Beth Beck, former chairwoman of the Davis County Board of Health, which led the campaign to fluoridate water there, has been named new director of The Children's Service Society of Utah. The society is the oldest non-denominational social service institution in the state.
Beck, who also served as chairwoman of Utahns for Better Dental Health from 1999-2001 and as vice president and president of the Utah Education Association from 1988-1990, says she hopes to lead the society, founded in 1884, to greater success in infant and special-needs adoption, international adoption, pregnancy counseling and parent counseling.
Through its Child Care Resource and Referral-Metro program, the society also trains child-care providers and hosts a community referral network for parents seeking child care.
Beck hopes to whittle away at the waiting list of parents and families hoping to adopt as well as the number of special-needs children waiting for a home.
"And child care — finding quality care and being able to afford it — is consistently listed as one (of) the most pressing issues facing Utah families," she said.
Beck, who earned her doctorate of education from the University of Utah in 1995 and has worked in education for 30 years, was selected for the position based on her "experience, commitment and wisdom," said David Grauer, president of the society's board of directors.