DCF computer glitch causes delay in child abuse reports

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FORT MYERS, Fla. Hundreds of potential child abuse reports went weeks without getting noticed because of a Florida Department of Children and Families computer glitch.

The glitch, which happened in February, delayed the reports getting from DCF to law enforcement.

“Well, it’s a shame. I would imagine the impact can be detrimental,” certified relationship specialist Ana Louiselle said. “The longer that it goes on the more effects it could have on the child.”

Punta Gorda police received four reports with a subject line “backlog message” between February 4 and May 4, department spokesperson Lt. Katie Heck. It’s unclear how long the messages were delayed.

“The department is working with the software vendor to implement an alert system to notify the department anytime a back-log is created in the future,” DCF said in a statement.

It is unclear how many other Southwest Florida law enforcement agencies experienced delays.

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