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Troubled youth shelter might reopen in September Despite sex charges, it�s needed sooner, foster advocate says By Jonel Aleccia TALENT � Prompted by a pressing need for crisis care, a Community Works youth shelter closed by sexual abuse charges could reopen in September. But state and local officials maintained that the 16-bed Youth Diagnostic Shelter will open again only if they�re satisfied that kids are safe. "We want to do the right thing, and we want to do the right thing in the right way," said Debbie Rios, regional coordinator for the Oregon Youth Authority. The shelter could be running again in 30 to 60 days, said Rios, one of several regional partners who have met recently to consider the issue. More foster care families needed Closure of the Youth Diagnostic Shelter in Talent has exacerbated an ongoing need for safe, supervised care for troubled teenagers, a state worker said. Foster care families willing to take in adolescents could help fill the void, said Penny Esser, of the state office for Services to Children and Families. "I looked on our board yesterday and children are waiting," Esser said. "There are eight kids, mostly adolescent teens." Sometimes those children wait in Esser�s office while she works the phone, running through the list of 234 Jackson County foster homes, looking for a safe place. Of those homes, only about 80 to 100 are available for general placement; of those, most are usually full. "The shelter situation is difficult because we don�t have enough homes to begin with," Esser said. Teenagers are hardest to place and troubled teenagers � those whose behaviors require therapy, monitoring or other extra attention � are even more difficult. But Esser said she�s had foster parents tell her such children offer great rewards. "There are people that if they have a heart for children and they�re flexible and they understand that these children are reacting to their pain, can see that the challenge is to find out what kind of a child this child is," she said. "You could do just one of those and I would have felt I�d done enough for my life." Potential foster parents must complete a training and certification process, although Esser said it can be completed quickly, if necessary. Foster parents are paid a stipend of more than $400 a month for kids ages 12 and up; children�s medical, dental and mental health costs are also paid. For information, contact Esser at 776-6120, Ext. 264. "The beginning of the school year would be a good goal," she said. That�s not nearly soon enough for Penny Esser, a foster care specialist with the local branch of the state office for Services to Children and Families. Since the shelter closed in April amid allegations of abuse by two supervisors, up to a dozen SCF clients a month have had to be diverted elsewhere. "Thirty to 60 days? That�s a long time," Esser said. "One day is a long time." One recent day, for instance, Esser was on the phone, trying in vain to find a safe place for a 14-year-old girl removed from an abusive home. The child was waiting in Esser�s office. "We couldn�t take her to the shelter, so we actually asked another county if they could house her for a while until we found a family or some treatment for her," Esser said. But the decision to reopen the shelter at 5605 S. Pacific Highway hinges on more than urgent need, said Doug Mares, interim director of SCF. Contractors, which include SCF, the Jackson County Juvenile Department and the OYA, must be certain that safety and supervision procedures have been revamped. "We�d have to make sure that any issues that had been identified had been addressed," Mares said. Two former shelter supervisors face nearly three dozen charges that they sexually displayed and abused eight teenage clients. Desiree Seiver, 22, of Central Point, and Wayne Gatrel, 43, of Medford, remain lodged in the Jackson County Jail on $300,000 bail apiece. Indictments against the pair allege they used 15- and 16-year-old clients in displays of sexual acts and abused them while at the shelter. Specific charges against a third suspect remained cloaked in a sealed indictment. Questions about who would supervise clients and under what conditions would have to be resolved before the shelter reopened, said Bob Grindstaff, county community justice director. Community Works probably would not be excluded from a renewed effort, he said. "They have to be part of it," Grindstaff said. "The budget�s so tight, all the partners have to play." Arnie Green, executive director of Community Works, declined to comment about his agency�s role in reopening the shelter. He has consistently declined to discuss the charges against his staff or conditions at the shelter. OYA officials have not completed a review of the shelter, Rios said. They only recently received copies of a police report summarizing a three-month investigation. Discussions will continue about a specific reopening date, Grindstaff said. "We are committed that we�re not going to open a shelter if the safety of the kids is in question," he added. Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.