Nevada's Child welfare gets a checkup!

Child welfare gets a checkup

Advocates, lawmakers and other officials talk about problems, progress

By LISA KIM BACH
REVIEW-JOURNAL

http://www.lvrj.com/news/8406822.html



What plagues Clark County's child welfare system has been diagnosed by
authorities high and low -- inadequate and poorly trained staff,
incomplete investigations of reported abuse and neglect, a foster parent
shortage and child removal rates that exceed the national average.

The cure recently prescribed by local, state and federal officials is
significantly increased funding paired with more stringent oversight and
regulation.

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Jon Porter assembled a round table of child welfare
advocates and administrators from all levels of community and government
to check up on what improvements have been made within the ailing
service system and what remains to be done.

"I am very optimistic and encouraged, but I still think we have a lot of
work to do," said Porter, who became involved with local child welfare
issues after last year's string of high-profile tragedies involving
children in protective custody. "And the only way we can do it is as a
team."



U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, Gov. Jim Gibbons, Assemblywoman Barbara
Buckley, Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice William Maupin and Clark
County Commissioners Lawrence Weekly and Bruce Woodbury were among those
who attended the discussion organized by Porter.

The assembled political will bodes well for Nevada's reform effort, said
Casey Family Programs President William Bell. Having everyone join in
the discussion means that everyone is informed about the challenges in
front of them.

"I don't know of very many places in the country where this type of
conversation takes place, with this type of leadership sitting around
the table," said Bell, who represents the nation's largest operating
foundation focused on improving foster care.

"I am absolutely convinced that Nevada can become, if not the best, then
one of the best child welfare systems in the country," Bell said.

But before that has a chance of happening, those at the table
acknowledged that the strides made to date have just been the first
steps of reform.

Mike Willden, Nevada director of the Department of Health and Human
Services, said that Gibbons and state lawmakers supported an
unprecedented increase in child welfare funding to Clark County in the
last session. The 2007-09 state allocation for Clark County is $131
million, up from $80 million in state funding for the last two years,
Willden said.

But while Clark County now has the funding to beef up staffing and
training, it's still reeling from the problem of turnover and the
culture of blame that singles out child welfare workers as the problem.
Clark County Director of Family Services Tom Morton said turnover in his
department is at about 14 percent annually.

That's only to be expected in any system undergoing dramatic changes,
Morton said. But those who remain are rising to the occasion and meeting
new mandates to close cases within 45 days and improve record keeping.
Supervision is also being expanded Morton said, with Family Services
working toward having one supervisor for every five case workers.

"A year from now, I think you'll see a very different organization,"
Morton said.

UNLV Professor of Social Work Leroy Pelton worried that too much
attention was being focused on what to do after children are taken into
custody. Not enough attention is being placed on how to reduce the
number of children who come into the system in the first place. Families
could remain intact if the resources used to place children in foster
care and at Child Haven were redirected and used for family housing.

For instance, Pelton said, the daily cost of keeping a child at Child
Haven is $159. Most children remain at the shelter for about 20 days.

"That's the cost of housing an entire family for about eight months,"
Pelton said.

Bell agreed that more attention needed to go toward how to invest in
families as a whole.

"This is an issue that's so vitally important," Weekly said. "I don't
think it takes a rocket scientist to figure it out."

Porter plans to organize another roundtable later this year as other
planned changes in child welfare are made.




CURRENTLY CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES VIOLATES MORE CIVIL RIGHTS ON A
DAILY BASIS THEN ALL OTHER AGENCIES COMBINED INCLUDING THE NATIONAL
SECURITY AGENCY/CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY WIRETAPPING PROGRAM....

CPS Does not protect children...
It is sickening how many children are subject to abuse, neglect and even
killed at the hands of Child Protective Services.

every parent should read this .pdf from
connecticut dcf watch...

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com/8x11.pdf

http://www.connecticutdcfwatch.com

Number of Cases per 100,000 children in the US
These numbers come from The National Center on
Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington. (NCCAN)
Recent numbers have increased significantly for CPS

*Perpetrators of Maltreatment*

Physical Abuse CPS 160, Parents 59
Sexual Abuse CPS 112, Parents 13
Neglect CPS 410, Parents 241
Medical Neglect CPS 14 Parents 12
Fatalities CPS 6.4, Parents 1.5

Imagine that, 6.4 children die at the hands of the very agencies that
are supposed to protect them and only 1.5 at the hands of parents per
100,000 children. CPS perpetrates more abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse
and kills more children then parents in the United States. If the
citizens of this country hold CPS to the same standards that they hold
parents too. No judge should ever put another child in the hands of ANY
government agency because CPS nationwide is guilty of more harm and
death than any human being combined. CPS nationwide is guilty of more
human rights violations and deaths of children then the homes from which
they were removed. When are the judges going to wake up and see that
they are sending children to their death and a life of abuse when
children are removed from safe homes based on the mere opinion of a
bunch of social workers.

BE SURE TO FIND OUT WHERE YOUR CANDIDATES STANDS ON THE ISSUE OF
REFORMING OR ABOLISHING CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES ("MAKE YOUR CANDIDATES
TAKE A STAND ON THIS ISSUE.") THEN REMEMBER TO VOTE ACCORDINGLY IF THEY
ARE "FAMILY UNFRIENDLY" IN THE NEXT ELECTION...