The kids aren't alright

TWELVE YEARS OF STORIES ABOUT CHILDREN BEING NEGLECTED AND ABUSED. Twelve years of firings and resignations in the child welfare system. Twelve years of broken promises, unfulfilled dreams and heartbreak.

In the end, it was more than veteran juvenile court judge Gerald Hardcastle could take.

Recently, Hardcastle announced he's leaving the juvenile court. The often outspoken judge will start hearing divorce cases in late July.

"I just felt like my ability to impact change in the system had been reduced," said Hardcastle, 61, who has been a family court judge since 1993. "You sit up there every day and do the job for this long, and what happens is everyone becomes familiar with you and less responsive to you. I found myself facing the same problems I've been facing for so many years, and I was becoming intolerant and resentful of the fact that the system wasn't changing like I expected it to.

"I think I suffered through so much disappointment that I just decided it was time to do something else."

Hardcastle said he has been disappointed by the community and the child welfare system. While the community has made improvements, said Hardcastle, it hasn't committed itself to child welfare. And the system has made promises to kids, he said, but hasn't kept them.

"I'm hearing a lot of rhetoric about how things are supposed to get better, but they're not," said Hardcastle. "And that's the bottom line."

Hardcastle said the system has talked about adding case managers, hearing masters and other staff. But, he said, adoptions still take too long, kids too old to stay in the system are not ready to live on their own and there's a lack of mental health services.

He said the community, government leaders, the Clark County Department of Family Services and the courts are to blame.

"We have ignored child welfare for years and years and years," said Hardcastle, who's divorced from District Court Chief Judge Kathy Hardcastle. "And while it's true that we're paying more attention now than we ever have, we suffer from the fact that we've been ignoring it for so many years. It's going to be a very long road and it's just time for somebody else to get involved. It's time for fresh eyes and fresh leadership."

Tom Morton, director of the Department of Family Services, shares Hardcastle's frustration with the system.

"The resources needed in both the child welfare agency and the community at large to support and meet the needs of children are significantly underdeveloped and underfunded," said Morton, who took over the department in July 2006. "Judge Hardcastle, in particular, was very frustrated about the lack of appropriate treatment resources for children in the system who had mental health problems. As a result of that lack of resources, many of those children bounce from placement to placement and only get worse as they get older. In that regard, I think he's accurate."

Morton said Hardcastle was also frustrated by the amount of time it takes the department to resolve family problems and either return the child home or place them with foster parents. That problem is caused, in part, by limited resources, said Morton.

"I think it's sad to see a jurist of his tenure move on, because obviously he has tremendous historical knowledge of this system and strong personal dedication to the interests of children," said Morton. "And you don't replace that kind of knowledge quickly. I think on a personal level we will miss his expertise and his strong commitment to improve the lives of children."

Barbara Buckley, speaker of the Assembly and executive director of Clark County Legal Services, agreed that Hardcastle will be missed. Buckley said he's a strong advocate for the children and the system.

But she understands why he's leaving.

"It's an extremely difficult job to sit, day in and day out, and get frustrated by a system that, in many instances, is not working," said Buckley. "I think it's a very, very difficult job. And while he and I didn't agree on every decision he ever made, I would never doubt his commitment or caring about the people who came before him."

Hardcastle, whose own problems with his daughter Whitney were documented in the New York Times in an in-depth 2004 series, said he'll miss the kids. Specifically, he'll miss talking to them about their problems, hopes and dreams.

But, he said, he has no regrets.

"I think life's an adventure," said Hardcastle. "You just live it the best you can. I don't regret how my life's turned out at all. I wish some things were different. If I could have one wish it would be that children didn't have to go through what they have to go through. I wish that all the kids would be rich and successful and happy. But I wish it for them, not for me."

Matt O'Brien is CityLife's news editor. He can be reached at 871-6780 ext. 350 or mobrien@lvcitylife.com.