Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Government:

County to hand off safety oversight of child care facilities to state

Clark County will drop its oversight of child care facilities and return that responsibility to state government.

In a move that will be seen by many as payback for the Legislature’s raid on county tax revenue this past session, Clark County gave the state notice this week that it would stop overseeing the safety of day care centers in one year, saving about $500,000 annually, according to the county.

The state Legislature this year took millions of dollars from Clark County, which was struggling to deal with a sour economy, falling property values and lagging sales tax revenue. As a result, the county has been forced to cut its budget.

County spokesman Dan Kulin said the idea of returning county functions to the state emerged in focus group meetings this year with county workers on ways to cut spending.

“This action does that,” Kulin said.

The county will stop accepting new child care license applications in five months. Kulin said officials don’t yet know whether jobs will be found for all workers involved in overseeing child care.

Las Vegas this year turned over its child care licensing to the state. Child care facilities in North Las Vegas and Henderson are licensed by the state.

“It’s something that legally has to be done,” Health and Human Services Department spokesman Ben Kieckhefer said of the licensing of child care facilities. “If the county doesn’t want to do it anymore, the state will do it.”

Kieckhefer said the department has asked the attorney general’s office to clarify whether the one year’s notice is sufficient under a law passed by the Legislature last session. Assembly Bill 97 states that the transfer of a function from a local government to the state must be made before a legislative session so the state has time to budget for the new responsibilities.

Assemblywoman April Mastroluca, D-Henderson, said she has asked the legislature’s legal counsel to weigh in because no regulations are in place for the process.

Still, state lawmakers seemed resigned to the prospect that the state, which is facing its own budget shortfall — estimates have been as high as $2 billion going into the 2011 session — will be asked to do more.

“One, we don’t have the money,” said Assemblywoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno.

Local governments took control of that function because they thought they could do it better, she added. “Local governments are better able to set up regulatory mechanisms to meet the needs of the community.”

The county’s budget troubles, however, could lead to similar moves.

Kieckhefer said Clark County has signaled to state officials that it might also hand off its elderly protective services function to the state. When the state last estimated the cost of taking over those responsibilities, in 2006, it was $1.2 million a year.

Joe Schoenmann reported from Las Vegas.

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