Youth Shelter ‘Back on Track’

Ventura County’s emergency shelter for abused and abandoned children, once the object of intense state scrutiny and on probation until last fall, has revamped its programs--and reclaimed its reputation.

The state Department of Social Services now touts Casa Pacifica as a training site. A New York agency awarded it national accreditation after determining that it conducts operations safely and manages funds wisely. In Santa Barbara County, whose children are also served by the center, the grand jury wrote in a recent report that it was “very impressed with Casa Pacifica.”

But living up its mission as a safeguard for foster children and teens has been a long and tumultuous process for Casa Pacifica.

The Camarillo center received fierce criticism four years ago after several well-publicized incidents, such as cases in which a 9-year-old boy sexually assaulted a toddler, a staff member accidentally broke a boy’s jaw and another boy was hit by a car while trying to flee the center.

The sexual assault prompted the state to investigate the facility and recommend that its license be revoked. Casa Pacifica was placed on probation for three years and was required to make significant changes, such as improving staff training and segregating boys and girls. The Ventura County Grand Jury also examined the shelter, called it a “recipe for disaster,” and issued a host of sweeping recommendations.

“We were under siege,” said Casa Pacifica Director Steve Elson. “Every mistake we made was out there for the public to scrutinize. It took a lot of effort on the part of the board to get us all back on track.”

From the center’s 1994 opening to 1997, the state Department of Social Services issued 63 citations against it. Many were for unqualified staff and inadequate supervision following such incidents as a suicide attempt and a sexual act between youths.

Since then, there have been only four citations--two regarding children’s treatment and two regarding building cleanliness, said Myron Taylor, a licensing program supervisor at the department.

“Over the years, we’ve come a very long way,” said Stephanie Almstrom, 30, a project manager who has worked at Casa Pacifica since it opened. “We went through growing pains. We learned from them and moved on.”

Even though the center has regained state and county support, it still has occasional problems. Earlier this year, Casa Pacifica mistakenly overbilled the county by several hundred thousand dollars. The sum should have been billed to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties for services to their youths.

In addition, after a recent audit of Casa Pacifica, the county recommended that the center improve its record keeping and receive an independent audit to ensure that its cost reports are accurate and meet Medi-Cal requirements.

Camp-Like Setting for Youth Center

Nestled at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains, Casa Pacifica sits on a 23-acre campus with a swimming pool, playgrounds and ranch-style cottages. While at the center, youths receive medical and psychological services, attend classes on site and participate in after-school sports and activities.

There are two distinct programs at the nonprofit facility, which has an annual budget of about $9 million and relies on private donors, state and federal funds and county contributions.

A 35-bed emergency shelter serves children up to age 17 who are removed by court order from their homes because of abuse. The average stay is about two months. A 28-bed residential treatment program houses teens ages 11 to 17 who have exhausted the resources of foster care and group-home settings and require a more restrictive environment. The average stay there is about 18 months.

The challenges for Casa Pacifica’s staff are considerable. The children are often emotionally disturbed after years of sexual or physical abuse. They may have lived in several foster homes, and some suffer from mental illness, depression or eating disorders.

Almstrom said the early years were extremely frustrating because few county and state officials recognized how difficult it was to handle children who ended up at Casa Pacifica.

“The boys we were getting were really destructive,” said Almstrom, who worked as a cottage supervisor at the time. “With the resources we had, it was really tough to deal with the kids. Staff members were getting hurt.”

Staff members are better trained now, she said, but the children are still tough. Recently, a 15-year-old upset about his parents tore through a cottage, threw a skateboard through the wall and ruined two couches.

“People think that all they need is a hug,” she said. “They need more than a hug. They need structure and discipline. Some kids have lacked that their whole lives.”

Despite attempts to prevent outbursts and fights, Casa Pacifica staff members often have to physically restrain children so they won’t hurt themselves or others. Five years ago, there were on average about two situations every day that required physical intervention. Now, thanks to additional training in how to defuse volatile children, there are an average of two a week.

Casa Pacifica is also hindered because it cannot lock its doors and cannot prevent children from leaving the facility. As a result, there are two or three runaways each month. With the help of local police, though, those teens often end up back at the center within a few hours.

“We really see our niche as the kids that most everybody else doesn’t want to treat,” Elson said. “These kids are very high risk. Incidents are inevitable. Our task is to be proactive and to intervene.”

Concrete Steps Toward Improvement

The problems of 1996 and 1997 prompted Casa Pacifica to make several changes, including:

*The center now separates the children by age and sex into different cottages. Children under 6 are housed and schooled in a separate area.

*Staff members receive more extensive training on when and how to restrain children, with an emphasis on prevention. They also attend three weeks of classroom instruction before working with children.

*The number of staff was expanded to 180, with a ratio of youths to adults of 2 to 1 during the day and 6 to 1 overnight.

*Casa Pacifica can now refuse to accept or keep children whose medical or psychological needs are too great.

State licensing officials say Casa Pacifica made it through probation successfully and now is considered a leader in the industry.

“They recognized what they needed to do to turn their operation around,” said Taylor, the licensing program supervisor. “They went through a complete overhaul.”

The center has also repaired strained relations with the county. Barbara Fitzgerald, head of the county’s Social Services Department, said one of the most positive changes has been the opening of on-site offices for county employees. “It gives them the opportunity to talk on a daily basis and to make sure that services are being provided,” she said.

Now that Casa Pacifica is off probation, board and staff members are concentrating on expanding bed space, implementing new programs and improving services for 18-year-olds who graduate from the foster care system.

Both the shelter and the residential treatment center are full and have waiting lists, partly due to the shortage of foster and group homes. Last year, Casa Pacifica had to turn away 150 children from the shelter. And for every teen admitted into the residential program, nine others have to be placed at other centers--sometimes out of the county.

Casa Pacifica has applied to add 10 beds to the shelter and is considering building additional cottages at the residential treatment center in coming years.

Santa Barbara County is also looking toward Casa Pacifica for help in developing a similar crisis and treatment center.

In addition, Casa Pacifica has started community programs to help children avoid having to come to the center in the first place. The Supportive and Therapeutic Options Program, for example, provides after-school and in-home services for troubled children and their families.

The next step, board members say, is to help legally emancipated 18-year-olds make the transition to adulthood after they leave Casa Pacifica. Officials have begun pairing the older teens with mentors and are considering offering transitional housing at the center.

Lucia was 5 years old when she was taken from an abusive family and placed in the foster care system. She lived in 10 foster homes in as many years before coming to Casa Pacifica when she was 15.

Now 18, Lucia is preparing to leave. Though she has a job at Target and plans to go to college to prepare for a career as a social worker, she is worried about being on her own. “I’ve been here for a long time,” said Lucia, who has carefully drawn eyebrows and chipped silver nail polish. “I’m scared to leave Casa.”

Tim Wolfe, board member and past president, said the past few years have been a struggle for Casa Pacifica. But the center has overcome its difficulties and is looking toward the future, he said.

“We always expected to be somewhat of a model,” he said. “The way we got there was not what we intended, but the adversity made us a much stronger organization.”