Tom Morton listens to questions during a May 19 interview at the Clark County Government Center. County commissioners ratified him on Wednesday on a 5-0 vote to take over the Department of Family Services. Photo by Gary Thompson.

Amid criticism from a child welfare advocate, Clark County commissioners on Wednesday ratified the recent appointment of Tom Morton as director of the county's troubled Department of Family Services.

Morton, formerly a consultant credited with helping turn Alabama's child welfare system into a national model, shared with commissioners his detailed plan for mending an agency that county officials and experts agree is plagued with problems.

"He has a big job to do, and we have big expectations of him," Commission Chairman Rory Reid said before the board voted 5-0 to approve the hiring of Morton, who will be paid $130,000 annually.

Children's advocate Glenn Campbell, an independent watchdog who operates the FamilyCourtChronicles.com Web site, blasted commissioners for signing off on County Manager Thom Reilly's selection of Morton without a national search.

Campbell also accused commissioners of trying to squelch criticism of Morton by not allowing citizens an opportunity to comment on him before their vote.

"This thing stinks to high heaven," Campbell told the board during a general comment period at the end of the meeting.

"This is probably the most important issue that has ever come before this board, and we have swept one man into office ... and wiped out any possibility of dissent."

In an interview, Campbell said the commission's choice was inappropriate because the 59-year-old Morton never has managed a public agency.

Reilly dismissed Campbell's criticism. "That he came from the private sector isn't bad," Reilly said in an interview.

He added that Morton spent years as the chief executive of the Child Welfare Institute, a successful consulting firm with numerous employees.

During the meeting, Reilly touted Morton to the commissioners as a national child welfare expert who he believes is the ideal choice for succeeding former director Susan Klein-Rothschild, who resigned suddenly on May 3.

Her decision to step down was made the same week that she learned Reilly was in talks with Morton, who had spent more than a year consulting for the county. It also followed heavy public criticism of Clark County Family Services, which was fueled by an April report that detailed child fatalities and identified problems in how investigations were handled by local responders.

Reilly, who had been courting Morton to play a role in reorganizing local family services since December, immediately offered him the job. Morton's appointment was announced in the same news release informing the public of Klein-Rothschild's departure.

Before Wednesday's vote, Morton presented commissioners with his design for improving the agency, a plan he has dubbed "Safe Futures for Clark County Children and Families."

Morton said he would introduce new training for social workers in the field, rewrite policies for child protective investigations and seek accreditation for the agency from the national Council on Accreditation for Children and Family Services.

Separately, Morton and Reilly told commissioners the pursuit of accreditation will raise standards significantly at the child welfare agency.

"It's an aggressive and bold move," Reilly said. "It will put out some clearly defined benchmarks the county can move forward on."

Lynette Boggs McDonald and Myrna Williams, the only two commissioners facing serious challengers in their current re-election bids, did not attend Wednesday's meeting.