Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative

kires Medina wants his balloon back. But before the judge will return the 4-year-old's white helium sword, there are more pressing matters. Like finalizing the adoption of Akires and his three siblings. The Medinas -- Akires, Alexa, Ki Ki and Zach -- were among 52 children adopted Saturday morning in Lincoln as part of National Adoption Day. The two brothers and two sisters, ages 4 to 7, sat in a row in Judge Roger Heideman's Lancaster County juvenile courtroom. The boys donned matching white polos, the girls identical red dresses. Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/local/home-at-last-for-kids/article_ce620dd4-9d68-5611-9593-7166e0d121d8.html#ixzz1gdYSoqqN [...]
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State officials made a “critical error” by privatizing Nebraska's child welfare services without doing a cost-benefit analysis, according to a report released Friday. The Legislature's Performance Audit Committee concluded that such an analysis could have provided a more realistic sense of the likely cost of the effort. In turn, it might have prevented the turmoil, loss of services and cost overruns that have occurred in child welfare during the past two years. State Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff, the committee chairman, said state officials did not stop to examine their plans even after being warned they wouldn't work. “Whoever was pushing the button wanted this to get moving and get taken care of,” Harms said. “That's the tragedy we now have. If they'd slowed down, we might not be where we are today.” [...]
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State child welfare officials jumped into privatization too quickly without analyzing costs and developing goals and timetables, the Legislature's Performance Audit Committee reported Friday. If the department had slowed down and done the analysis first, the state wouldn't be in the critical position it is today, committee Chairman Sen. John Harms of Scottsbluff told the Health and Human Services Committee. [...]
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Two private contractors involved with Nebraska’s child welfare reform are trying to cut the number of children they serve by 15 percent. The Department of Health and Human Services approves, saying that’s part of the effort to bring about long-needed changes. But some people watching the reforms have questions. [...]
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State lawmakers investigating the privatization of child welfare services got some pessimistic reports Tuesday. First, there were surveys showing that judges, attorneys and others working on child welfare and juvenile court cases don't expect the privatization initiative to succeed. Next, there was an analysis from the Legislative Fiscal Office questioning whether the money appropriated for child welfare will be sufficient in the current two-year budget. The analysis concluded it would require "significant changes" for the state's two private contractors to manage with the money provided for in their contracts. The payments would be adequate only if there is a 15 percent reduction in the number of children in the child welfare system, the analysis said. But State Health and Human Services officials and representatives of both private contractors — the Kansas-based KVC and the Omaha-based Nebraska Families Collaborative — told legislative fiscal staffers they are confident about being able to reduce the number of children in care without denying needed services. [...]
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Nearly two years into privatizing Nebraska's child welfare system, state officials have begun work on a strategic plan for the effort. Department of Health and Human Services officials say they expect to have the plan done before the end of the year. But others, including a key state lawmaker, questioned the rush to develop a plan before a legislative probe is completed. They also criticized the department's announced intention to do most of the work internally. "They appear to be moving quite rapidly and, again, unilaterally," said State Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln. "I would rather see a steady approach." Campbell, as Health and Human Services Committee chairwoman, is leading the investigation of the rocky and controversial effort to privatize the job of ensuring the safety and well-being of the state's abused and neglected children. The committee aims to have a report and recommendations finished in December. That timing sets up the potential for conflict between the Legislature and HHS, if the department's plan and the legislative investigation call for taking the child welfare system in different directions. [...]
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The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday reinforced the authority of the state's juvenile courts to hold the Department of Health and Human Services accountable in complying with court orders. The 2010 case involved the Cheyenne County Court, acting as the juvenile court, in finding HHS in contempt of an order to find appropriate placement for a state ward. HHS appealed the contempt order, as well as one in which it had been required by the juvenile court to pay bills for the ward's placement in a timely manner. The Supreme Court found the juvenile court had the power to hold HHS in contempt, even though the appeal was moot. The court reviewed the case because it was a matter of public interest. It dismissed the appeal on the payment issue. Nebraska Appleseed, which filed a "friend of the court" brief on the appeal, said the Supreme Court's decision ensured that lower courts can implement consequences when the state willfully fails to comply with court orders designed to serve the best interests of children. Read more: http://journalstar.com/news/local/article_b35c34c7-4d4a-5b46-bf40-f09af71274a2.html?mode=story#ixzz1ZGXUhUyZ [...]
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LINCOLN — In the wake of a scathing audit of the state's child welfare system, two lawmakers are trying to take the guesswork out of monitoring the controversial reform program for taking care of Nebraska's most vulnerable children. The state senators say benchmarks must be established so it can be easily determined if the privatization of child welfare is achieving its objectives. So far, reform has fallen far short of its main goal — to slash the number of children who become state wards — and received blistering criticism over issues like financial accountability and information sharing. Since the "Families Matter" initiative began in November 2009, the number of state wards has fallen by less than 1 percent, from 6,215 to 6,162, despite a 27 percent increase — or nearly $30 million — in taxpayer funding. [...]
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LINCOLN — Nebraska's child welfare costs have increased by about 27 percent after the state undertook a controversial privatization initiative, according to a state audit released Wednesday. State Auditor Mike Foley unveiled the audit at a hearing before the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee, which is investigating the privatization effort. "This audit points to a critical lack of accountability," Foley said. "The consequence to the Nebraska taxpayers has been dramatic, including tens of millions of dollars in increased costs for child welfare services and a conspicuous lack of financia accountability that effectively frustrates any hope of transparency with regard to the expenditure of related public funds ." [...]
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State officials said Wednesday they are turning over the last state-managed child welfare cases in the Omaha area to a private contractor. The Nebraska Families Collaborative has signed a contract worth $30 million this year to take over the cases, said Kerry Winterer, CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The transition is expected to be completed by Oct. 15. Some 1,160 children in about 620 families will be affected by the change. They account for about one-third of the children and families involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice system in Douglas and Sarpy Counties. Their cases have been handled by state workers since April 2010, when a former private contractor declared bankruptcy and abruptly ceased services. "This brings us back to our original intent to contract for all case management in Douglas and Sarpy Counties," Winterer said. [...]
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