Panel demands action on child welfare

Sandy Thompson

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 11:06 a.m.

A legislative subcommittee charged with revamping the state's child welfare system says the time to act is this legislative session -- despite concerns about costs and personnel issues.

"I'd like to see us get off the dime and help kids," said Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Washoe.

Anderson and other subcommittee members pointed out that child welfare has been discussed for years in the Legislature, with no action taken. As a result, they said, Nevada's children have been harmed.

The subcommittee earlier had approved recommending a new child welfare model for services that would shift responsibilities and transfer workers from the state to Clark and Washoe counties.

But at Wednesday's hearing, concerns about the additional costs of the new system and details on how workers would be transferred prompted a few calls for phasing in changes, rather than adopting a new, enhanced system.

Steve Shaw, administrator of the state Division of Child and Family Services, suggested expanding a Washoe County pilot project where state and county child welfare staff work together.

The state, which under the new system would maintain regulatory oversight as well as provide child welfare services in the rural areas, had been meeting for months with Clark and Washoe county officials to work out details of the transfer.

However, Shaw said, there are too many unanswered questions and issues that are "percolating to the top."

One of the major issues is the estimated cost of the new system: $25 million in Clark County alone. That's in addition to the county Department of Youth and Family Services' current budget of $45 million.

That figure raised the fiscal eyebrows of the governor's office, which has been working with agencies on budget proposals.

But it's not an accurate figure, some subcommittee members say.

It does not take into consideration funding that would be transferred from the state to the counties, available federal funds or what the counties would contribute.

Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, subcommittee chairwoman, says the actual cost would be $5 million to $8 million.

"We haven't done a further tightening of dollars, looked at federal matching funds or looked at staging options," she said. "We will check to see if every penny is needed."

State Sen. Jon Porter, R-Boulder City, said that while the subcommittee should send a message that it won't spend a dollar more, "we also should not spend a dollar less."

State Sen. Ray Rawson, R-Las Vegas, added: "This is developing as a significant issue in this (legislative) session. Don't be scared off by the budget."

Bob Gagnier, executive director of the State of Nevada Employees Association, testified from Carson City that he has serious concerns about how state workers would transfer to the counties. There also are licensing issues. Licensed social workers with the state do not want to be supervised by nonlicensed workers in the county.

The additional costs of the transfer would make up the disparity between better-paid county workers and current state workers; would provide adequate staffing to reduce caseload ratios; and would bring the county's computer system into compliance with federal guidelines.

The Child Welfare League of America, which sets standards nationwide for child welfare services and is conducting an analysis of Nevada's new child welfare model, recommends a caseload ratio of 12-15 children per worker.

Carmen Schulz, who is with the CWLA, told the subcommittee that an "underfunded child welfare system doesn't become better funded by changing its home or who's in charge."

Buckley said subcommittee members would meet with Gov. Kenny Guinn on the funding concerns.

They also want to include a strongly worded preamble to its legislative recommendation that would underscore the urgency of providing a new child welfare system that meets children's needs.

Rawson stressed that "children are fundamentally the most important citizens of the state and their lives and development must be protected at all costs."

County Commissioner Myrna Williams and Thom Reilly, a UNLV social work professor who helped draft the proposed child welfare model, testified in support of the new, enhanced system.

Buckley urged the state and counties to further define their roles and budgets and report back to the subcommittee, which would schedule another hearing in November or December to finalize its recommendations to the Legislature.

She and other committee members said they can't wait four or six more years for legislative action.

"The system has been wrong for kids for years," Buckley said. "We already know bifurcation (the present system) doesn't work. We can't wait for results from a pilot program. To wait is lunacy."