ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : No Later Than the Spring

Orange County has an excellent record of promoting public-private partnerships, and Orangewood Children’s Home in Orange is perhaps the best example. But such endeavors require trust and coordination between private agencies and the county; these are necessary elements for success for partnerships present and future.

Despite its severe budgetary problems, the county should not wait until summer to finance staffing of a nearly completed expansion of Orangewood. A spring compromise is warranted.

The Board of Supervisors today will consider what to do about the need for additional staff at Orangewood, which is completing three new cottages that are expected to add 70 beds to the facility. The expansion will mean that the home can harbor up to 1,000 abused and neglected children a year. Private funding of $3.7 million has been earmarked for the expansion, which also will include four classrooms and an infant care center for substance-addicted children.

But building new facilities is only half the story. Once completed, the county must do its part by providing, as promised, the needed staff. Last week, alarmed at reports that the county budget could face a midyear shortage of $15.5 million to $21.1 million, county officials suggested that the board delay staffing Orangewood’s new facilities until next summer. The first of the cottages is due to open in January.

The Board of Supervisors is right to confront the budgetary crisis early. Indeed, funding for Orangewood is only one of the hard decisions it must face.

Orangewood director William G. Steiner’s suggestion to begin staffing the new cottages in April is a good one. Steiner says that spring proves to be the peak season for child abuse. Opening the cottages in April instead of January would save Orange County about $250,000, but it still would bring the needed facilities on line in time to meet the added demand.

Orangewood provides a vital service that has greatly enhanced Orange County’s capacity to deal with victimized children. It deserves to be dealt with fairly.