Troubled children's advocacy agency back on its feet

July 2, 2006

By MARY AMES

Frontiersman

WASILLA - The doors are open and all programs are up and running at Kids Are People, the nonprofit agency for at-risk youth that went through a rough patch in April.

The agency was short of funds after Rich McGill, executive director, resigned April 20. The Office of Children's Services, citing problems within the agency, withheld grant money and suspended the organization's license. At the time, the board was short several members, the office had to be vacated and some programs were shut down.

&#8220We are all brand new,” said Mary Jo Parks, a KAP board member. &#8220I came on board just as the crisis was coming to a head.”

The offices of Kids Are People moved to Check Street off Knik-Goose Bay Road, and the Dorothy Saxton Shelter closed for 10 days after McGill left.

Parks admitted she was disheartened at first. She had interviewed to be on the board an hour before McGill resigned, she said. The three members on the board then had no idea the depth of the errors, she said.

&#8220Within a week we had seven new board members, and we did problem-solving immediately,” she said.

The board got the OCS to reinstate the agency's license and release funds. Some workers who were laid off were brought back, and other positions were filled by reshuffling job duties, Parks said.

The board hired Shelley Long as the new interim executive director. Long had worked at Mat-Su Recovery as executive director and at Denali Family Services in Anchorage as deputy director, she said.

In the following months, the board discovered the depths of errors that plagued the nonprofit.

When McGill resigned he was given a $25,000 bonus that came from Kids Are People taking out a line of credit and a mortgage on the shelter, she said.

&#8220In six months, he was given a total of $37,000 in bonuses,” she said. &#8220We have hired a lawyer to get in touch with him to try and recoup the money.”

Kids Are People operates the Transitional Living Program, Breathe Free Mat-Su, Abstinence Education and the Juvenile Assessment Center, where youth in crisis can be evaluated for critical needs, Parks said.

&#8220They do amazing work,” Parks said. &#8220Last year they served 400 kids with mental health assessments.”

Kids Are People is important to OCS in several ways, said Richard Nault, social services program officer for OCS.

&#8220They are instrumental in our having to take custody of a child that wouldn't have any other options,” Nault said. &#8220They provide a critical service for kids who are in interim status, waiting for foster care or coming out of treatment or waiting for treatment. They help them adapt from being in that in-between state.”

It was only about a week before OCS reinstated the license and released grant funds to OCS, Nault said.

&#8220It was surprising what happened in that week,” Nault said. &#8220We were concerned, but within a week they had eight people on the board with plans to recruit a ninth.”

The new makeup of the board included two people with experience in running programs, Nault said, and with the chief of police on board, there came the administrative expertise to provide guidance. OCS granted a provisional license until June 24, at which time KAP had to submit more information.

&#8220They did,” Nault said. &#8220We released the shelter license for six months, pending our conditional concerns.”

All the concerns are financial, he said. KAP is still encumbered with some pretty serious debt and is not out of the woods yet.

United Way had to make a decision about providing funding for Kids Are People in April, said Michelle Bosau, executive director. United Way funds a certain number of nights at the shelter, she said.

&#8220We saw enough red flags that we decided to postpone the decision,” Bosau said.

United Way provided a consultant from The Foraker Group to teach the board what had happened and how to prevent it from happening again, she said. Recently, United Way's board decided to approve funding with constraints that Kids Are People provide quarterly reports.

Cheryl Metiva, executive director of the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, stepped into place on the Kids Are People board in April.

&#8220It was an intense couple of months, almost starting from scratch,” Metiva said. &#8220We've already accomplished a lot and will only get stronger.”

Metiva said Long's first day was June 26, and although her contract won't exceed six months, Metiva said Long's experience will keep the KAP boat afloat and allow the board to take some time finding a qualified permanent executive director.

The board has gotten no response from McGill, Metiva said, and it will be up to the state attorney general's office whether any criminal charges are filed against him.

&#8220We have enough on our plates,” she said.

Nault said while the board and the agency still have work to do, if any group could pull it off, this is the one.

&#8220Everything I've ever heard is that the people in Wasilla are strongly supportive of KAP,” he said. &#8220That's evident in pulling the board together, that was a huge effort.”

The community can help the agency by supporting any fund raisers they may have, and not just because of the finances, Nault said.

&#8220It sends a message to the state,” he said. &#8220It's tangible proof people are committed to the facility.”

Contact Mary Ames at

352-2284 or mary.ames@

frontiersman.com.