Official alleges problems at kids’ facility

Monday, April 14, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Troubling conditions at the state-run Desert Willow Treatment Center, which cares for severely emotionally disturbed children, were detailed last week by a state hearing officer.

Employees at the center on West Charleston Boulevard have made allegations that management uses threats and intimidation as supervisory tactics.

And one employee at the center was accused of threatening to kill Christa Peterson, the deputy director of the state Division of Child and Family Services who oversees the center.

The facility has been the target of administrative and criminal inquiries, according to the hearing officer.

These details were revealed in a decision by state Hearing Officer Angela D. Cartwright that reversed the firing of Barbara Qualls, a 24-year state employee who was the center's clinical program manager.

Qualls had been involved with Desert Willow since its inception in 1991 and played a role in its development, construction, staff hiring and accreditation. She and Peterson worked together during the early years, but had a falling out in 2001.

The disagreement between the two stemmed from a dispute over mileage reimbursement for Qualls, among other issues.

Qualls was fired Aug. 8, 2002, by Edward Cotton, administrator of the division.

In testimony at the appeal hearing, other employees of the center said that on at least two occasions, Qualls talked about getting a gun and killing Peterson.

Qualls denied ever making the threats.

The alleged threats were investigated by the state Attorney General's Office, but no criminal charges were ever filed. The investigator ruled that Qualls might have made several threatening comments, but they were never communicated to Peterson.

Cartwright said the statements in question "were not direct threats but more in line with improper venting."

Cartwright said Qualls had "an otherwise unblemished 24-year record," including working to gain accreditation for the center.

"Dismissal of the employee for the misconduct is not for the good of public service," Cartwright said.

"It is evident that in addition to making inappropriate statements out of frustration, (Qualls) has a flare for the dramatic by her actions of packing her things as if quitting, tossing papers across her desk, walking out of meetings abruptly when angry and dropping a report into the trash can that was rejected by Dr. Peterson as if it was not worth the paper on which it was written."

Rather than being fired, Qualls should be required to go to an employee counseling program and to see a psychologist, the hearing officer said.

The decision, made public Thursday, also referred to a 1999 employee satisfaction survey of eight staff members.

The employees "described the work environment as tense, hostile, with supervision and management system described as one by fear/intimidation/harassment, and with a lot of pressure to meet Medicaid standards and have accreditation," according to the decision.

Employees complained about not being given direction, being singled out in public meetings for criticism and about managers raising their voices and slamming doors.

Although another survey six months later showed that the work environment had improved, personnel problems persisted into 2001, causing a stressful workplace, the decision said.

Previously, Gov. Kenny Guinn recommended that 20 of the 56 beds at the center be shut down and the patients be transferred to private treatment facilities. But Sens. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, and Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, expressed reservations about partially closing the operation.