart at 4:00, less than three hours from now. I am put on hold, then I am told a case worker will be at the school by 3:30 to get Roxanne. I provide directions. Roxanne and I talk about the likely outcome from this phone call. She understands she may end up at the Cressler House for the weekend, (Cressler House is a residential shelter for children who are homeless, runaways, in between or awaiting foster care assignments) and this could make things worse at home. Roxanne is willing to accept this consequence and repeats her earlier statement: “if you make me go home I’ll just run away again.”

No one comes from DCF at 3:30. At 3:45 I phone them again. I am quoted the four-hour rule. Whoever told me otherwise was mistaken. I have the name of who told me otherwise but that does not help. I have been calling an 800 DCF number, now I try a local number. I am transferred to the 800 number. I am not pleased. The students depart on the busses in the rain. Busses leave, staff leaves, everyone leaves except Shasta, Roxanne and me. I am in my office calling DCF. I finally get a local supervisor who tells me the four-hour window promise was wrong. Due to the rain they can’t pick up Roxanne at all today. I ask for a supervisor. Same response. I go nuts. I remind the DCF supervisor the media has been having a field day with children DCF has lost and how will this incident appear to the media? The supervisor tells me I am not being fair and she can’t leave the office but she allows I can bring Roxanne to them.

I made a rule for staff: never transport a student alone. Shasta offers to come with me to help me find the DCF office and to keep me from breaking my rule.

The caseworker finally calls me into her office. Her desk is covered with scented aromatherapy candles; all are lit. Strange. Safe? She is brusque. “They’re all liars,” she says. “Sometimes there’s an infant or small child, but the rest… Liars. This kid probably doesn’t want to get in trouble for running away. She needs a good whupping to teach her not to worry her parents. I’ll take her but I’m telling you now, you’re wasting my time.”

I wearily began to argue with the candle lady but soon realize I would have more luck convincing the flying cockroaches in my office to sing the blues. Shasta hugs Roxanne and gives Roxanne her home number and some advice: call before you run. Roxanne thanks us and heads into the candle lady’s office. I take Shasta back to school to get her truck and I drive directly to the airport, stomach grumbling and the heat blasting to dry my itchy wet suit.