Nationally respected child welfare expert Thomas D. Morton was named today as the new director of the county’s Family Services Department.

Morton, the founder of the Atlanta-based Child Welfare Institute, will assume the post in July, County Manager Thom Reilly announced. Until then, Assistant Director Nancy McLane, who has been with the county since 1982, will serve as acting director with the help of long-time, former county juvenile justice and child welfare executive Adrienne Cox.

Morton’s appointment follows the resignation of Susan Klein-Rothschild from the position, effective today.

“Tom Morton is a nationally respected expert in child welfare issues who will make sure that we have effective systems in place to protect Clark County ’s children,” Reilly said. “He played key roles in reforming the child welfare systems in Illinois and Alabama , two of the most successful child welfare reform efforts of the past decade.”

Since 1984, Morton has been the founder, president and chief executive officer of the Child Welfare Institute, a non-profit educational organization that provides training and development services to public and private child welfare agencies. He also has served as co-director of the National Resource Center on Child Maltreatment and director of the National Resource Center on Foster and Residential Care.

Morton has directed the development of more than 1,000 hours of training curricula now in use by child welfare agencies across the globe. He personally authored more than 200 hours of training curricula used by agencies nationwide and has been a consultant to the Russian and Israeli governments on the development of foster care and child protective systems. Additionally, Morton has authored several practice guides on child safety and consulted with several states on the redesign of safety and case decision-making practices. He also has served as an expert witness or reviewer in high-profile child fatality cases.

“This community is extremely fortunate to have someone of his caliber taking the lead in improving our child welfare safety net,” Reilly said. Morton’s appointment comes at a critical juncture for the Family Services Department. A review of 79 child deaths in Clark County from 2001 to 2004 presented to an independent panel of child welfare experts on April 20 was critical of the state child welfare system under which Clark County operates.

“Although we have made great strides in improving services since the period that the report covers, clearly more needs to be done,” Reilly said.  “These shifts in management will allow us to focus on state-of-the-art quality assurance improvements along with improvements in performance and the child welfare system generally.”

Reilly said he was disappointed that Klein-Rothschild, director since January 2002, chose to resign immediately, saying that he had hoped that she would remain in a transitionary role.

Reilly praised Klein-Rothschild for her work with the department, especially for the absorption of foster care, adoption and related services from the state of Nevada , completed in October 2004. That move was designed to improve services for those children and their families by eliminating duplication, minimizing delays, initiating services earlier and building safe and healthy families.

“Susan deserves a lot of credit for ensuring that the transition was smooth and for improving our foster care and adoption programs at a time of incredible growth in the number of kids coming into our system,” Reilly said.

In February, the county had contracted with Child Welfare Associates, based in Wheaton , Ill. , to assist department management with developing an updated strategic framework focused on state-of-the-art quality assurance, supervisory oversight, staff training and safety and permanency outcomes for children and families.

Project consultant Jess McDonald and his team already had been working with staff and they are expected to continue doing that with Morton and staff in the coming months, Reilly said. Their recommendations included adding management staff, establishing a “quality assurance/quality improvement unit” and developing a child welfare management training program. Prior to joining Child Welfare Associates, McDonald was the director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) from 1994 to 2003.  During his tenure, the department became regarded as a model for large child welfare system reform. 

Klein-Rothschild’s sudden departure prompted Reilly to tap Cox to help with the transition until Morton arrives in July. Cox began her career with Clark County in August 1973 and retired in July 2004 as assistant director of the Juvenile Justice Services department. Before that, she was the assistant director of Family and Youth Services, until the department split, creating the Family Services and Juvenile Justice Services departments in July 2002. Cox was the assistant director of Family and Youth Services from 1995 to 2002 and the administrator of Juvenile Court from December 1990 to June 1995, Prior to that, she was a child protective services supervisor.

Morton’s resume is an impressive one. Before starting the Child Welfare Institute, he was director and senior specialist for the Child Welfare Program Development, National Child Welfare Leadership Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1982 to 1984. From 1978 to 1982 he was administrator for the Office of Continuing Social Work Education and was a lecturer for the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia . Morton also worked at the University of Tennessee and the University of Michigan in various capacities and served as a case worker for Washtenaw County Juvenile Court in Ann Arbor , Mich. , from 1970 to 1971. Morton achieved candidacy in the public administration doctoral program at the University of Georgia with a specialization in organization development. He has a master’s degree in social work and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan .

Family Services has seen tremendous changes in recent years. Since 2001, the county has added 85 news positions. To address increased caseloads, the County Commission funded 16 new investigator positions, nine new in-home positions and 19 new Child Haven positions in fiscal years 2005 and 2006.  In fiscal year 2006, the state also provided funding for an additional seven foster care and six licensing positions.

The number of licensed foster homes and inquiries from prospective foster parents has increased since the county initiated recruitment campaigns in May 2005 and January 2006. As a result, the department received 631 inquiries from prospective foster parents in May following the recruitment campaign launch, compared to an average of 150 inquiries per month prior to the launch. Following the January effort, inquiries totaled 1,300 in February, compared to an average of 300 inquiries per month.  More than 200 new foster home licenses have been issued since the start of the campaign, an average of about 25 per month. Foster and adoptive parent training classes have been expanded and the approval process has been expedited without minimizing any measures necessary to assure the safety of foster homes.

The increased number of foster homes generated by the campaigns has resulted in a significant increase in special needs adoptions.  Special needs adoptions increased 44 percent from fiscal years 2004 to 2005. The availability of shelter beds at community agencies has increased, as well, including recent expansions at WestCare, Boys Town and St. Jude’s.  Of particular note is St. Jude’s willingness to lease vacant cottages to the County.

The county will staff the cottages pending the hiring and training of St. Jude’s staff, expanding its ability to prepare for anticipated increases in children needing shelter placements, which occurs every spring. Thanks to generous donations, a Child Haven cottage is being renovated and expanded to accommodate the growing need for space on the campus.

The county initiated a “request for proposals” for voluntary services to families with young, at-risk children. The board approved the contract on April 18. The project will include in-home services and support to families with children under the age of five through a collaboration of providers building a “safety net” for families at risk for child abuse and neglect.  The project seeks to improve outcomes for families, agencies and the community by increasing access to services and support, reducing duplication and increasing the capacity of providers to serve at-risk families.

In May 2005, the county contracted with the Child Welfare Institute to review 11 child fatalities related to open Child Protective Services cases. The Institute was asked to provide systemic recommendations to diminish the risk of future child fatalities. The review did not find the department negligent in any of the child deaths.  But the Institute made recommendations aimed at improving performance, reducing staff vulnerability to civil or criminal actions resulting from their decisions or performance, improving public confidence, and – most importantly – enhancing child safety.  Steps have been undertaken to implement these recommendations.

Additionally, the state Division of Child and Family Services initiated a review of all fatalities in Nevada from 2001 through 2004.  As a result, concerns were raised about the interagency sharing of information and child fatality findings.  On May 16, the County Commission will receive a report from Terry Covington, chairperson of the Independent Child Death Review Panel for Clark County and director of the National Center for Child Death Review in Michigan , on the panel’s findings and recommendations.

The Family Services department is focused on the safety of the county's children.  With a staff of more than 470, it provides numerous services. For instance, Child Protective Services investigates reports of alleged child abuse and neglect – more than 9,700 investigations last year alone.  Many of those reports come into the county’s Child Abuse Hotline, operated around the clock by specially trained staff. In fact three staff members were recently added and two more are being added after July 1, bringing the total to 24. Phone technology also will be upgraded. The department further operates Child Haven – where youngsters removed from parental custody find a safe place to stay – and oversees foster homes for children.  In 2005, nearly 5,800 children required shelter placement. The department also works on finding adoptive families for eligible children.