REFORMER LEAVING FOSTER-KID AGENCY.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON Staff Writer

The Los Angeles County agency director widely credited with turning around child-protection services said Wednesday he is resigning to take a job with Casey Family Programs to lead efforts to expand reforms nationwide.

Department of Children and Family Services Director David Sanders, who is leaving July 31 after leading the nation's largest child welfare agency for the past three years, is L.A. County's first DCFS director not to go under a cloud.

Since the agency was created in 1984, child welfare scandals have led to the ousters of five directors, including the resignations of two directors since 1999.

Top county officials and child welfare experts nationwide say Sanders turned around an agency few thought could be fixed.

``I think Sanders took on a job that most people thought was impossible and made very significant progress,'' said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform in Alexandria, Va. ``Even if he did nothing else, ... he will be remembered as the man who finally shut down MacLaren.''

Sanders, 48, of Calabasas, oversaw the closure of MacLaren Children's Center in El Monte, where children alleged that staff abuse had led to several deaths over the years.

Also under Sanders' watch, the number of children in foster homes dropped from 30,000 to 20,000, and the department, whose foster-care system was once one of the most dangerous in the nation, saw the percentage of children abused in its care drop by almost 30 percent.

``Dr. Sanders has really made the department a true success story for the first time in its history,'' said county government's chief administrative officer, David Janssen, who is retiring later this year. ``It's a very tough challenge that child protective agencies have nationwide.''

At Casey -- the nation's largest foundation dedicated to upgrading and ultimately preventing the need for foster care -- Sanders will serve as executive vice president for systems improvement.

``Dr. David Sanders is one of America's most respected leaders in identifying systems challenges and leading collaborative approaches to systems reform and improvement,'' said William C. Bell, Casey's president and chief executive officer.

Sanders said the position at Casey is an opportunity to affect foster-care issues nationwide.

``As much as I love what I'm doing in L.A., I felt the opportunity to have an impact on what foster care nationally should look like was too good of an opportunity to pass up,'' Sanders said.

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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