Casa Pacifica Directors Seek Last $1 Million : Camarillo: Work is about to start on 60-bed facility to house abused or neglected children before they are put in foster care.

As work crews in Camarillo prepare to lay the foundation for Casa Pacifica, an $11-million center for abused children, directors of the project are stepping up efforts to raise the final $1 million needed to pay for it.

The nonprofit children’s aid group has received most of the money for the project through private donations and pledges. Construction will start later this month on the 60-bed center, which will serve as a way station for children in transition between abusive homes and foster care.

The complex, scheduled for completion next summer, is sorely needed, Casa Pacifica officials said.

Between February and June of this year, 151 children were removed from their homes and placed in foster care, for reasons ranging from physical and sexual abuse to severe neglect. On a single weekend last month, police and social service workers removed 19 abused children from their homes.

Officials from Ventura County Child Protective Services said the agency has only 12 foster care beds available for emergencies, although there are additional homes for longer-term stays.

“We’re providing a place for abused and neglected children to get the kind of help they need if they are taken into protective custody,” said Tanya Gonzales, assistant director of development at Casa Pacifica. “Our role is to take some of the burden off the foster families.”

To do that, the facility will have a full slate of social, medical and educational services, Gonzales said.

The center will employ physicians, nurses, teachers, counselors, social workers, office workers, administrators, cooks, janitors and gardeners, officials said. Most of the employees will be contracted through county offices, but some will work directly for Casa Pacifica.

The children will usually stay at the center for less than a month before being placed with a foster family, Gonzales said. While at the center they will be screened so they can be better matched with foster parents.

“Right now we put kids in back-up homes until we can place them with a good family,” said Richard Shaw, a child protective services supervisor. “We have felt for a long time that a service like a Casa Pacifica center would be more beneficial.”

Both Casa Pacifica and county officials said they hoped the center would not become a permanent home for any child. “We don’t want to be an orphanage,” Gonzales said.

Shaw added: “Our ultimate goal is always to return the children to their families. We will continue to provide a great deal of services that ensure the kids will be safe when they’re left at home.

On Friday night, Casa Pacifica held a $100-a-person benefit in Oxnard to raise funds toward the $1 million still needed for construction. The organization is also trying to raise a $2-million endowment to fund the facility’s operation.

Several sports celebrities were scheduled to attend, including basketball Hall of Fame member Elgin Baylor and former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Tom Niedenfuer.

While county government contributed $4 million to the project, Gonzales said Casa Pacifica relied on the private sector for most of its initial support.

Gonzales said that once the center is up and running, Casa Pacifica expects to receive a good portion of its funding from the state, which reimburses families and shelters for foster care.

“We think the state will want to support a program like this,” Gonzales said. “It will be a model for counties everywhere.”