Bob Butterworth Recommended for Confirmation as Secretary of DCF in Florida

Bob Butterworth was recommended for confirmation as secretary of the Department of Children & Families by the Senate Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee.

Butterworth - one of the state's best-known Democratic politicians - was nominated by Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to try to steer what has been one of the most difficult agencies to run. DCF has been plagued by scandal for years, and Butterworth has said he looks forward to trying to change it.

Butterworth, 64, was the state's elected attorney general for 16 years before being forced out by term limits in 2002, when Crist was elected to succeed him. Before being tapped by Crist to head DCF, he was dean of St. Thomas University Law School in Miami. He has also been a Broward County prosecutor, judge and sheriff, mayor of Sunrise and head of the state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

He still needs confirmation from the full Senate.