New child welfare agency will hire almost all of La Causa staff

By Crocker Stephenson of the Journal Sentinel

Integrated Family Services, the agency that will replace La Causa this month and provide services for abused or neglected children and their families in the southern third of Milwaukee County, has hired virtually the entire La Causa staff, including the supervisor who was in charge of the Christopher Thomas case, agency officials said Friday.

That supervisor, however, will be in an administrative position and will not work directly with children or families, said Ann Umhoefer, chief administrative officer for St. Aemilian-Lakeside.

Integrated Family Services is a nonprofit subsidiary of St. Aemilian-Lakeside.

104 of 107 employees

Integrated Family Services hired 104 of La Causa's 107 employees, Umhoefer said, and will continue to work with La Causa's 72 network agencies, which provide services ranging from therapy to group homes and transportation.

La Causa announced in December that it would sever its contract with the state-run Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare.

La Causa, which provided ongoing case management and safety services, shouldered much of the blame for mishandling the Christopher Thomas case.

Police say the 13-month-old was beaten to death, and his 2-year-old sister tortured, while in the kinship foster care of their aunt, Crystal Keith.

Keith, 24, is charged with first-degree reckless homicide and child abuse, intentionally causing great bodily harm. Her trial begins Monday.

Integrated Family Services' $12.1 million-a-year contract officially begins May 16.

Teri Zywicki, the agency's chief executive officer, said Integrated Family Services offers work-force stability - staff turnover is a chronic and corrosive issue among many child care agencies - over 150 years of experience and an approach to child welfare that melds medical-oriented goals with case management, focusing on the specific physical and emotional needs of children and their families.

The agency will provide ongoing case management for about 650 families with children in out-of-home care, such as foster and kinship care.

It will also provide safety services for about 120 families whose children remain in their homes.