County’s foster-children system will be reviewed

Monday, March 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A former state administrator is being hired to study whether Clark County's system of handling neglected and abused children is meeting federal standards.

John Sarb will be paid $40,000 plus expenses for his six-month survey of the system covering 1,400 children.

Clark County Juvenile Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle said the study will determine whether the "courts are doing what is required to do under federal law" in dealing with these children.

The money is coming from the federal government and is being handled by the state Administrative Office of the Courts. A similar study will be done in Northern Nevada.

"Compared to other states, our caseloads are too high, our data system is outdated and foster parent payments are too low," Hardcastle said.

One "shining light" in the system, he said, is the dedication of foster parents to children who are placed in their homes.

Thom Reilly, deputy administrator in Las Vegas of the state Division of Child and Family Services, said Hardcastle has developed a unique system in Clark County to review these juvenile cases and ensure they are moving toward a permanent solution.

A six-member panel has been created. The judge, representatives of state or county children agencies, advocates for children and members of the general public gather once a week to review the cases.

"Every Thursday, we go through eight to 10 cases a day," Reilly said.

The child is present, along with the caseworker, parents and foster parents. Decisions are made on whether to terminate parental rights, put the child back in the home of the parents, put the child up for permanent adoption or take other actions.

"This may be a stronger review than just a judge doing it," Reilly said.

Other states, he said, have reviews by only judges or by youth agencies or by a citizens committee. In Clark County, all interests are represented.

The panel's aim is to decide whether the youngster can be removed from the system or if he or she might need a different setting.

Sarb, who was the first administrator of the state Division of Children and Family Services, will be interviewing foster parents, youth advocate volunteers and child welfare workers to see how they like the system.

In addition, Sarb will analyze each case and how many days the child was in the system before a permanent solution was found -- either placing the youngster back in the home, in adoptions or other programs.

Parents will be interviewed to determine if they were properly notified of hearings involving their children and if they were informed of their rights to legal representation.

Sarb resigned from the state agency last year, following disclosures that it would be more than $10 million in the red during this two-year budget cycle.