Through the Eyes of the Child Initiative

LINCOLN — State senators took a first step Thursday to resolve a problem lingering from the state's troubled effort to privatize child welfare services. On a 29-2 vote, lawmakers gave initial approval to spending $2.5 million to reimburse service providers who were not fully paid when one of the five lead contractors in the effort, Boys and Girls Home, dropped out. Nearly 50 counselors, group homes, transportation companies and other subcontractors were left with partial payment after the Sioux City-based company lost its contract in the fall of 2010. The providers, who kept supplying services to state wards, received about 35 cents on the dollar for their services from Boys and Girls Home. A state claim was filed for full reimbursement, igniting a legislative debate over the morally and legally right thing to do. [...]
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LINCOLN — Should Nebraska step in to pay child welfare service providers who were left in the lurch by one of the state's private contractors? State lawmakers began wrestling with that question Wednesday but came to no conclusion before adjourning for the day. At issue is a proposal to fully reimburse nearly 50 counselors, group homes and other child welfare providers for services rendered in 2010. The providers had subcontracted with Boys and Girls Home of Sioux City, Iowa, when that private organization held a state contract to oversee child welfare services in northern, central and western Nebraska. Boys and Girls Home lost its contract in October 2010, in part because it had not been paying subcontractors. Since then, most of the subcontractors have received only 35 cents on the dollar for what they were owed. [...]
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LINCOLN — A key state senator didn't disagree with a national advocate's criticism Monday that Nebraska's “extremism” in taking too many children from their families is driving the problems in the state's child welfare system. But State Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha said Richard Wexler, executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, is dead wrong in describing the state's efforts to fix the troubles as simply “moving around the deck chairs.” “I'd take serious issue with that,” Krist said. “The whole process was broken. We needed to dissect it one piece at a time and fix it.” The senator responded to a report from Wexler's group that criticized Nebraska for removing children from their homes at more than twice the national rate. [...]
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Nebraska's attempt to reform its child welfare system this year fails to address the fact that too many children are yanked from their homes and kept in foster care, a national child advocacy group said Monday. The National Coalition for Child Protection Reform criticized Nebraska's reform proposals in a biting new report, which blamed most of the state's problems on a "take the child and run" mentality that needlessly splits families apart. Lawmakers are on the verge of passing child welfare measures this session that would scale back caseloads for social workers, create a child welfare watchdog that reports to the Legislature and end the state's experiment with privatized services in all but two Omaha-area counties. But family advocates said most of the measures fail to address the core problems: Nebraska removes children from their homes at a rate twice the national average, and keeps a higher proportion of its children in foster care than any other state. [...]
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LINCOLN — For 15 years, Prince of the Road transportation services of Kearney has hauled foster children and other state wards to school, detention centers and appointments for the State of Nebraska. But amid the financial troubles that struck the state's effort to privatize its child welfare system, the 100-employee company stopped getting paid for many of its 10,000 trips a month. Nearly 20 drivers were laid off when the payments stopped. The company got rid of minivans to help deal with nearly $115,000 in unpaid bills for services. But it kept providing the rides because the state asked it to continue. "It was an extreme hardship," said Jim Laudenklos, the company's CEO and president. "That was money we used for payroll and fuel for my vehicles." Help may be on the way. [...]
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LINCOLN — Legislative efforts to revamp Nebraska's child welfare system won't directly affect Amy Peters. Not anymore, at least. The 22-year-old Lincoln college student aged out of foster care a few years ago. But she and other former foster children came to the State Capitol on Wednesday to watch lawmakers debate measures to ensure that the state properly cares for current foster children. Peters said she was encouraged by what she saw and heard, especially a bill that would limit workloads on case managers. "When you're in foster care, it's important you have access to your caseworker," she said. "It can make all the difference." [...]
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Proposed fixes to the troubled state child welfare system have moved into position for a final vote in the legislature. The Unicameral has given tentative approval to five bills. All now are being prepared for final consideration by the legislature. Sen. Kathy Campbell of Lincoln, chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee, told colleagues during floor debate that a Children’s Commission, created under LB 821, would help the state devise a strategic plan for the services it offers children who enter the system. “We need a strategic plan,” according to Campbell. “We went into this effort without one. We still don’t have one. We have somewhat of an operational plan, but we don’t have a strategic plan. We need to know where we’re going and what those major goals and benchmarks are. That has been the central crux of, I think, the problem.” [...]
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LINCOLN, Neb. -- A 5-year-old girl in Lincoln is putting a face and voice to child welfare reform legislation. Rhianna Esau and her adoptive parents are pushing for that reform at the state Capitol. "There was nobody out here fighting for our kids, and I find that heartbreaking," said Leigh Esau. Rhianna, a former state ward, is adopted and has a new family. But thousands of other Nebraska children aren't as lucky. "In the last couple of years, we've seen a lot of kids that haven't been able to get a foundation under them," Leigh Esau said. [...]
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Lincoln, NE – The Legislature gave second-round approval Wednesday to a package of bills to change the child welfare system. Included in the package are measures to hire an outside evaluator to look at the child welfare system: an Inspector General to investigate trends, and a Children’s Commission to come up with a strategic plan. There’s also a requirement for the Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee to recommend by April 1, 2013, whether a pilot program should be changed or continued. That’s a reference to private management of child welfare cases in Douglas and Sarpy Counties – the one area of the state where private agencies have not dropped out or been terminated for financial reasons. And while the Department of Health and Human Services remains in charge of the overall system, there are ongoing requirements for reports to the committee on how it’s functioning. [...]
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Gov. Dave Heineman has chosen Thomas Pristow of Mineral, Va., to direct the Children and Family Services Division of the state Department of Health and Human Services. Pristow, who takes over March 21, will report to Health and Human Services CEO Kerry Winterer. Winterer said Pristow's experience in urban and rural settings should help the state with its ongoing child welfare reforms. Pristow is leaving a post as director of the Louisa County Department of Human Services in Louisa, Va. [...]
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