County Names Chaffee to Head Child Agency

Robert L. Chaffee was named permanent director of the fledgling Los Angeles County Children’s Services Department on Thursday and said one of his first goals is to cut by 50% the population of MacLaren Children’s Center.

Chaffee, 54, has been interim director since April 11. He took over from the department’s first director, Lola Hobbs, who resigned under fire after six months on the job.

The new director, who will receive an $84,000 yearly salary, was selected over four finalists interviewed in closed-door session by the Board of Supervisors. But sources close to the board said his appointment was never in doubt.

After his appointment, Chaffee said he will try in the next several months to reduce the population of crowded MacLaren Children’s Center by at least half. Currently, the number of abused and neglected children at the El Monte facility, the county’s only emergency shelter for children, averages between 250 and 300 youngsters, Chaffee said.

To accomplish the reduction, Chaffee said he will step up efforts both at the local and state levels to find additional foster care. Foster homes and group homes are becoming increasingly rare because providing care is too costly for foster families, Chaffee said.

A 20-year veteran welfare administrator, Chaffee as interim Children’s Services director sought to stabilize a department that had been rocked by clashes between Hobbs and many on the citizens commission formed to advise it. He also reportedly encountered low employee morale and rising child abuse caseloads.

While some of those problems remain, Chaffee’s supporters said he had worked effectively in the last seven months to galvanize backing for the department from community organizations, and had gone out of his way not to antagonize the Children’s Services Commission.

Hobbs had incurred the wrath of the commissioners by telling them not to make unannounced visits to MacLaren. Chaffee encouraged the practice.

MacLaren has repeatedly been in the news because of allegations that employees there have used drugs and mishandled children.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Ed Edelman, who helped create the department, said Chaffee’s selection will help put “the starting pains behind us and hopefully we can grapple with the problems more expeditiously.”

Called Well-Liked

“Bob has been proven to be an effective administrator and is well-liked by his staff,” Edelman said.

Nancy Daly, Children’s Services Commission chairman, also applauded the appointment, saying: “People trust him. Bob Chaffee is a ‘people’ person and I think he knows how to create a team that will work to do the best possible job for children.”

The department, which handles about 50,000 child abuse cases a year, started operations about a year ago.