County seeking program for kids with state

Adrienne Packer

Monday, July 8, 2002 | 11:07 a.m.

Clark County will likely shift its long-term care programs for senior citizens to the state so that it can afford to take over the entire child welfare system, including adoptions and foster care, according to county officials.

County officials toyed with the idea of transferring District Court services to the state, but lawmakers were reluctant to approve such a shift. County Manager Thom Reilly said the most agreeable option was to swap long-term care.

The child welfare division will cost about $25 million annually to operate, while shifting long-term care programs for senior citizens will save the county nearly $18 million, according to Susan Laveway, assistant finance director.

"The county doesn't want to go back to the state to ask for more funding. That will create all sorts of problems," Reilly said. "If long-term care is swapped, it would take care of a good portion of costs, building supplies, cars and employees (for the Welfare Division)."

Nevada is the only state in the country with a split child welfare system. The county handles Child Protective Services and Child Haven -- a facility that houses children taken from their homes. The state oversees adoptions and foster care.

Critics have argued the split system had led to unnecessary delays in permanently placing foster children. Once a case is transferred to the state, a new social worker is assigned and little information about the child is passed on.

Lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 1 -- the law that allowed the shift -- in 2001. Last month the county created a new division, Department of Family Services, which will oversee child welfare. The Department of Family and Youth Services will handle juvenile justice programs.

State child welfare employees are gradually being shifted under the county umbrella, but the new division isn't expected to be fully implemented until 2004, at which point the county will take full financial responsibility for it.

Reilly said the swap is fair because, as the Las Vegas Valley continues to grow, the number of child welfare cases is likely to increase, as is the number of nursing home units needed to accommodate the increasing senior citizen population.

County officials feared that if they could not transfer a division to the state they would have to continually return to legislators to ask for additional funding for the growing number of child welfare cases.

"We see it as a difficult journey to head down to keep asking them for money when they don't have it," Reilly said.

Reilly added that even with the state's struggling economy and tight budget Gov. Kenny Guinn has left child welfare funding alone.

"The governor has been supportive," Reilly said. "He has not cut this program. He has been steadfast with the intent of the legislation."

State officials were reluctant to take over District Court because of the steep costs attached. The county spends about $25 million a year to operate District Court, according to the finance division. Each time the state mandates a new judge, it costs the county an additional $1 million annually.

The county's plan to shift long-term care to the state must be approved by lawmakers during the next legislative session.