http://www.miamiherald.com/467/story/70966.html By Diana Moskovitz dmoskovitz (at) MiamiHerald.com April 12, 2007 The agency responsible for Broward's foster children fired two employees on Wednesday after realizing they had previous criminal records and may have stolen from the agency. ChildNet had discovered the men's previous convictions, including one for manslaughter, during background checks before they were hired four years ago, but the agency hired them anyway, said Peter Balitsaris, agency president. One of the two employees, Brady Grant, 35, of Coral Springs is now a suspect in the theft of the laptop, said Detective Kathy Collins, a Fort Lauderdale police spokeswoman. Police have interviewed the other man, Steven Williams, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, but they don't have evidence he was involved in the thefts, Collins said. The inspector general with the state's Department of Children & Families also will investigate what happened, DCF spokeswoman Leslie Mann said. Missing from ChildNet are $8,000 in Wal-Mart gift cards and a laptop with personal information for about 12,000 people, including foster parents and employees. PERSONAL DATA The gray Dell Latitude laptop contained personal information, including driver's license numbers, home addresses and Social Security numbers, Balitsaris said. The computer was used to gather information for background checks, including fingerprint scans. Each person whose information was in the laptop will be notified by mail of what happened and how they can protect themselves from identity theft, Balitsaris said. The pair worked in building maintenance and had no contact with children, Balitsaris said. Both men were hired four years ago when DCF hired ChildNet to manage foster care services in Broward. At the time, ChildNet was in ''full hiring mode,'' Balitsaris said. ChildNet had the two men's criminal records in its files. Balitsaris said he knew Grant had past troubles but until recently no idea of the extent. ''The real knowledge of their backgrounds came to be known after the gift cards,'' Balitsaris said. ``I have since read his whole file and was shocked at what it said.'' POLICY CHANGES Changes have been made in the system since the men were hired, he said. A new person took over human resources three years ago. The agency also is reviewing the records of other employees hired at that time. The gift cards were stolen first, about a month ago. There was no evidence of forced entry at the office. ChildNet officials told police, and the pair's criminals history arose during the investigation. MANSLAUGHTER, DRUGS Grant was sentenced to prison in 1995 for manslaughter in Palm Beach County and again in 2001 on a cocaine conviction, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Williams' convictions included burglary in 1988 and battery in 1992, both in Tampa, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. On Friday, police were called about the stolen laptop, which was used to collect information for background checks on prospective foster parents and employees. No information about children was stored there, Balitsaris said. There were no signs of forced entry. The laptop usually was kept behind two locked doors, Balitsaris said. By Friday, both men were suspended, Balitsaris said. ChildNet fired both men on Wednesday. RE-ENTERING DATA Meanwhile, a roomful of 22 employees spent the day re-entering information from paper backups to ChildNet's computer system. ''We don't know that was the reason the computer was stolen, but we have to assume the worst,'' Balitsaris said. An inventory after the second theft found nothing else missing. __________________________ Subscribe to InfoSec News http://www.infosecnews.org
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