Reform challenges await new DFS director

Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | 7:06 a.m.

As the new director of Clark County's Family Services Department takes over, one provider of youth services in Southern Nevada is calling for significant changes to help children before they find themselves in serious trouble.

"We've got to find a way to strengthen families before they disrupt," said Tom Waite, president of Girls and Boys Town of Nevada. "Right now we are seeing kids floating down the river, and we're jumping in to save them.

"Nobody is going upriver to see who is throwing the kids in."

Thomas Morton, recently appointed to head Family Services, has made a favorable initial impression on some area providers of children's services, but Waite doesn't hesitate to say what the new director must bring to the job.

"Whoever comes into the position has to have the authority and ability to make significant changes, not tinker with little stuff," Waite said.

Those changes include the county dedicating significant money and resources to prevention services for at-risk families before trouble arises.

Waite spoke with Morton last week and said he was very encouraged.

In recent years, the number of children in state or county custody has continued to rise. And DFS has been criticized because Child Haven, the county's temporary shelter for abused children, suffers from chronic overcrowding, while facilities such as Girls and Boys Town of Nevada have space.

While DFS officials have said the children in need of placement aren't a good match for the facilities available, some providers suggest more of an effort needs to be made to accommodate these children.

Waite sees Morton's appointment as an opportunity to do just that.

He said privatization of some services, such as those provided by caseworkers subject to county oversight, could make a big difference. Such an agreement could allow fewer caseworkers to supervise more children at a single location.

Morton said he welcomes viable alternatives that could improve the department:

"The purchase of services from private agencies is widely used in other communities. I don't want to take any options off the table."

Waite said he wants more support for referrals that create permanency for children. Some children need a higher level of service not provided in the community, he said, and in order to give these children more stability, he doesn't want referrals changed as soon as a child shows improvement.

While Morton wants children kept in a family setting, he said there are times when a more structured environment is appropriate due to behavioral or other factors.

He said some children have a difficult time adapting to a foster family, especially if there are other children in the household.

Morton said that while there are children who could adjust to a family environment with improved services, there are not enough extended or foster-care family options for them. While DFS can address this problem, he said, it will not happen overnight.

Another tough choice facing DFS involves the placement of siblings: Is it better to separate brothers and sisters in foster care or keep them together in group care?

Eryn Rice, of St. Jude's Ranch in Boulder City, which also takes referrals from the county, hopes the county will continue to see that facility as an option for these children.

"We kind of specialize in taking siblings in because they're able to live in our home environment," Rice said. "If they don't live in the same home as their brothers and sisters, they live right next door and they go to school together."

The facility houses children who are not related as well, but Rice said the family connection the facility can provide for siblings contributes greatly to their success.

Morton recognizes the value of keeping family members together, but he said it can be challenging in the foster care system: "Siblings sometimes come into foster care in large groups, and it is almost impossible to place that many in one foster home."

Foster homes are usually limited to six children at one time and often cannot accommodate that many. In such circumstances, Morton said, facilities such as St. Jude Ranch would be an attractive option.