Sometimes it's political. Sometimes it depends on how many crises hit the newspapers. Sometimes it's their fault. Sometimes it's not.
Whatever the reason, directors of the nation's child welfare systems rarely expect to stay in their jobs for longer than a few years.
"The word on the street is that they last two or three years," said Floyd Alwon of the Child Welfare League of America, who recently completed a study on the national child welfare work force crisis. "It's really as close to an impossible job as they make."
So perhaps the recent firing of Ken Patterson as the director of the Division of Child and Family Services should not have come as a surprise. In the job since the fall of 1997, Patterson had tried to shepherd the agency of more than 800 employees through an overhaul of the department's policy and practice that came as a result of the 1993 David C. vs. Leavitt lawsuit.
All the while, the department continued to come under fire from unhappy parents and child welfare advocates and struggled with budget shortfalls.
Patterson was the fifth person in the past 11 years to head the agency — the third since the suit was filed. His 3 1/2-year tenure is among the longest of any DCFS director. Two have held the position for almost four years. But in 1994 three people held the job.
The situation seems to beg the question: Just how can the state do right by children and families — or in Utah's case institute massive change — when it seems that leadership is constantly changing?
"The answer is, you don't really do it too easily," Alwon said. "Imagine trying to run General Electric with a new CEO every two years or 18 months. They only do it when there's trouble. But this happens in most states, not just Utah."
Others argue that change is inherent in any organization and that its stability should be less dependent on who's in the top office.
"These positions are not long-term positions. It's a high-stress job and one of those no-win jobs," said Robin Arnold-Williams, executive director of Utah's Department of Human Services. "What we have to make sure of is that the stability of, in this case, DCFS must be based in the mission, vision, practice model, whatever label it's going to have."
Rep. Judy Buffmire, D-Salt Lake City, agrees. A social worker, Buffmire was director of DCFS between 1982 and 1984 and said the key to a stable agency lies in a staff that is well-trained and supported.
"Directors come and go, but the staff will remain the same," she said. "In a way I think (staff) can sort of outwait the current thrust of the director and continue to do what is best for children and families. With good training, you don't get swung too far one way or the other by change."
In Utah's case, the Milestone Plan, a blueprint for change drafted in the wake of David C., should have secured success for the agency regardless of the leadership, said John O'Toole, director of the California-based National Center for Youth Law, which brought the suit.
"I think it can be a barrier to have turnover at the top. It can make it harder to implement effective change," he said. "But it doesn't have to be a losing proposition. In Utah, there is a plan and the resources and sufficient funds. It's not like New York City or L.A., where there are 50,000 children in foster care. This is a relatively small system with resources; it should be possible."
But that doesn't mean that good leadership shouldn't be a part of the equation, said Roz McGee, who runs the advocacy group Utah Children.
"We definitely need a consistent leadership message, but certainly the effectiveness (of the agency) is not totally dependent on that one individual," she said. "Within the (DCFS) system there are many capable people, so we ought to be able to bridge from one leader to another."
Arnold-Williams is attempting to stabilize staff by reinforcing the message that despite Patterson's departure, the division is still focused on implementing the Milestone Plan. The role of the new director, when one is appointed, will be to continue to cement that change, not propose new ones, she said.
And yet, change probably will always be a part of most social services agencies. And it probably should be, said Barbara Thompson, who was DCFS director from 1989 to 1993.
"The thing about this work that is so difficult is that it does change on a daily basis," said Thompson, who now works for DHS coordinating interagency services for the Families and Children Together program. "People are quick to say they've been misled or changes have been made, and that may be true. But in the majority of cases, I think the available information gets shared."
In Thompson's experience, change reflects a growing body of knowledge about what works for children and families and often will lead to better services.
"I think DCFS as well as any other agency that services families will constantly need to change in order to improve," she said. "I can't imagine that they will ever arrive at a place where everything is running perfectly. If we knew where that was, we'd be there."
E-MAIL: dobner@desnews.com