The refrain for disclosure of details related to recent child deaths in Clark County grew louder Thursday as members of the state's Child Death Review Blue Ribbon Panel pressed officials to allow them to review specific case files.
The panel, brought together in the aftermath of a report that found Clark County had failed to investigate 79 child deaths that might have been related to abuse or neglect between 2001-2004, agreed that it wants to examine the paper history of recent cases to gauge whether the mistakes of the past are being repeated.
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"I was one of the panel members who looked at the 79 original files," said Assemblywoman Susan Gerhardt, D-Henderson. "I feel really strongly that we need to see if improvements have been made since 2004."
Gerhardt let her frustration show when she reminded state and local officials that this is not the first time she has requested access to recent case files.
The cases she wants to review include those of.
• 17-month-old Joshua Sharp, who died in August at Child Haven, the county's emergency shelter.
• Everlyse Cabrera, the 18-month-old girl who disappeared from her foster parent's home in June and has not been found.
• Adacelli Snyder, the 2-year-old girl who died of malnutrition in 2005 after Family Services closed her case.
Mike Willden, state director for Health and Human Services, told the panel he would contact Clark County officials to see whether panel members may review the files.
The request might have to be approved by the Clark County Commission, Willden said. Cabrera's file might not be available because her status is unknown.
Tom Morton, the new director of Clark County Family Services, advised panel members not to over-generalize the information in the files.
What might be an issue in one file isn't necessarily indicative of an institutional problem, he said.
If the panel is to make recommendations to improve child death reporting, Gerhardt said, members need disclosure on what's happening in Clark County today, as well as what went on between 2001 and 2004.
Morton also offered the panel new information on the original 79 child deaths that called attention to underreporting in Clark County.
Those cases were handled by 45 different case workers. In terms of background, 16 percent of them were licensed social workers while 84 percent were unlicensed.
About 56 percent of those involved in cases that should have been investigated for abuse or neglect did not have master's degrees.
Morton also stressed to the panel that the 79 deaths have not been found to be the result of caseworker action or inaction.
Morton and officials from the coroner's office, Las Vegas police and the Clark County District Attorney's office updated the panel on plans to improve communications and operations between entities in the cases of child death.
Panel member Pam Sylvester, who represents North Las Vegas police, said problems continue with the county's child abuse reporting hot line. Sylvester said a fellow officer was unable to get through on the hot line while working a recent case.
Morton asked Sylvester to provide the date and time of the call to him so that he could follow up on the episode.
Morton said a review of hot line calls is under way and that he plans to ask county officials to make the results public.
Several improvements have been made to the hot line in recent months, Morton said, such as the addition of staff. The hot line is now at Child Haven, where operators are called on to perform other duties, such as checking children into the facility.
Morton plans to relocate the hot line so that operators can focus only on taking calls.
