State fails to provide representation for many abused, neglected children

David Kihara

Monday, Jan. 16, 2006 | 7:56 a.m.

Each year hundreds of victims of abuse and neglect enter the child welfare system without legal assistance or an advocate -- a direct violation of federal and state laws.

The state is responsible for providing a lawyer or a court-appointed advocate to each child going through an abuse and neglect court proceeding. But for at least five years, children going through the courts here have often been without either an attorney or an advocate, say court officials.

Family Court Judge Gerald Hardcastle estimates that less than 50 percent of children whom he sees are represented by a legal advocate. There are approximately 2,200 children in foster care in Clark County.

"The standard nationally is that every kid has a (legal advocate) representing them in the system," Hardcastle said. "That's what a perfect world looks like."

Lawyers are important because they represent the child's best interests through a Family Court proceeding to make sure they don't end up in an overcrowded group home or get separated from their siblings. The advocates help the children get mental health services or special education tutoring if they need it.

Apart from the benefit to the children, the state could also lose more than $250,000 in federal funding if it doesn't provide the children with advocates.

On Wednesday the National Youth Law Center, a nonprofit law center based in California, sent a letter to the federal government urging it to take "immediate action" against Nevada and Clark County for not providing legal advocates, a copy of the letter stated.

Bill Grimm, senior attorney with the National Youth Law Center, said Nevada needs to make the issue a priority.

"For years there has been a lackadaisical attitude toward providing some sort of legal representation for kids," Grimm said. "This is a mandate, it's not up to the discretion of a judge."

The Health and Human Services Department, which oversees distributing the federal funds, was unaware of Nevada's performance until called by the Las Vegas Sun earlier this week, said HHS spokeswoman Susan Orr.

The agency has since contacted the state to express its concern, she said. If the state can't comply with the federal guidelines, the federal government will place the state under a "program improvement plan," she said. This is a more formal step that creates a plan that the state must follow or risk losing the federal funds.

"We will be working with the state to ensure that they come into compliance," Orr said.

Chrystal Main, social services advocate of the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, said the state has not discussed compliance matters with HHS. She also said that she doesn't believe the state is out of compliance.

But the county has already taken steps to make sure that the children get these services.

Neither the county-funded advocacy program or the Children's Advocacy Project, a section of Clark County Legal Services that provides lawyers to children, has the funds pay for enough staff.

"Eventually, some day, our staff will grow larger and we will be able to bring in more volunteers," said Betsey Husted, volunteer coordinator with the county's advocacy program, known as CASA. There are eight full-time staff and two part-time at the county's agency.

There are now 230 CASA volunteers who advocate for 600 children in Clark County, but at any given time there are more than 1,500 children needing advocates, Husted said.

The Children's Advocacy Project, which has six attorneys, provides legal assistance for about one-third of the children going into the system, said Steve Hiltz, directing attorney at the project. He said that each attorney represents 40 to 50 children, but even then there is a huge need for more.

"I would love to have the resources to triple the staff in my office," he said. The county has agreed to provide $250,000 to the advocacy project each year.

The CASA program has seen its budget grow since at least 1996, when the county's budget for the program was $411,000. The county has budgeted $809,000 for fiscal 2006.

But for the people working with the children, who see the number of children entering into the child welfare system increase beyond the resources available, more funds are always needed.

"We've learned to do with what we have," Hardcastle said.

David Kihara can be reached at 259-2330 or at davidk@lasvegassun.com.