The Arizona Republic
August 9, 1998
|
Court upholds funds freeze at Boys Ranch
By The Associated Press
QUEEN CREEK, Ariz. -- While Arizona Boys Ranch picked a blue-ribbon panel to evaluate its programs and allegations of abuse, a California court upheld a California agency's freeze on funding for juveniles assigned there. San Mateo County, Calif., recently had won a temporary order restraining the California Department of Social Services refusal to pay the 40 percent share of the cost of sending juvenile delinquents to the Arizona rehabilitation center that it had been paying But on Friday, after hearing arguments on the issue, a San Mateo Superior Court judge determined the agency has the authority to discontinue the funding. The California agency had California counties free to continue using the ranch if they were willing to pay the full cost of about $3,600 per youth. Sidonie Squier, a spokesman for the agency, said officials had thought all along they had both the moral and legal grounds for the decision "and now we know we do." "We feel we made an effort to do something right for the children and it feels good," Squier said Friday. The freeze stemmed from the department's investigation of the March 2 death of Nicholaus Contreraz, 16, of Sacramento, who collapsed while being forced to do remedial exercise while afflicted by a massive undetected lung infection. California's Social Services Department said its investigators found abuse and declared the operation unsafe. Arizona has received about 110 reports of abuse at Boys Ranch since 1994. Some resulted in findings that abuse occurred, 23 are pending, and the operation was cleared in some others. Some weren't investigated or resulted in no determination. About half of the 500 youths once assigned to Boys Ranch came from California. Enrollment dropped to about 400 after the Contreraz death, resulting in layoffs, retrenchment and pledges to improve training, medical procedures and independent oversight. On Friday, only a few weeks before a temporary license extension expires, Boys Ranch selected a committee of high-profile Phoenix politicians and community leaders to evaluation its operation. The 14-member panel is headed by former Phoenix Police Chief Dennis Garrett and includes three conservative Republican former lawmakers -- Speaker of the House Mark Killian, who has backed the organization; Sen. Larry Chesley, and Sen. Stan Barnes, now a Mesa lobbyist. Ranch officials picked unbiased panelists to help assure that any problems at the facility do not recur, said spokeswoman Casandra McCray. "Basically, we want them to take a look at Boys Ranch from an outside perspective to find out if anything needs fixing," she said. The group is expected to release its recommendations in four months. Barnes, an avowed Boys Ranch backer, said Friday that "it's been a great program for California kids, who with little investigation, will talk your ear off as to how it changed their lives." Another member, Sen. Sandra Kennedy, a Phoenix Democrat, said that although she has heard both good and bad things about the ranch, "I really would hate to see Boys Ranch go away. Our juvenile facilities are overcrowded now. "I know those are some serious incidents -- but they want to make sure they continue on the right track and that their facility stays open, so they are looking for unbiased people to tell them what they can do," she said. Sally Ordini, a spokeswoman for the Arizona Department of Economic Services which licenses Boys Ranch, noted there are no juvenile justice experts in the group and said she hopes the committee seeks input from experts in the areas of child welfare and rehabilitation. "We're glad that they seem to be open to taking a good look at themselves. It's too bad they waited until a tragedy occurred to have this kind of oversight and review," she said. |
|
Court upholds funding freeze
RadViews