Foster daughter’s death spurs appeal to lawmakers

The June death of her 7-month-old foster daughter prompted Sheila Smith to ask a legislative committee to evaluate Clark County Department of Family Services’ medical policies and procedures on Friday.

The Clark County foster mother did take her ailing foster daughter to the hospital, but doctors needed to run a test to treat her condition, which required consent from the biological mother, she said. Family Services couldn’t locate the biological mother and told Smith it would take two weeks to get a court order allowing the baby to undergo the needed medical procedures .

After seven days, medical staff conducted the necessary procedures because the infant’s health had deteriorated, Smith said. The foster mother believes that the baby’s life might have been saved if she’d been treated sooner.

“I would like to request that this committee evaluate the Department of Family Services’ medical policies that are not aligned with their procedures,” she told members of the Legislative Committee on Child Welfare and Juvenile Justice.

The baby had surgery within 24 hours of the test. But on the 17th day after being hospitalized, she died, Smith said. She wouldn’t disclose what kind of test was performed due to confidentiality.

Chairman and Assemblyman Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, said it’s too late for the committee to tackle the issue since Friday was its last meeting of the year.

“In an ideal world, I would have liked to have a hearing on it to hear both sides,” he said. “…Hopefully, we’ll be able to vet it at some point.”

Frierson said he wants to hear from the Department of Family Services. If there are issues to be addressed, they don’t have to wait for a legislative fix, he said.

It can be taken care of “in the absence of legislation,” he said.

A fatality report posted on the state’s Division of Child and Family Services showed that a 7-month-old girl in Clark County died on June 6 while “en route to receive a life-saving procedure in a hospital out of state.”

Family Services is not able to comment on case-specific information because of confidentiality issues, according to Kristi Jourdan, Family Services spokeswoman. However, she said in any “emergent, life-threatening situation, medical professionals have the ability to perform diagnostic testing or treatment.”

“This applies to anyone, including children in the child welfare system,” she said. “As an example, medical professionals routinely treat accident victims without waiting for appropriate consent if that treatment is deemed life-saving.”

Family Services passed decision-making responsibility to the medical staff, Smith said.

If testing or treatment is not deemed emergent or life-saving and IV sedation is necessary, Family Services requires parental consent or a court order, according to Jourdan.

“We do this because parents, whose rights are intact, are legally entitled to make decisions about the care of their children,” Jourdan said. “We first try to contact parents for their permission and it’s important to note that if we are unable to get parental consent, we take the request to court.”

Family Services’ medical case management policy and procedures don’t specify time limits on acquiring either parental consent or a court order because there are many variables involved, such as the availability of the parent and the gathering of medical records from providers and the department, Jourdan said.

In the case of a court order, the Clark County district attorney’s office has to present information for the judge’s approval, according to the department’s policy.

“As a system, we work diligently to ensure a child’s health and well-being needs are met,” Jourdan said.

Family Services did not respond to the question of why the department’s medical case management policy and procedures from 2009 don’t list a date for enactment. The policy is labeled “TBA” under its effective date and the documents indicate “not in effect.”

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-377-4328. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.