Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
We have worked with Ken Patterson since he came to Nevada, and have found him to be a man truly concerned with children. He has been charged with the very difficult task of reducing unnecessary costs to the state of Nevada, and its taxpayers, while still meeting the needs of the children in state custody.
Research has shown that children in out-of-home placements do much better in family settings, rather than group homes. The children coming in to the state's custody today have more severe problems than in the past, but we at Foster Care Association of Nevada are working with the state to improve their existing training programs. Regular family foster care is the least restrictive environment, and the most desirable type of placement for most of Nevada's foster children.
Family foster care providers are not paid employees, but are considered by the state to be "volunteers." The "volunteers" have none of the benefits afforded to employees. They have no paid staff, no days off, no paid vacations, and no salary. In fact, according to the USDA guidelines, these "volunteers" are only "reimbursed" for about half of the actual cost of caring for the state's children.
Ken Patterson has been given a nearly impossible job, meeting the needs of Nevada's children, while protecting the pocketbooks of the Nevada's taxpayers. We at the Foster Care Association of Nevada, feel he is doing an outstanding job of both!
Deanne Blazzard
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