Notes from JANUARY 31, 2008

Child Welfare Network Meeting 
The following individuals attended the Child Welfare Network meeting at the Las Vegas Country Club:

Judi Booe, Change, Inc.
Chris Brooks, Boys Town
Brinton Cook, Child Focus, Inc.
David Deveraoux, United Methodist Social Ministries
Heather duBoef, Nevada Women's Philanthropy
Deborah Flowers, DFS
Stu Fredland, Children’s Advocacy Alliance
Melissa Goodwin, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Cindi Gower, Foster Connect
Kelly Henwood, Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board
Stephanie Holland, Child Focus
Gard Jameson, Children's Advocacy Alliance
Wendy Kameda, Clark County Legal Services
Debbie Kehl, Center for Independent Living
Larry Lovelett, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
Fran Marshall, FACT of Southern Nevada
Patty Merrifield, State of Nevada Division of Family and Child Services
Andrea Michaels, Head Start/ Mental Health
Tom Morton, Clark County Department of Family Services
Phyllis Murray, Postosi Pines Camp
Renee Myers, Change, Inc.
Julianna Ormsby, Children’s Advocacy Alliance
Shelia Parks, Eighth Judicial District Court, Family Division
Mujahid Ramadan, Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board
Jessica Reyes, Foster Care
Scott Reynolds, CCSD
TJ Rosenberg, Nevada PEP
Mary Rosenthal, AHEC of Southern Nevada
Debbie Ruiz, AHEC of Southern Nevada, PCA Nevada
Fred Schultz, Positively Kids
Loyce Smith, United Methodist Social Ministries
Christine Spadafor, St. Judes Ranch for Children
Chris Sutherland, Sutherland ~ Edwards, LLC
Denise Tanata, Nevada Institute for Children's Research & Policy
Patricia Thacker, CASA
Cherie Townsend, Dept. of Juvenile Justice Services
Stefanie Vrsnik, Nevada PEP
Tom Waite, Girls and Boys Town of Nevada
Val Weber, Nevada State Assembly
Stacey Wedding, Professionals in Philanthropy, LLC
Susan Westbrook, Nevada Community Foundation
Hilary Westrom, Ritter Charitable Trust
Sheila White, Olive Crest
Kenton Williams, 100 Black Men
Jackie Winston, DFS

Welcome & Introductions:

Chris Sutherland welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending.  Introductions were made. She reviewed the finalized Vision and Mission Statements:

VISION
The Child Welfare Network has at its core the interests of every child in Nevada’s child welfare system:  we seek to create public accountability and better outcomes for the children and their families that it exists to serve. 

MISSION
The Child Welfare Network’s mission is to:

• Support information-sharing by providing a forum where individuals and organizations concerned about children in Nevada’s child welfare system can exchange resources, ideas, problems and solutions through learning from one another and providing all members an opportunity to be heard;
• Promote collaboration among service providers, county and state administrators, educators, parents and foster parents, youth, private funders and concerned citizens with the collective focus on the best interests of  children who are fundamentally our constituents; and,
• Take action that leads to real results by advocating with a united voice on child welfare issues to improve services and supports that respond to the needs of (improve the lives of) children and families in Clark County.

Tom Morton’s Report

Tom Morton updated everyone on the intent and impact of AB1, legislation that child advocates lobbied for and that was passed in July 2005.  Specifically he addressed the following questions:

• Has integration reduced the disparities in foster care reimbursement?

I am not aware of what preceded before me, but the reimbursement rate set by the State as a base exists across the State. However, Washoe continues to reimburse at a higher rate than Clark and the Rural Counties due to its special tax for child welfare.

• Has integration eliminated the inefficiencies of the current system, are the number of placements reduced?

The number of children in foster care in Clark County has risen steadily since 2001. I do not have data before that. The removal rate for children following the initiation of a CPS investigation remains one of the highest in the nation. It is difficult to disentangle these phenomena from issues such as overall population growth, the impact of methamphetamine and other emergent issues. The high reliance on foster care appears related in part to the severe shortage of in-home support services.

• Has the length of time children remain in out-of home placements been reduced?

Available data suggests that since integration this has been reduced.

• Have the base amounts required for determining the federal and nonfederal contributions for funding the system been determined since two fiscal years have now been completed, 06 and 07?

Yes, but the base is an ever-changing target. Nevada is experiencing a decline in Title IV-E eligibility. The State budgeted this year based on a penetration rate of 70% but is experiencing one of about 52%.

• Does a child now have one caseworker to assist throughout the entire process?

No. It is impractical to have a single caseworker from investigation through permanency. The immediate and urgent nature of responding to child abuse and neglect reports presents a natural conflict with predictably serving the ongoing needs of children and families.

• It is my understanding that part of the intent of this legislation was to increase federal reimbursements to the County instead of the State. How much increase has there been in federal reimbursements?

This is difficult to answer as the State has only processed one County claim for front-end federal reimbursement since 2002. Claims since 2005 are still pending processing by the State.
Please see the attached document for details from Tom’s presentation.  In addition to his presentation, Tom also shared his/DFS three priorities for a legislative focus moving forward.

1:  support for “step down”/transitional mental health services for children in the system
2:  realistic funding formula with flexibility on how to use the funds
3:  the ability to purchase in home support services for families

Legislative Work Group Update & Recommendations

Chris thanked Tom Morton for his report.  She stated that the Child Welfare Network had asked for feedback from its members regarding legislative priorities the Network might carry forward.  She provided a broad summary of the responses received to date, some of which included:

• A lack of adequate mental health services (kids taken to E.R.’s for mental health issues)
• A lack of funding/services for families including day care, housing, in-home services
• A lack of programs for youth aging out of the system
• A need for educating medical professionals (so doctors know how/where to refer patients)

Chris then introduced Gard Jameson to facilitate the discussion.

Gard Jameson first thanked Hilary Westrom and the Ritter Charitable Trust for providing a “safe space” to have these conversations in a collaborative way.  He said that with the Ritter Charitable Trust and the Nevada Community Foundation and groups like Nevada Women’s Philanthropy, along with all of the attendees – there can be collaboration which is necessary to create effective change.  Legislators will listen to a collaborative voice.  Gard shared that Nevada doesn’t value its children and that children are worth less here than in other states (based on government funding directed to meet children’s needs). He stated that the Nevada Legislature meets every 2 years and right now we have a window of opportunity.  Gard encouraged everyone to send their thoughts and concerns to Susan Westbrook at susan@nevadacf.org.    

Gard Jameson, Jeremy Aguero and Hilary Westrom are working to have a meeting in May for legislators and community leaders to share information on legislative issues. The Legislative Briefing Book, prepared by the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research & Policy should also be available at that point.

Hilary Westrom underscored some of what Tom Morton discussed in regards to children’s mental health needs.  She expressed her wish that the group collaborate with the Clark County Children’s Mental Health Consortium.  Attached is a document titled “Sixth Annual Plan Recommendations” that was shared with the attendees.

It was shared that there are some significant cuts to Medicaid funding that will impact children in the welfare system.

Some of the legislative priorities that were voiced to the group included:

• Long term vision required (how do we keep the next generation of children from entering the system?)
• Support for mental health issues – including co-occurring disorders, crisis intervention and help for those provided when it is requested
• Substance abuse services
• Need for “normal” extra-curricular activities for children in the system
• Funding for preventative programs
• Funding for Family Resource Centers and differential response (providing support/assessment to families rather than investigating has been shown to be successful rather than investigating families has been shown to be successful)

Julianna Ormsby is the legislative liaison for the Children’s Advocacy Alliance and will work with CAA and the Network until February 2, 2009, the next legislative session.  She will assist in taking ideas and turning them into proactive legislation as well as empowering families to do grassroots lobbying.  She reported that she will be monitoring the committees and keeping abreast of issues.  She indicated that it is helpful for people who have been affected (foster parents, former foster youth) to be able to present to the legislators.

Gard Jameson asked that anyone who is interested in being part of another legislative meeting please advise him and/or Susan Westbrook.

The next Child Welfare Network meeting will be held on Thursday, May 29th at the Las Vegas Country Club, 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.