Report Questions Anew Behavior of Child Center Staff

Surprise visits to MacLaren’s Children’s Center turned up several incidents of improper behavior by employees at the county facility for abused and neglected children, the center’s oversight committee reported Monday.

The incidents, occurring as the center seeks to overcome its reputation as an overcrowded, impersonal warehouse for children, indicated “that the orientation and philosophy has not changed at the facility,” the report said.

Lola J. Hobbs, director of the county Children’s Services Department, said the incidents are under investigation.

In an angry exchange at the Children’s Services Commission’s meeting Monday at the County Hall of Administration, Hobbs responded to the report by formally requesting that commissioners stop conducting surprise visits to the El Monte facility.

Such visits are “disruptive” and create “a great deal of anxiety,” Hobbs said.

Commissioners hurriedly refused Hobbs’ request.

“There’s a big difference between walking through when you don’t know they’re coming and people have not been alerted,” Commissioner Helen Kleinberg said.

Hobbs responded that the unannounced visits were not an issue until one week ago.

“It’s only become an issue since I issued this report,” said Commissioner Sandra Serrano-Sewell, head of the committee overseeing the MacLaren Center, who made three unannounced visits.

Incidents cited in the report included:

- A faculty member at MacLaren broke a child’s arm and MacLaren officials failed to report the incident for more than a week. Serrano-Sewell learned of the incident informally from a fellow commissioner. Hobbs said the incident was “fully investigated” and found to be accidental.

- An 8-year-old child was instructed by staff members to mop the floor with an industrial-size mop and pail “in order to earn points.” The same staff member called another child in the unit “nigger.”

- Infirmary staff members were seen using unsanitary procedures to diaper infants, fed babies “inappropriate food”--potato chips-- and ate in front of the children before the children had been served their meals.

Changes Not Made

The report also said that several specific improvements at MacLaren--which Hobbs said were made weeks ago--actually are nonexistent.

The promised improvements, outlined on Feb. 4, were part of an effort to provide more personal care and treatment for children housed in the facility.

Hobbs announced a wide-ranging list of moves--that as of December, 1984, children were allowed to call parents and friends at least twice a week; as of mid-January, children were allowed to keep clothing, toys and personal possessions they brought to the center, and as of mid-February, parents could visit their children daily.

But Serrano-Sewell said that during her visits to the center neither children nor staff members were aware of the new policies. They were operating under the prior, more restrictive rules, she said.

Hobbs said that commission members had misunderstood her when she said the improvements had been “implemented.”

Decision Made

“When I say the policy has been implemented, I mean the decision has been made, the policy researched,” she said. “That does not mean we have full compliance.”

She added that all MacLaren staff members were informed of the changes in training sessions completed by Feb. 26. But Serrano-Sewell said she visited the facility on March 1 and staff members were still uninformed about the new policy.