Holidays bring more children to Child Haven shelter

Abused and neglected children are once again showing up in greater numbers at the Clark County-run emergency shelter, causing it to surpass its capacity of 70 children.

A total of 97 children were staying at Child Haven on Wednesday, said Clark County spokesman Erik Pappa, noting that officials planned to place five of those children with relatives by the end of the day.

“We are not really concerned about it. It’s something we deal with every holiday season,” Pappa said of the most recent spike of children at the shelter.

Four months ago, Nevada’s child care licensing unit increased Child Haven’s capacity from 56 to 70 after the shelter’s population began to rise in April, when it hit 83.

The average number of children at Child Haven is about 25, county officials said earlier this year.

In the past, such trends have raised federal concerns, such as when the number of residents at Child Haven reached 164 in 2006.

Latisha Brown, state child care licensing manager, didn’t return calls seeking comment late Wednesday.

The shelter sees more children during the holidays because they are a stressful time for families, and domestic violence issues surface, Pappa said. Many families also need assistance this time of the year, and it’s also more difficult to place children in foster homes right before Thanksgiving, he said.

Foster families might already have plans for the holiday and may be more “reluctant to adjust their plans to take them in,” Pappa said.

“It would be great if we could place every kid who comes into our care,” he said.

However, the shelter doesn’t turn children away.

“If we get additional children we have to accommodate them,” Pappa said.

Officials will probably see high numbers through Christmas, he said.

Clark County officials always notify state officials about the increase of children coming into the shelter. The Department of Family Services, which runs the shelter, has the ability to adjust staff levels, Pappa said.

“There’s plenty of space for the kids,” Pappa said. “The main issue is making sure there’s appropriate staff levels to meet the needs of the kids that are in the facility.”

This year, children have also been dropped off at Child Haven by their foster parents with no notice. No prior notice was given for 78 children left at the shelter between January and May, according to Family Services statistics.

Minutes from the group’s June meeting said: “The common denominator is a foster caregiver who becomes overwhelmed from the beginning, perhaps with newer licensed foster caregivers having too many children.”

At the time of the last surge of children in the spring, county officials said the increase was due to foster families going on vacation and needing a place to leave their foster children. An increase in child abuse reporting and investigations, and the need for foster parents also were cited as contributing factors.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.