Another year without raises for DCF rank-and-file

Yep, Florida Govenor and possible GOP Veep Charlie Crist stiffed the eligibility staff at DCF again this year. The past few years, the state offered a "bonus" of $1000 to workers in lieu of an actual raise, so in a sense, this is nothing new to the staff.

This year, no raise, no COLA, no "bonus." Nada. The good news is they'll probably freeze healthcare expenses, the bad news is that the average worker at DCF is either looking for another job, or is vested in the state retirment system, and is working just hard enough not to get fired.

What this means to applicants, providers, and agents is that what was already a faulty and broken system just became a pool of quicksand, and it's the folks who need the benefits that'll sink- and with the economy in the state it's in, it figures to be quite a few more folks (see the chart).

Rather than continue to beat up DCF constantly, I'm going to spend the next few posts answering questions about the application, and some of the more complex rules for the programs.