OC Public Schools, Sheriff’s Office, DCF Knew Of Teacher’s Alleged Misconduct

 

ORLANDO, Fla. —Officials from Orange County Public Schools, the Department of Children and Families and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office knew of Jennifer Fichter’s alleged misconduct, but state education officials were not notified, allowing Fichter to teach in Polk County.

Jennifer Fichter's

Fichter was arrested last week after she admitted to a sexual relationship with a child in Polk County. Fichter allegedly admitted that she became pregnant with the child’s baby, but had an abortion, officials said. She was arrested at her home and charged with six counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Fichter is an English teacher at Central Florida Aerospace Academy.
Prior to her alleged romance with the Polk County student, Fichter taught language arts at Robinswood Middle School in Orange County from August 2007 until Dec. 19, 2008. Orange County Public School officials started investigating Fichter after a teacher filed a complaint accusing her of discussing her feelings for an eighth-grade male student and texting the student.
According to a Sheriff’s Office report, deputies interviewed the eighth-grade student who said Fichter had texted the student about her feelings about 40-50 times. School officials notified DCF officials, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.
Fitcher reportedly told that teacher “she felt as though the student was her boyfriend and that he made her melt.”
Video: Polk teacher who had sex with student accused of misconduct in Orange County
According to the report, both the teacher who filed the complaint and the eighth-grade boy told school investigators Fichter “texted a student a message that said that she ‘was going to smash’ the student,” and that “Fichter had asked a student if he wanted to be her baby.”
Public Schools Spokeswoman Kathy Marsh said Monday that the county “did not report the case regarding Fichter to the state Department of Education.”
Since the county did not inform state officials, Fichter was able to get a teaching job in Polk County, Florida Department of Education officials said last week.
Following the allegations made against Fichter, public school officials in Orange County told all employees that “No employee of the Orange County Public Schools should engage in any texting or other social media with any OCPS student,” unless the student is the employee’s child or the information is related to a class, athletic or extracurricular activity, Marsh said.
Polk County school officials said last week that they expect Fichter to be fired this week.

http://www.wesh.com/news/oc-public-schools-sheriffs-office-dcf-knew-of-teachers-alleged-misconduct/25586706#ixzz2zbwYBfWi

DCF Worker Accused Of Falsifying Well-Being Report

ORLANDO, Fla. —

Posted: 3:12 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2014

Investigators said a 38-year-old woman was supposed to be checking up on some of the most vulnerable victims of child abuse and neglect but instead lied in her paperwork to avoid being fired.

Margaret McCalman

Margaret McCalman told investigators at the Department of Children and Families she was exhausted from her case load and typed up a false home visit in her computer to avoid missing a required visit.
McCalman and others in her position are required to go out and investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect, authorities said.
According to the arrest warrant, McCalman documented a visit in May 2012 to a home with at least two children.
In the report, it was written that the children were seen without abuse and that the house was cluttered but no major hazards were seen.
The catch, according to payroll data, is that McCalman wasn’t working that day.
Channel 9′s Karla Ray went to McCalman’s home on Wednesday to ask why she would put children’s lives at risk by making up information about their well-being, but no one came to the door.
McCalman quit her job at DCF month after her internal investigation started.

“We absolutely do not tolerate the falsification of child protective records,” said a DCF spokeswoman. “We have a zero tolerance for it.”
If convicted, McCalman could face prison time.
http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/dcf-worker-accused-falsifying-well-being-report/ndhJx/