Social Service agency gets interim director

Longtime Clark County employee Nancy McLane has been named interim director of the county's Social Service Department following the sudden resignation of Patricia Pate after 18 months on the job.

Pate stepped down on Thursday.

Assistant County Manager Darryl Martin said Pate's departure was a personnel matter and would not elaborate on her reason for leaving.

Pate was hired in December 2005 to replace Martin after he was promoted to his current post. She was selected from a crop of nearly 100 applicants from across the nation. She previously worked as director of the Department of County Human Services in Multnomah County, Ore., and as executive director of Oregon's largest private non-profit agency.

McLane is a 25-year employee of the county who served as assistant director of Social Service from July 2000 through August 2005.

This is McLane's second stint as the department's acting director. She previously held that post during a transitional period from August 2005 through December of that year.

Clark County's Social Service Department provides a variety of services to needy individuals who can't find help from federal, state or local programs. The department's primary mandate is to provide medical, financial and protective services to senior citizens.