County takeover of child welfare system urged

Sandy Thompson

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000 | 11:16 a.m.

The Clark County Department of Family and Youth Services is recommending that the county take control of a new child welfare system, which would include programs and services now handled by the state.

Under the proposal, the state would have oversight authority and would run similar programs in Nevada's rural counties that could not support their own systems.

In testimony Thursday before a legislative subcommittee on the integration of state and local child welfare systems, Juvenile Court Judge Bob Gaston said the state needs to change the system "dramatically" because children aren't being adequately served.

"There is no way we can find permanency (for the child) within 12 months," he said, referring to mandates of the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act. Nevada's bifurcated system, in which the state and county handle different components of child welfare programs, causes delays and gaps in services.

A child spends an average 3.2 years in Nevada's foster care system before a permanency plan is put in place. However, there are those who have been in the state's care for more than 10 years. Also, Nevada children are moved from home to home more times than those in any other state, Gaston said.

Under the county's plan for a "seamless" system, a child would have one caseworker -- not the minimum of five as is the case now, Gaston said. There would be specialists working with the caseworker if needed. The judge also suggested monthly reviews of cases in court. Now, he said, families are seen in court only every six months.

Some state workers have reservations about the county's proposal.

Bob Gagnier of the State of Nevada Employees Association said the county may not understand the complexities of child welfare services. He said county programs are not as family-oriented as the state's; they are more involved in investigating allegations of abuse and neglect and in short-term programs.

There also are significant disparities between state and county workers. County workers are paid more. Many are only investigators, Gagnier said, adding that most of the state workers are licensed social workers.

"The state has many professionally qualified and licensed people who would be required to work for county people who are not professionally licensed," he said.

The county proposal may end bifurcation, but it also would create a dual system, Gagnier said.

He urged the subcommittee to also consider the lateral transfer of state employees to positions with the county; continuation of seniority and tenure; not promoting county employees over state workers who are doing the job; and the opportunity to transfer state workers to other jobs within state government.

Dr. James Rast, a psychologist and consultant to the state Department of Child and Family Services, urged the subcommittee to look beyond the bifurcation issue.

"You can't solve fragmentation by creating more," he said. "Consider developing a planning process with funding attached to it. Involve families, the county, the state, the school system -- along with other supports."

A major portion of Thursday's daylong hearing was devoted to how child mental health services would be integrated into the new child welfare system. There have been significant increases in the number of children with problems, ranging from Attention Deficit Disorder and drug and alcohol abuse, to violent acts and severe emotional disturbances, Rast said.

Rast and subcommittee members agreed that the earlier these problems are detected in youths, the sooner they can be addressed and effectively treated. Drug and alcohol abuse among youths, as well as fetal alcohol syndrome, are major concerns, Rast said. Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, subcommittee chairwoman, said there may be a need for more preventive services. She referred to a shift in philosophy to in-home services rather than out-of-home placements for children with these problems. State Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, a subcommittee member, said universal screening tests for children may identify problems early on. Such tests could be administered in the schools, he said, as well as to those entering the child welfare system for the first time.

Other testimony before the subcommittee stressed the need for legal representation for parents from the time the children are removed from their homes, and later for the children when courts are deciding where they should be placed.