A Big 1st Step for Casa Pacifica

There were no cheers or high fives last week when the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to give embattled Casa Pacifica more time and money to solve its considerable problems.

The mood was more like stern parents telling a kid with a lousy report card that no, he isn’t going to be thrown out in the street, but yes, he is going to do better--and fast--and with Mom and Dad checking his homework every night and talking with his teachers every week.

The Camarillo shelter for abused and neglected children has been under the magnifying glass of investigations for much of the past year.

In May, the state Department of Social Services recommended that Casa Pacifica’s license be revoked, citing supervision and disciplinary violations. A grand jury report concluded that the facility is hindered by funding and supervision problems.

A two-month study by a children’s services work group produced a report listing 31 recommendations for improving the operation. Promising closer supervision, the board approved both the work group’s report and a one-year contract after hearing passionate pleas both pro and con from more than a dozen people.

There was no sense of completion as work group co-chair Randy Feltman weathered yet another interrogation by Supervisor Frank Schillo, who has persistently asked tough questions in the effort to sort out basic issues of finances and responsibility.

But it was Schillo, holding up a rag doll, who spoke for the board and all Ventura County residents when he emphasized that the bottom line at Casa Pacifica is care of children who need it.

“Village” cliche notwithstanding, what is needed to raise these children is vigilance. They need a safe, caring, efficiently run and financially responsible refuge from troubles no kid should have to endure.

Last week’s step was only the first. But it is a step on the right road, at last.