Child welfare changes called a start

Thursday, April 27, 2000 | 10:04 a.m.

That's the assessment of Thom Reilly of the School of Social Work at UNLV, in comments Tuesday to a legislative subcommittee studying the integration of Nevada's bifurcated child welfare system.

Reilly has been working with Clark and Washoe counties and the state Department of Children and Family Services on the model, which would shift foster care, adoptions and emergency care services to the two counties - Nevada's most populous.

The state agency would continue to administer those services in the rural counties. The state also would have regulatory oversight, set program standards and oversee foster-group home licensing and child welfare eligibility.

Under the present system, Clark and Washoe counties handle Child Protective Services, then transfer the cases to the state for foster care and adoption. The result can be children languishing in foster care, sometimes for years, and the state starting over in a case, causing further delays.

Under the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act, permanent homes for children in foster care must be found in 12 months, a deadline officials say Nevada's bifurcated system can't meet.

Adrienne Cox, assistant director of Clark County's Department of Youth and Family Services, said merging two ailing systems won't improve services.

Before Clark County can take over child welfare responsibilities from the state, she said state and county management information systems must be merged.

Cox also said a recruitment and retention system for foster parents must be in place, foster parents' compensation should be reviewed, minimum standards for caseloads must be set, and the financial impact must be assessed.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, who chairs the subcommittee, said staffers from Washoe, Clark and the state are trying to come up with figures on how much it will cost to transfer services.

Subcommittee members stressed the need for a fiscal analysis before they can make recommendations to the Legislature on a new child welfare system.

Reilly and others suggested that the legislative panel continue its oversight of the child welfare system or that another panel be established to assist in the transition.

State Sen. Bob Coffin, a subcommittee member, said components of a responsive, efficient system might include the reopening of the Boulder City Children's Home.

Lawmakers voted to close the home despite a lack of foster homes, and that resulted in many siblings being split up . Reilly estimated that 48 percent of the sibling groups in the state's care are placed in different facilities or homes.

There also is concern over who would oversee mental health services for children. Reilly said 37 percent of children in Nevada's child welfare system have severe emotional disorders.