Child Haven shelter acquires state license
Clark County's emergency shelter for abused and neglected children has earned its first license from the state.
Making Child Haven a state-licensed facility was mandated by legislators in 2007. The requirement was put in place after the Clark County shelter struggled with severe crowding that stranded infants in hospital nurseries and left children sleeping on cots at the facility's gym. In June 2006, Child Haven's population was 230. Under its newly granted state license, the population at Child Haven is capped at 96. The shelter now has 33 children in residence.
Tom Morton, director of Clark County Family Services, informed state and federal legislators at the end of 2007 that Child Haven was well on its way to complying with licensing requirements. His staff made the recruitment of new foster families a priority last year to have the capacity to reduce the population at the shelter.
Family Services also is expediting the background checks on eligible family members willing to take foster children into care and working with police to lower the rate of children taken into protective custody when appropriate.
The licensing process is an additional layer of accountability for the shelter, opening it to state review of programs, record keeping and compliance with safety standards.
