Overcrowding Cripples O.C. Children’s Shelter

Living quarters are so cramped at Orange County’s only emergency shelter for abused children that toddlers sleep in the foyer of a gym, health workers struggle to control contagious diseases, and social workers are hard-pressed to meet the needs of the increasingly troubled children they serve.

That is the sobering picture county officials presented Tuesday of the Orangewood Children’s Home, a facility designed to hold a maximum of 236 abandoned, abused or neglected children. On Tuesday, it housed 289. And one day last month, the population hit an all-time high of 321.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors held a special session Tuesday to discuss overcrowding both at Orangewood and the nearby Orange County Juvenile Hall, both located on The City Drive in Orange.

The overcrowded conditions have officials scrambling to find space, even converting a conference room at Orangewood into a temporary, makeshift bedroom on particularly heavy days.

“We have to move things around and do whatever it takes to help the kids,” said Judy Tanasse, deputy director of the Social Services Agency. “We can’t turn away kids.”

Supervisors expressed concern about the escalating problem but said the county’s bankruptcy-battered budget lacks the money for the kind of expensive building projects that might immediately reduce the crowding.

So the Social Services Agency is focusing on smaller, incremental improvements such as a modest renovation of Orangewood, renewed efforts to recruit more foster parents and increased preventive programs aimed at troubled families.

Larry Leaman, director of the Social Services Agency, expressed hope that the measures will eventually ease the overcrowding, which he described as an “unacceptable risk to the children and the staff of Orangewood and [a] potential liability for Orange County.”

Other social services workers agreed, saying the children they serve today have far more severe and complex problems than those admitted to the institution a decade ago. Some bear the emotional and physical scars of abuse, and some can become abusive and violent.

“These are kids who have experienced many losses, rejections, disappointments and hurts,” Tanasse said. “We have many who really need one-on-one care for their own safety. But at our staffing level, that is difficult.”

Five of Orangewood’s seven housing cottages were filled beyond their limits on Tuesday. The toddlers’ cottage was designed for 22 but housed 27. Another 10 toddlers slept in the foyer of the gym.

The space crunch is exacerbated by the fact that more children are staying at Orangewood longer. Officials attribute the change to a more troubled population and to an increase in the number of siblings, who are harder to place in foster care.

The county has been grappling with the overcrowding problem for years. Since 1986, the average daily population has jumped from 166 children to 236 last year. An effort begun in 1994 to reduce overcrowding by recruiting more foster parents was postponed when the county declared bankruptcy that December.

Despite the obstacles, Tanasse said, the Orangewood staff tries to give the children the time and attention they need. But she admitted that the overcrowding presents unavoidable problems.

“Take something like chickenpox,” she said. “It’s a normal childhood disease. But it’s very difficult to control in that kind of an environment . . . with this many children.”

Child advocates agreed that improvements at Orangewood are critical.

“The children deserve better than what we are able to provide them with,” said Gene Howard, head of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation, a private fund-raising group.

“The staff is working extremely hard and doing an extremely good job,” Howard added. “But it’s very difficult to provide appropriate care when you have this kind of crowding.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman William G. Steiner said the solution to the space crunch lies not only in more facilities but in recruiting more foster parents, improving child-abuse prevention programs and encouraging the private sector to build more group homes.

“We cannot simply build our way out of this,” Steiner said. “It’s going to take a multitiered approach.”

The board may reexamine the overcrowding issue this summer if social services officials seek additional funding or employees for Orangewood.

The Social Services Agency is now looking into the possibility of using some family housing at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station temporarily for emergency shelter. In the longer term, the agency wants to build a satellite shelter at the Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station and a second children’s shelter at El Toro, which is scheduled to close by 1999. But the county still lacks the money to build and operate those two facilities, Leaman said.

The Orangewood site is too small to accommodate additional living quarters, officials said. But the agency is working with the Orangewood Children’s Foundation on a renovation plan that might be entirely financed by the private sector. The renovation would not add beds but would make better use of the available space and provide more room for children and staff members.

Cindy Stokke, head of the Orange County Juvenile Justice Commission, said last week that it’s in the community’s best interests to improve Orangewood, noting that without help and support, abused and neglected children sometimes turn to crime in their teens.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Packing Them In

Orangewood’s population exploded in 1994 and has remained high, reaching its peak of 321 last month. Average daily population:

1986: 166

1987: 172

1988: 185

1989: 196

1990: 173

1991: 158

1992: 196

1993: 207

1994: 243

1995: 231

1996: 236

Sources: Orange County Social Services Agency, Board of Supervisors

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Extended Stay

One factor aggravating overcrowding at Orangewood is the length of stay, which has increased by about one-third in a decade. Average visit, in days:

1986: 23

1987: 24

1988: 25

1989: 27

1990: 28

1991: 26

1992: 27

1993: 30

1994: 29

1995: 30

1996: 31

****

Crowds All Around

Each Orangewood section has 22 beds. On Tuesday, for example, the population outnumbered bed availability in most sections:

Section: Population

Toddlers: 37*

Preschoolers: 36

Pre-teens: 28

Junior girls: 35

Junior boys: 27

Adolescent girls: 20

Adolescent boys: 20

* 27 housed in section, 10 others in gym foyer

Sources: Orange County Social Services Agency, Board of Supervisors chairman’s office