Resignation of Family Services chief a reminder of the needs that remain

Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Thomas Morton, head of Clark County’s Family Services Department, is stepping down after a five-year tenure in a difficult job.

Morton took over a department marked by overcrowding at the county’s shelter, Child Haven, and a rash of child deaths in the foster care system. The department was also facing a major lawsuit over its handling of child welfare cases.

In the time since, the county has seen improvements, as the Las Vegas Sun’s Joe Schoenmann reported Monday. The number of children who are admitted into Child Haven has been drastically reduced. There were 2,918 admissions in 2006, and the number fell to 201 last year. The county has increased the number of foster homes — there are now 1,200 licensed foster homes, an increase of 75 percent from five years ago. The county has also seen an increase in adoptions.

Those are all good numbers and solid achievements. But, as Schoenmann reported, Morton has his critics who have complained about his

leadership and his management style. Yet Rory Reid, who was the chairman of the County Commission when Morton was hired, praised Morton’s work.

“He came when Child Haven was bursting at the seams, and kids were sleeping on cots in the gym,” Reid said. “Of course, he had his critics — you always have them when there’s a transition. But from everything I could tell, he was a professional with extensive knowledge and experience who improved the system and made the lives of troubled children better.”

There is no doubt that Morton made a difference in what is a tough job. But that doesn’t mean that his tenure was easy. Morton, like others before him, faced tight budgets and large caseloads, and the department saw its share of complaints over the past few years. That is not a surprise. Providing child welfare and protective services is difficult in the best of circumstances, and Nevada hasn’t had the best of circumstances. The state has struggled for years to provide an adequate level of support for child welfare programs, and when he came in, Morton was essentially tasked with trying to dig out of a hole.

The nation’s economic woes haven’t helped. There have been budget cuts for services that help families facing the stress of layoffs and home foreclosures. That is troubling considering that studies have linked economic downturns to child abuse and neglect.

As The New York Times’ Charles Blow recently noted, the economy hasn’t been good for children in recent years. According to a report by the Children’s Defense Fund, the number of children living in poverty increased 28 percent from 2000 to 2009, going up by 4 million children. About 1 in 5 children live in poverty, and in 2009, there were on average 15.6 million children a month receiving food stamps — an increase of 65 percent from a decade before.

Those are terrible statistics, and the nation can certainly do better. In Nevada, state and county officials should find ways to support Morton’s successor and adequately fund children’s services.