Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.
A rape counseling center that allegedly has been operating without a Las Vegas business license and subsequently closed during a city investigation last week was back in business today.
However, the Family and Child Treatment clinic at 1050 S. Rainbow Blvd. will only be allowed to treat victims and family of victims. If the operators of the clinic want to resume treatment of sex offenders they would have to first obtain a special use permit from the City Council, city officials said.
The closure of the facility on Aug. 12 angered the Nevada Coalition Against Sexual Violence, an umbrella group for 160 similar agencies, which says the city is throwing the baby out with the bath water because more than 800 victims and their families are losing valuable counseling as well as the sex offenders.
"Our concern is that FACT is the largest free and low cost provider for sexual violence victims and families in Las Vegas," said Jodi Tyson, director of the coalition.
"The work they do with the offenders is important as well. If the system is going to release offenders back into the community, they need a place to not only go for treatment but also to be held accountable for their whereabouts. If an offender fails to show up for counseling, his parole officer is notified."
City officials say they did not shut down the facility, but rather it closed voluntarily to avoid either an order from the Business Licensing Department to cease operations or a citation that carries a maximum $1,000 fine.
Vicki Graff, executive director of FACT, said the enforcement notice made it clear that if she didn't shut down, the city would shut her down. And, she said, she thought she had a valid license to treat not only the victims but also the 150 to 180 sex offenders who come to the clinic annually for counseling.
"We submitted a change of address notice and the city cashed our $30 check for the fee," said Graff, whose organization has been treating both victims and sex offenders for 14 years locally. "If there was something wrong with the application, I would think they wouldn't have taken our money."
City officials confirmed that the agency that operated on West Charleston Boulevard before its move to Rainbow Boulevard this summer had applied for a change of location for an existing license and put on its application that it was providing "family counseling."
City officials said that application had not been approved, meaning that the clinic was operating without a license at the new location. The city said the organization omitted an important fact -- its treatment of sex offenders -- a service that requires an agency to jump through a number of hurdles to get approved for a special use permit.
A special use permit, however, is not required for counseling victims.
Graff said her organization plans to appeal the need for a special use permit, saying that the city should have classified her operation as an outpatient mental health clinic, which does not require a special use permit.
The Planning Department instead has classified the business as a social service agency, which does require it to have a special use permit to treat sex offenders.
Jim DiFiore, business services manager for the city, said omitting information on an application is as serious a matter as giving false information.
"The city has grounds to deny a license for false or misleading representation on an application," DiFiore said. "The city Planning Department is addressing what will be allowed under the type of license for which they applied."
The City Council has an obligation to determine if a location is appropriate for gatherings of convicted sex offenders.
DiFiore said it generally takes two months to go through the special use permitting process, which requires appearances before the Las Vegas Planning Commission and the Las Vegas City Council. At both hearings, neighboring businesses and residents are notified and can speak for or against the project.
Graff said city officials have told her that the earliest date they would get to go before the council for a special use permit is Nov. 5.
Residents of a neighborhood near the highly commercial area where FACT was operating brought the matter to the attention of Councilwoman Janet Moncrief at one of her town hall meetings two weeks ago, city officials said.
Moncrief in turn handed the matter -- including documentation she was given -- over to Business Licensing. The documents included a flier supposedly from FACT describing the services it offers, including treatment of sex offenders.
Graff said FACT does not counsel sex offenders deemed as major threats to society but rather those who are convicted of statutory sexual seduction, which is a nonforced illegal act between an adult and a person under age 16 who has no legal right to consent.
"We treat Tier 1 offenders (the least dangerous, as deemed by the courts) and a handful of Tier 2 offenders who have extenuating circumstances," Graff said. "We do not treat Tier 3 offenders."
Also, sex offenders and victims enter through separate doors and wait in separate waiting rooms, Graff said.
archive
