By Brooke Adams

The Salt Lake Tribune

August 24, 2010
As the newly appointed director of the Division of Child and Family Services, Brent Platt is still in the dream-big phase, the period when “hope to” hasn’t been squashed by fiscal realities, staff shortages and an endless stream of children from troubled families.

Platt’s dream plan has two parts: First, get services to families before DCFS has to get involved, and second, set up services and supports for struggling families in their own neighborhoods, delivered by people they already know and trust.

“It’s a community village approach,” he said.

Platt took over the state’s top child welfare post in April. The 18-year veteran began in corrections before moving to child welfare as a case worker, then associate regional director and finally western region director — overseeing Summit, Wasatch, Juab, Millard and Utah counties — before being selected as director.

He takes over at what can be viewed as both the best and worst of times for DCFS. The state’s child welfare system is finally out from under federal oversight but the economic downturn has placed it under significant pressure.

DCFS is down 111 full-time employees because of budget trims, but case counts are steady.

There are currently 2,800 children in state care — and more of them have greater needs and are spending longer periods in foster care. At the same time, state support for foster parents has rolled back to 2007 rates — $14 a day for a child who does not have special needs.

“These are folks who are providing services to these incredibly vulnerable kids — they are hurt, they are traumatized, they have all these issues — and they do a lot of shuttling and care on a dime,” he said.

While the ultimate goal is to keep families together, Platt also understands the pressing needs of foster parents, said Jennifer Gardner, president of the Utah Foster Adoptive Families Association.

When children have to be removed “his whole goal is to make sure those kids get their needs met in the best way possible,” Gardner said. “I’ve been very impressed. He seems to be very willing to listen to other people’s ideas, to talk it out, make decisions and act.”

Gardner said she has spoken to Platt about qualifying children in foster care for food stamps and subsidized day care and putting together a foster family “Bill of Rights” to ensure caseworkers and parents understand rights and expectations.

Of the children in foster care in fiscal 2009, about 22 percent were with kin while 32 percent were with unrelated families. Platt would like to see those numbers swapped.

“We need to do a better job of looking at relatives, how we can invite relatives to be part of this process,” he said.

Platt also wants DCFS to better partner with schools. When a child is removed from a home, teachers and school staff often remain the only constant, stable relationship in his or her life, he notes.

But he also sees schools as a convenient nexus for bringing together programs that may help keep families from ever getting involved with DCFS, an approach he helped facilitate in Utah County as western regional director.

“He brokered us getting in touch with people in the school system and other volunteers so we could train their staff in the Strengthening Families Program,” said Henry Whiteside, managing partner of the Salt Lake City-based program.

The program provides life-skills training for parents and children that has been shown to reduce problem behaviors and improve effective parenting.

“It was above and beyond anything his job would have required him to do. We’re lucky to have him in the new position with DCFS,” Whiteside said.

The program, now in its third year, operates on two tracks in Orem: One for families already involved in the court system, which DCFS oversees, and the other offered as a voluntary, school-based early intervention program run by what’s known as the “Community of Friends.”

DCFS participates with that group, which includes the PTA, Brigham Young University, Utah Valley University, the University of Utah, Wasatch Mental Health and Orem City. Among the collaborative efforts: At-risk families are offered passes to the city’s recreation facility as an incentive to complete parenting programs.

Grant Richards, a behavioral science professor at UVU involved in the Utah County project, said that of all the government leaders he has worked with, Platt is “the easiest there has ever been. He doesn’t care who gets credit. It is more on working with these individuals and families. He’s a very down-to-earth kind of guy.”

The “Community of Friends” program is now being expanded to Pleasant Grove, Platt said.

“It’s sort of a grass-roots effort that has taken off,” he said. “Those are the things we need to see happening across the state. What we can’t do is expect people to solve problems if there aren’t resources” for them to draw on.

“Utah has a great child welfare system,” he said. “We’re definitely top tier. But we still need to do more to involve the community.”

brooke@sltrib.com