The Issue The issue is whether Petitioner should be granted an exemption from disqualification for working in a position of trust with disabled adults and children pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 435, Florida Statutes.
Findings Of Fact Since 1979, Petitioner, Vernon Jackson (Petitioner), has been employed by the Department of Children and Family Services (Respondent) or its predecessor government agency, with the exception of a period in 1996-97. He is presently classified as a psychiatric aide. Petitioner worked in a unit of the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, Florida, which provides care to the patients of the facility, and he is a caregiver. It is in that capacity that he is subject to the employment screening requirements of Chapter 435 of the Florida Statutes. On August 23, 1980, Petitioner's girlfriend, Willie Thomas, got into an argument with a 17-year-old girl named Gwendolyn Arnold. When the argument between Thomas and Arnold escalated into a physical fight, Petitioner became involved in the fray. Arnold's 15-year-old brother also joined in the activity. As a result of the incident, Petitioner was charged with the misdemeanor offenses of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest without violence, and battery. Petitioner pled guilty to all three of the charged offenses. Adjudication of guilt was withheld by the court. Petitioner paid a fine of $50, plus costs, for the first two counts, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest without violence, and a fine of $100, plus costs, for the battery charge. In conjunction with the battery charge he was placed on probation for a period of one year. Petitioner's next criminal episode also involved Willie Thomas, his earlier girlfriend. On April 16, 1981, Petitioner was arrested and pled guilty to trespassing at Thomas’ home. He was required to pay a fine of $50. Although, adjudication was again withheld, he was placed on probation to run concurrently with his earlier probation sentence. Some months later, on November 19, 1981, Petitioner pled guilty to disorderly conduct involving a public brawl with two men. He paid a fine of $75 and adjudication of guilt was withheld. Employment screening at the Florida State Hospital was commenced in 1997 for positions of employment similar to that held by Petitioner. Petitioner's 1980 offense and 1981 plea was overlooked until this year. On or about April 20, 2002, after discovery of the battery offense, a decision was made to remove him from a caregiver position pending resolution of his request for an exemption. With a birth date of January 21, 1960, Petitioner was 20 years of age at the time of his first offense and 21 years of age when he last committed a criminal offense. Several supervisors of Petitioner testified that he was at all times a caring and diligent worker. Those supervisors included Karen Alford (“He was good.”); Freddie Culver (described Mr. Jackson as showing a lot of care and kindness); and Helen Conrad (“Excellent”). The parties stipulated that Julia Thomas and Barry Moore would testify to similar conclusion and opinions as to the quality of Petitioner's employment. Petitioner’s performance appraisals were at least satisfactory.
Recommendation Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is RECOMMENDED that a final order be entered granting Petitioner an exemption from disqualification. DONE AND ENTERED this 17th day of October, 2002, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. DON W. DAVIS Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 17th day of October, 2002.
The Issue The issue is whether Petitioner's request for an exemption from disqualification from employment in a position of special trust should be granted.
Findings Of Fact Based upon all of the evidence, the following findings of fact are determined: This case involves a request by Petitioner, Yolanda D. Hart, for an exemption from disqualification from employment in a position of special trust. If the request is approved, Petitioner would be allowed to work in a children's day care center. Respondent, Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), is the state agency charged with the responsibility of approving or denying such requests. In a preliminary decision entered on October 5, 1998, a DCFS committee denied the request. Petitioner is now barred from working in a day care center because of a disqualifying offense which occurred on July 2, 1993. On that date, on the advice of her public defender, she pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance (cocaine) with intent to sell, a felony offense. She was sentenced to serve one year in the Duval County Jail. However, Petitioner was given credit for having already served 95 days prior to her plea, and she was released from jail in late December 1993, or approximately seven months later. She was not required to serve any subsequent probationary period. Sometime later, Petitioner applied for employment with Children's Small World, a children's day care center in Jacksonville, Florida. As a part of the employment process, a background screening was conducted, and it revealed her prior arrest and conviction. Because her conviction constituted a disqualifying offense, Petitioner is forbidden from working in a children's day care center without an exemption. In explaining the circumstances surrounding her arrest, Petitioner explained that she had just returned a day earlier from the State of Georgia to her mother's apartment in Jacksonville when law enforcement officers raided the premises. A small quantity of crack cocaine was found in Petitioner's bedroom, which belonged to her mother, who was then a heavy drug user. Both she and her mother were arrested, and both were sentenced to serve a brief period of time in the Duval County Jail. Petitioner says she refused to testify against her mother, and this resulted, at least in part, in the State bringing charges against her. This version of events was not contradicted. On June 11, 1997, Petitioner was arrested for the misdemeanor offense of "affray," which resulted in a $70.00 fine. On August 27, 1997, she was arrested for the misdemeanor offense of "Trespass [of a] Struct[ure]," for which she was required to serve seven days in the Duval County Jail. Although neither event is disqualifying in nature, each bears on the issue of Petitioner's rehabilitation. After her release from County Jail in December 1993, Petitioner worked almost continuously in the food service industry, including Church's Fried Chicken, Wendy's, and Miami Subs, from 1994 through 1997. At Church's Fried Chicken, she rose to the position of team leader within a short period of time. During part of 1998, Petitioner was employed by the Body Shop, which sells women's apparel. Petitioner's main interest, however, is in the child care field, and she wishes to pursue a career in that vocation. She has volunteered for work at a day care center working with infants and young children ranging in age from one to three years. Two letters received in evidence corroborate Petitioner's assertion that she has performed that job in a very caring and loving way. Petitioner has also enrolled in special classes for child care workers. She will continue to participate in more training if the exemption is granted. She has two pending offers for employment with child care facilities in Jacksonville, one with Bundles of Joy, and the other at Children's Small World. Petitioner was candid and forthright in her testimony, and she readily acknowledged that she was guilty of having made serious mistakes in the past. She attends a church, has two young children, and lives in her own home. There is no evidence to indicate that Petitioner would present a danger to children if her request were approved. Given the foregoing considerations, it is found that there is sufficient evidence of rehabilitation since the disqualifying incident occurred, and Petitioner's request for an exemption should be approved.
Recommendation Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is RECOMMENDED that the Department of Children and Family Services enter a final order granting Petitioner's request for an exemption from disqualification for employment in a position of special trust. DONE AND ENTERED this 6th day of January, 1999, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. DONALD R. ALEXANDER Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 6th day of January, 1999. COPIES FURNISHED: Gregory D. Venz, Agency Clerk Department of Children and Family Services Building 2, Room 204 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 John S. Slye, Esquire Department of Children and Family Services Building 2, Room 204 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 Yolanda D. Hart 1823 East 24th Street Jacksonville, Florida 32206 Roger L. D. Williams, Esquire Post Office Box 2417 Jacksonville, Florida 32231-0083
The Issue Because he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of soliciting a prostitute, Petitioner is disqualified from certain types of employment. He has requested an exemption from that disqualification, which request is the subject of this proceeding.
Findings Of Fact Mr. Cervantes was born in Mexico, where he met his wife who was vacationing there. Mrs. Cervantes came to the United States from Puerto Rico in 1987; Mr. Cervantes came later, around 1990. Although he has attended school to learn English he still does not speak or understand English very well, as observed at the hearing. Mr. and Mrs. Cervantes have an 8-year old son. They have owned a day care center in Orlando, Florida, since 1995 and they worked together there until Mr. Cervantes' arrest and adjudication in 1997. Since then, he has been unemployed except for taking care of bookkeeping and after-hours maintenance of the day care center. On March 28, 1997, Mr. Cervantes was in his car on South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Florida, at 1:00 a.m., returning home from his brother's house. His brother works late at a restaurant. When he was stopped at a light, a woman approached his car and said something he did not understand. He believed she might be in trouble and put the windows down to talk to her. The next thing that happened was the police came and arrested him and took him to jail. Mrs. Cervantes received a telephone call from her husband around 3:00 a.m. explaining that he had been arrested for soliciting a prostitute. She was shocked, as he had never been in trouble before and had been a good husband and father. Mr. Cervantes was charged with a violation of Section 796.07(2)(f), Florida Statutes, and was assigned a public defender with whom he consulted through an English interpreter. He initially pled not guilty to the charge but changed his plea to nolo contendere on the advice of his lawyer. The "prostitute" had been an undercover police officer and the conversation between her and Mr. Cervantes was recorded. What concerned the lawyer, according to what Mr. Cervantes understood, was that the conversation included Mr. Cervantes' word "todo" (all, in English). Whether that was thought to be a request for sex or a "blowjob" as stated in the police report, is not clear in this record. The public defender told Mr. Cervantes that he could go to jail. Because his own father had abandoned him when he was young, and because he never wanted to leave his own son, Mr. Cervantes changed his plea in return for a judgment of adjudication of guilt withheld. He was ordered to pay a $25.00 fine and court costs and fees, for a total of $191.25. Since he received the disqualification letter from DCFS Mr. Cervantes has been unable to work with his wife at the day care center. She needs him and he is genuinely contrite for getting mixed up in something that now prevents him from helping her. Mr. Cervantes has no criminal record except for the offense that is the subject of this proceeding. He studies and teaches Bible classes and helps out at the church. He also helps take care of his son.
Recommendation It is, therefore, RECOMMENDED that Luis Cervantes' request for exemption from disqualification be GRANTED by the Department of Children and Family Services. DONE AND ENTERED this 2nd day of February, 2000, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida. MARY CLARK Administrative Law Judge Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3060 (850) 488-9675 SUNCOM 278-9675 Fax Filing (850) 921-6847 www.doah.state.fl.us Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 2nd day of February, 2000. COPIES FURNISHED: Luis Cervantes 9037 Fort Jefferson Boulevard Orlando, Florida 32801 Carmen M. Sierra, Esquire Department of Children and Family Services 400 West Robinson Street Suite S-1106 Orlando, Florida 32801 Samuel C. Chavers, Acting Agency Clerk Department of Children and Family Services Building 2, Room 204B 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 John S. Slye, General Counsel Department of Children and Family Services Building 2, Room 204B 1317 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700
The Issue The issue in this case is whether Petitioner should discipline Respondent for his failure to file fingerprint and abuse-registry screening forms for one of his employees, in violation of Rule 10M-12.002(1)(d)(2), Florida Administrative Code, and failure to employ a person certified in first aid, in violation of Rule 10M-12.004(1), Florida Administrative Code.
Findings Of Fact Petitioner issued Respondent license number 288-7 on February 15, 1988, for the operation of a child-care facility at 261-B S. Central Avenue in Oviedo, Florida. The license was amended on October 3, 1988. On November 15, 1988, Larry D. Lowe, a Human Services Program Analyst employed by Petitioner, conducted an inspection of the subject facility. At the conclusion of the inspection, he prepared a checklist noting deficiencies as to background screening. Specifically, Mr. Lowe noted that the fingerprint cards and abuse-registry forms had not been completed for an employee named Cindy Samons and that these omissions were in violation of Rule 10M-12.002(1)(d)(2), Florida Administrative Code. Mr. Lowe gave Ms. Samons a copy of the checklist, which gave Respondent until November 22, 1988, to submit the required forms. Mr. Lowe returned to the subject facility on December 28, 1988, and discovered that the forms had been completed and placed in the employee's file, but they had never been submitted to Petitioner. Thus, Petitioner had never had the chance to conduct the necessary background screening on Ms. Samons, who was at the time the sole employee at the facility. Mr. Lowe recommended an administrative fine of $360 based upon a daily fine of $10 for the 36-day period between the initial corrective due date and the date of the follow-up inspection. On October 11, 1988, Ms. Marilyn Willming, R.N., who is a public health nurse with the Seminole County Public Health Unit, performed a medical inspection of the subject facility and discovered that, among other things, no employee on the premises had obtained a current first-aid certificate and that this omission was in violation of Rule 10M-12.004(1), Florida Administrative Code. Ms. Willming gave one of the employees a copy of the medical inspection checklist, which gave Respondent until October 25, 1988, to correct this problem. Flora Kavitch, R.N., who is also an employee of the Seminole County Public Health Unit, conducted a reinspection of the facility on December 23, 1988, and discovered, among other things, that the facility still had no employee with a current first-aid certificate. She recommended an administrative fine of $780 based upon a daily fine of $10 for the 78-day period between the date of the initial inspection and the date of the follow-up inspection. Each of the above-described deficiencies is a condition or occurrence related to the operation and maintenance of a facility and indirectly or potentially threatens the physical or emotional health, safety, or security of the children.
Recommendation In view of the foregoing, it is hereby RECOMMENDED that Petitioner enter a Final Order imposing an administrative fine against Respondent in the amount of $1140. ENTERED this 1st day of August, 1989, in Tallahassee, Florida. ROBERT E. MEALE Hearing Officer Division of Administrative Hearings The DeSoto Building 1230 Apalachee Parkway Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1550 (904) 488-9675 Filed with the Clerk of the Division of Administrative Hearings this 1st day of August, 1989. COPIES FURNISHED: James A. Sawyer, Jr. District 7 Legal Counsel Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 400 West Robinson Street, Suite 911 Orlando, Florida 32801 Hilton J. Soto 6501 Palmetto Drive Winter Park, Florida Sam Power Clerk Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 1323 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 Gregory L. Coler Secretary Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 1323 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 John Miller General Counsel Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services 1323 Winewood Boulevard Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0700 Hilton J. Soto Little Theresa Child Care 261-B South Central Avenue Oviedo, Florida 32765 =================================================================
The Issue The issues in this case, which arises from Petitioner's application for an award of attorney's fees and costs pursuant to section 57.111, Florida Statutes, are whether Petitioner was a prevailing small business party in a disciplinary proceeding that Respondent initiated, and, if so, whether Respondent's decision to prosecute Petitioner was substantially justified or whether special circumstances exist that would make an award unjust.
Findings Of Fact On August 15, 2014, Respondent Department of Children and Families ("DCF") issued an Administrative Complaint against Petitioner Children's Hour Day School (the "School"), a licensed child care facility, charging the School with two disciplinable offenses, namely denial of food as form of punishment (Violation 1) and misrepresentation (Violation 2). The allegations of material fact in support of Violation 1 were as follows: During a complaint inspection on 8/6/14, the child care facility was cited for a Class I violation of Standard #12, Child Discipline, [because] a child, to wit, S.B., was denied a snack as a form of punishment when the child allegedly hit her sister, L.B. who is also enrolled at the child care facility. The allegations of material fact in support of Violation 2 were as follows: During a complaint inspection on 8/6/14, the child care facility was cited for a Class I violation of Standard #63, Misrepresentation, when it came to the Family Safety Counselor's attention that child care personnel, K.L. misrepresented and forged information, related to the child care facility when he utilized a notary stamp belonging to a former employee, namely Albarran and submitted the 2014 application for licensure to the Department with the forged notarization. The School, which requested a hearing, was found not guilty of the charges. See Dep't of Child. & Fams. v. Child.'s Hour Day Sch., Case No. 14-4539, 2015 Fla. Div. Adm. Hear. LEXIS 8 (Fla. DOAH Jan. 9, 2015; Fla. DCF Feb. 18, 2015). The Administrative Law Judge made the following findings of material fact with respect to Violation 1: S.B. and L.B. are young sisters who stayed at Respondent's day-care center in July 2014. On July 9, 2014, one of Respondent's employees gave S.B. and L.B. a small cup of Cheez-Its as a snack. [Kevin] Lennon was present when the two girls were sharing the cup of Cheez-Its. After S.B., who is the older and bigger child, finished her share of the Cheez-Its, S.B. began to hit her sister to take her sister's share of the Cheez-Its. Mr. Lennon separated the two girls and permitted L.B. to eat her share of the Cheez-Its. Mr. Lennon testified, credibly, that he did not take the Cheez-Its from S.B. to punish S.B. Id. at 3-4 (paragraph number omitted). The Administrative Law Judge made the following findings of material fact with respect to Violation 2: On March 25, 2014, Petitioner received from Respondent an "Application for a License to Operate a Child Care Facility" (the application). Mr. Lennon completed the application on behalf of Respondent. The application contained an attestation section that required Mr. Lennon's signature to be notarized. On March 25, 2014, Petitioner received an attestation section (first attestation section) signed by Kevin Lennon on February 28, 2014. The first attestation section contains Ivanne Albarran's notary seal and a signature dated February 28, 2014. Mr. Lennon testified, credibly, that he signed the first attestation section as Kevin Lennon. Mr. Albarran testified, credibly, that he signed the first attestation section as the notary public. The application package contains a second attestation section that was received by Petitioner on March 28, 2014. The second attestation section contains Mr. Lennon's signature and a date of March 26, 2014. The second attestation section contains Mr. Albarran's notary seal and a signature dated March 28, 2014. Mr. Lennon testified, credibly, that he signed the second attestation section as "Kevin Lennon." Mr. Albarran testified, credibly, that he signed the second attestation section as the notary public. Id. at 4-5 (paragraph numbers omitted). The School's owner is a corporation, Hamilton-Smith, Inc. ("HSI"), whose principal office is located in the state of Florida.1/ Kevin Lennon, who was referred to as "K.L." in the Administrative Complaint and is mentioned in the findings of fact quoted above, is HSI's sole shareholder. HSI employed fewer than 25 persons at the time DCF initiated the underlying disciplinary proceeding, and at all relevant times thereafter. Thus, HSI is a "small business party" as that term is defined in section 57.111(3)(d)1.b., Florida Statutes.2/ DCF agrees that HSI is a "prevailing" party as that term is defined in section 57.111(3)(c)1., inasmuch as a final order dismissing the charges against the School was entered in DOAH Case No. 14-4539. It is determined, as a matter of ultimate fact, that HSI is a "prevailing small business party" entitled to recover its reasonable attorney's fees and costs from DCF "unless the actions of the agency were substantially justified or special circumstances exist which would make the award unjust." § 57.111(4)(a), Fla. Stat. In defending against the administrative charges, HSI incurred attorney's fees in the amount of $4,515.00 and costs totaling $434.50, for which it now seeks to be reimbursed. DCF does not contest the amount or reasonableness of either sum. DCF contends, however, that an award of attorney's fees and costs is unwarranted because its actions were substantially justified. It is therefore necessary to examine the grounds upon which DCF made its decision to charge the School with the offenses alleged in the Administrative Complaint. The disciplinary action had its genesis in an anonymous complaint that, on August 6, 2014, was phoned in to the local DCF licensing office in the School's vicinity. DCF counselor Michaelyn Radcliff went out that same day to investigate, and she met Tajah Brown at the School. Ms. Brown, an employee of the School, revealed to Ms. Radcliff that she had made the complaint, which involved the ratio of staff to children. Mr. Lennon, who was Ms. Brown's boss, happened to be out of town at the time and hence was not present for Ms. Radcliff's inspection. For the next six hours or so, Ms. Brown described for Ms. Radcliff every regulatory violation or offense she could think of, which she believed the School might have committed. One such offense was the alleged withholding of S.B.'s snack. Ms. Brown had not witnessed this incident, but she knew the child's mother, E.B., and offered to ask the mother to give a statement about it, which Ms. Radcliff agreed was a good idea. E.B. met Ms. Radcliff at the School, accompanied by her daughter S.B., who was then two years old. E.B. did not have personal knowledge of the alleged denial-of-snack incident, but she had been told about the event by her sister (S.B.'s aunt) who had picked S.B. and L.B. up from day care the evening of its alleged occurrence. The aunt did not have personal knowledge of the matter either, having arrived afterward. Rather, according to E.B., the aunt had told E.B. that Mr. Lennon had told her (the aunt) that S.B. had hit L.B. and thrown a tantrum. Ms. Radcliff did not speak to the aunt, however, whose testimony about what Mr. Lennon told her actually might have been admissible at hearing under an exception to the hearsay rule3/; instead, she accepted E.B.'s statement about the incident, which was based on hearsay (Mr. Lennon's declaration) within hearsay (the aunt's declaration) and had no evidential value on its own. Ms. Radcliff did question one eyewitness: two-year- old S.B., who denied hitting her sister, complained that Mr. Lennon would not give her a snack, and accused Mr. Lennon of hitting her. S.B.'s statement, such as it was, was the only independently admissible evidence Ms. Radcliff had. She never spoke with Mr. Lennon, who was the only adult eyewitness to the alleged denial-of-snack incident.4/ As for the alleged misrepresentation, Ms. Brown informed Ms. Radcliff that she (Ms. Brown) had observed Mr. Lennon using a notary stamp belonging to Ivanne Albarran, a former employee of the School, to "notarize" signatures in Mr. Albarran's name when he was not around. Ms. Brown did not, however, identify any specific documents that she claimed to have seen Mr. Lennon fraudulently notarize in this fashion.5/ Nor, apparently, was she asked whether she was familiar with either Mr. Albarran's or Mr. Lennon's signature or if she could identify anyone's signature on any document. Ms. Radcliff herself compared the signatures on documents purportedly signed by Mr. Albarran during the time when Mr. Albarran was an employee of the School with some of his purported signatures on documents executed after his employment had ended. She concluded that the signatures looked different. Ms. Radcliff is not a forensic document examiner, however, and she has no discernable expertise in handwriting analysis. Based on her layperson's opinion about the signatures, Ms. Radcliff determined that Mr. Albarran had not executed some notarized documents that the School had submitted with its recent application for renewal licensure, even though his stamp, seal, and purported signatures appeared on them. Based on Ms. Brown's claim to have seen Mr. Lennon use Mr. Albarran's notary stamp, Ms. Radcliff concluded that Mr. Lennon had forged these signatures. Ms. Radcliff never asked Mr. Albarran whether he had signed the documents in question, nor did she speak with Mr. Lennon about the matter.
The Issue The issue for consideration in this hearing is whether Petitioner should be granted an exemption from disqualification from certain employment.
Findings Of Fact At all times pertinent to the issues herein, the Respondent, Department of Children and Family Services, was the state agency responsible for screening the employment of individuals employed in certain occupations within this state. Petitioner, Jose Ramon Arazo, is married to Stephanie Arazo, who at the time and for a number of years prior to the marriage, operated a child day care center in Largo, Florida. Under the provisions of Chapter 435, Florida Statutes, various positions of trust require screening of federal and state law enforcement records to see if the applicants for such positions have a record of charge or disposition. Various positions have differing requirements for screening. Those positions classified as Level II require a finger print and agency check with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Those positions classified as Level I do not. If the agency check discloses the applicant has been charged with a criminal offense, the Department then determines the disposition of the allegation and obtains court records regarding the court action and verifying any probation imposed. The Department's District V Director has promulgated a policy to be followed in that District that stipulates that an exemption from disqualification will not be granted to any individual who is on probation after conviction of a felony and for three years after release from probation. If probation is not imposed by the court, the same policy provides that an exemption will not be granted within three years of a felony conviction, as is provided for in the statute governing exemptions. Petitioner has been charged with several felonies in the past. On July 18, 1983, he was arraigned on a charge of grand theft, to which he pleaded not guilty. However, on August 29, 1983, he changed his plea to guilty and was placed on probation for three years. Thereafter, in December 1985, a warrant was issued for his arrest alleging various violations of the conditions of his probation, including such offenses as being delinquent in the payment of the cost of his supervision; moving from his residence without the prior consent of his probation supervisor; failing to work diligently at a lawful occupation; and failing to make required restitution. In July 1986, he was again the subject of an arrest warrant for ten further probation violations of a similar nature. No evidence was presented as to what action was taken for those violations, but on April 4, 1986, he pleaded guilty in Circuit Court in Pinellas County to grand theft and was again placed in a community control program for two years. There is also evidence in the record to indicate that in September 1986, he was sentenced to confinement for 18 months as a result of the grand theft in Pinellas County. In May 1989, Petitioner was arrested in Hillsborough County and charged with possession of cocaine, a second degree felony, and with obstructing an officer without violence, a first degree misdemeanor. He entered a plea of guilty to the offenses and on May 2, 1989, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in Florida State Prison. In an indictment dated December 3, 1991, Petitioner was charged with one count of grand theft in Hillsborough County. He entered a plea of nolo contendere and on October 14, 1994, was sentenced to five years imprisonment. When Petitioner was released from prison in 1998, he was placed on probation for a period of two years and is currently on probation status. He indicates he has successfully participated in this period of probation and was told the probation authorities plan to recommend his release from probation in the near future. No independent evidence to support this contention was offered, though Petitioner presented a statement from correctional officials who supervised him while he was incarcerated at the Tampa Community Correction Center and at the institutional level, that he has shown a significant reformation of character and a good ability to deal with everyday problems in a professional manner. From their joint unsworn statement, it would appear these individuals consider Petitioner a likely candidate to be a productive member of society in the future. Petitioner's wife has been put out of business because Petitioner lives with her in their home which was her place of business. Because of his presence, even though he works outside the home most of the time the children are there, she cannot care for children in the home because of regulations prohibiting it. She has been in business for a number of years and apparently her center has a good reputation in the community. One client, Mrs. Perry, by unsworn written statement commends Mrs. Arazo's performance and indicates that even though she saw Petitioner only a few times, he was one of her daughter's favorite people. He also had a positive influence on her son, preaching the virtue of hard work. Mrs. Perry does not consider Petitioner a threat, and she has no fear of his being near her children. In fact, she is of the opinion it a good thing for the children to see the loving and supportive interplay between Petitioner and his wife. Another client, Mrs. Mineo, has been a foster parent to a number of children over the years, many of whom she has placed in Mrs. Arazo's care, agrees. During the time she has known Petitioner, she has never seen him to be other than very professional. She describes him as a hard worker, well-mannered, and deserving of a chance. She believes him to be trying hard. Mrs. Arazo asserts that Petitioner is no threat to the well-being of any of the children who attend her center. He has, to her knowledge, never hurt a child, and she would have nothing to do with anyone who would. His relationship with the children in her care is very positive, and the children love him when he is there, which is not often. He is not an employee of the center and, in fact, has nothing to do with it. He has made mistakes in the past, has paid for them, and has worked hard to overcome them. In her opinion, he deserves a chance. Petitioner admits he has done wrong in the past on multiple occasions, and he is not proud of the things he has done wrong. He does not believe in rehabilitation except in the physical sense, but he believes in the power of an individual to recognize his wrong ways and reform himself. He believes he has done this. He took the opportunity to learn better life-skills while he was in jail and has reformed his way of thinking and his attitudes. During the total six years he spent in prison, he was given only one disciplinary referral. He learned a trade and has a full-time job. He is doing the best he can and wants a chance to prove himself, so as not to hurt his wife's business.
