Secretary Inspector GeneralJudge Kathleen A. Kearney Guiseppe A. Betta

Office of Inspector General Annual Report

Fiscal Year 1999

Accountability Efficiency Integrity

Committed to working in partnership with local communities to ensure safety, well-being, and self- sufficiency for the people we serve.

Office of Inspector General Mission

---i---

To provide a central point for coordination and responsibility of efforts that enhance accountability, efficiency, and integrity and deter criminal activitiesin the Department of Children and Families.

Office of Inspector General Code of Ethics

---ii---

The Office of Inspector General Employee’s

Code of Ethics

s the central point for coordina-tion and responsibility of activi-ties that enhance public account-ability in the Department, every memberof the Office of Inspector General (OIG)is personally committed to legallyfulfilling the true spirit and intent of thegoals and objectives required by§20.055, F.S.he OIG plays a significant role inthe accountability arena, evenmore so with a Secretary who istotally committed to accountability, aswell as the prevention of fraud, waste,and abuse in state government. Publicaccountability requires demonstrating totaxpayers that their resources are safe-guarded and spent according to legalmandates and limitations, that their pro-grams operate economically and effi-ciently; and, more importantly, that thetaxpayer’s desired results are obtained.Moreover, the Secretary’s mandate toevery employee is that strict adherenceto the leadership traits, as promoted bythe Department’s Leadership Program, isvital to the sustained maintenance of accountability in this Agency.ince perceptions of the OIG can beas damaging as reality, the profes-sional ethics and personal behaviorof OIG staff are issues of great signifi-cance. Each employee must maintainunassailably high moral standards, faith-ful obedience to the law; a strict avoid-ance or even the appearance of unethicalbehavior; and an unrelenting self-discipline for independent and objec-tive thoughts and work habits that emu-late integrity in every sense of the word.Though it is important for everyemployee to understand that integrity,objectivity and independence are precur-sors for accountability in the OIG, or inany agency for that matter, they mustalso believe in it!

Compromise any of this and the need for an OIG no longer exists!