Blue ribbon panel on child welfare convenes

The entire Clark County child welfare system is broken, Family Court Judge Frank Sullivan said on Tuesday.

The newly formed blue ribbon committee appointed to examine shortcomings in Clark County child welfare services met Tuesday and heard his concerns and those of others about a wide range of problems facing the system and the courts.

The issues included capacity concerns at Child Haven, the county’s emergency shelter for abused and neglected children; foster parents’ frustrations with the system; delays in the termination of parental rights; issues involving caseworker training and qualifications; medical consent problems for children in custody; and fear of retaliation among foster parents and workers who said they were told not to talk to a children’s advocacy organization.

Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta, who recently appointed the panel, said, “It’s pretty clear to me that the system is out of balance and we all need to take part in bringing it back.”

Tuesday’s meeting was for the nine-member committee to gather information on issues within the system and courts. At its Dec. 15 meeting, it will discuss best practices, and at its Jan. 15 meeting, it will consider an action plan to fix the problems.

No system is perfect and Clark County is not alone, Saitta said. But according to her research, other states and counties that have been brave enough to step up and examine their practices have found ways to improve their systems.

“If business as usual isn’t working … then we need a new business plan and that’s what we are here to do,” she said.

Frustrated foster parents spoke during the meeting. One was Kristina Beber, who said she faced retaliation from the Clark County Department of Family Services for returning a foster child who required a higher level of services than she was qualified to provide. She has been placed on six months of probation, something she was never warned about.

Lisa Ruiz-Lee, director of Family Services, said there has been a lot of challenges over the past two years. She said the system is full of contradictions, and the challenge foster parents face is that they are not being respected.

“I see it every day in our business practice, and the really unfortunate part about it is that without quality caregivers for children, children pay the price,” she said. “They pay the price for what we do as a system.”

Giving foster parents a voice, respecting what they have to say and involving them in the court process would help change that problem, she said.

But more judges are also needed. There are only three judges and three hearing masters handling Clark County child welfare cases.

The average time to hear cases is 8 minutes and 17 seconds, Sullivan said. The system needs to be more child-focused, and parties involved need to look at what’s in the best interest of the child, Sullivan said.

“Our system looks like a criminal system,” he said.

Sullivan was asked by the committee to submit a list within 30 days of 10 recommendations to help improve the court processes.

Denise Tanata Ashby, executive director of the Children’s Advocacy Alliance, said her organization has heard of problems related to inconsistent court rulings, issues with medical consent for children in foster care, caseworker qualifications and training, foster parents who fear retaliation and even caseworkers who are saying they’ve been told not to talk to the alliance.

But even the community is at fault, Sullivan said, for not being willing to step up and for the lack of resources devoted to child welfare services and the courts.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.