Children's Cabinet Records

The Children's Cabinet was formed in 1985 by a group of concerned citizens to serve "children at risk." It is a private, non-profit organization addressing the needs of children and families in northern Nevada. The mission of the Children's Cabinet is to fill the gap between existing services to children and new programs and resources for children at risk. From the beginning, the Cabinet has had strong support from the judiciary, and public and private child-serving agencies. Agencies utilized include Juvenile Probation, County Social Services, State Welfare, and the State Mental Health/Mental Retardation Division.

Some of the services offered include: Early Intervention Teams for children ages 8-12 and their families, including parenting classes, counseling, testing, and outside intervention; Emancipation Homes, group homes for children ages 16-18 who are leaving foster care; Information and referral regarding existing programs; Kempe Line, toll-free consulting services for child serving professionals to the Kempe Center for Child Abuse and Neglect in Denver, Colorado; Triage Team for cases involving children with immediate, multiple problems such as mental health and drug related issues.

The first executive director was David Humke, who was appointed in mid-1985 and agreed to serve on a temporary basis until December 31, 1986. Sheila Leslie was subsequently appointed; she served until 1994, when Sarah Longaker was appointed. For several years, the Cabinet's only paid staff member was the director; the Cabinet relied on the use of Washoe County child-serving professionals and on VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) volunteers. Currently, the staff includes a full spectrum of professionals specializing in the treatment of children, teenagers, and their parents.

A long term goal of the Cabinet was a Family Resource Center which would provide headquarters for direct services for children and families, including crisis intervention for families; a status offender intervention program; diagnostic assessment center; children's clothes closet; outdoor wilderness program for pre-delinquent teens; and three emergency shelters to house abused and neglected children, and adolescent male and female status offenders. Ground breaking occurred in October of 1989 at the corner of South Rock Boulevard and Longley Lane in Reno for the Maud W. "Jill" Walker Family Resource Center, which was finished in April, 1990. In March, 1991, the Kids Kottage Emergency Child Protection Shelter began providing 24-hour, 7-days-a-week care for abused or neglected children at a new facility behind the Family Resource building. A year later, work was begun on the McGee Center for Adolescent Programs. The McGee Center provides a variety of services, residential and non-residential, to youth who have run away, are incorrigible or truant, or who are otherwise in need of supervision. The Center opened in October, 1992.