Group gives Nevada high mark for child abuse policies

In 2006, Nevada's tracking system for child fatalities and near-fatal abuse cases was in such disarray that the public was pummeled with report after tragic report of minors failed by child welfare.

Two years of legislative reform and system overhaul later, Nevada has earned a place at the top of a national report that grades the states for disclosure practices in life-threatening child abuse cases.

First Star, a national nonprofit that advocates for abused children, and the University of San Diego School of Law's Children's Advocacy Institute issued the grades today.

The grades are based on quality of the disclosure policies of all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Nevada, New Hampshire, California, Indiana, Iowa and Oregon were the only states given grades of A or A minus.

"Two years ago, we would have gotten a flat F," said Mike Willden, director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. "But we've been working very, very hard to make improvements."

Nevada's odyssey to a better disclosure system has been a painful one, Willden said. High-profile child deaths rocked public confidence in child welfare, especially in Clark County, where audits found serious problems with underreporting and under-investigating abuse-related child deaths.

An expert blue ribbon panel, convened to look at the issue statewide, spent a year reviewing processes and forming legislative recommendations. Lawmakers then took responsibility for legislative reform that put more transparency into the child welfare system and for increasing resources to better serve juveniles taken into government custody.

Today, Willden said, the public can access child fatality reports in suspected abuse cases on the health and human services Web site.

"We haven't come all the way yet," Willden said. "But we are trying to get there."

The criteria for the grades include: public disclosure of findings in child fatalities or near-fatalities; whether state policy on reporting has been codified in statute; and ease of access to information in child deaths.

Ten states received an F: Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Vermont.

In South Dakota, Virgena Wieseler of the Division of Child Protection Services said her agency will propose changes based on the laws in states that got high grades. Rob Johnson of Tennessee's Department of Children's Services said legislative efforts were under way "on how to better release information."

Many states often fail to release adequate information about fatal and near-fatal child abuse cases, placing confidentiality above disclosure to a degree that thwarts needed reforms, two child advocacy groups say in the report aimed at elected officials

The report urges Congress and state officials to adopt stronger policies and laws regarding deadly cases of child abuse.

"When abuse or neglect lead to a child's death or near death, a state's interest in confidentiality becomes secondary to the interests of taxpayers, advocates and other children, who would be better served by maximum transparency," said Amy Harfeld, First Star's executive director and a co-author of the report.

"Once we know what is broken, we can try to fix it," she said.

Several of the states receiving low grades defended their policies on grounds that families entangled in near-fatal abuse cases were entitled to confidentiality. Harfeld said that the report is not pressing for disclosure of families' names, but rather for other details illuminating how state agencies handled the cases.

Every state accepts federal funds under the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, which directs states to "allow for public disclosure" of information regarding fatal and near-fatal cases. But the report says many states limit disclosure because the act provides too much leeway. For example, according to report, some state policies cover abuse deaths but not near-fatalities, while other states impede access by releasing information only if a petition is filed.

Robert Fellmeth, executive director of the Children's Advocacy Institute, noted that extensive details often emerge only when a child abuse death gets heavy media coverage.

"But the reality is that 90-plus percent of the time, nobody knows anything and the states actively conceal it," he said in a telephone interview. "That's not right and that's what we're mad about.

"The system most of all wants to protect its most embarrassing gaffes," Fellmeth said.

About 1,500 American children die from abuse annually. The report contends that more standardized and thorough disclosures about these deaths, and near-fatal cases, might reduce the toll.

Changes resulting from a single high-profile tragedy "are usually knee-jerk responses," the report said. "Enhanced public disclosure of all child abuse and neglect deaths and near deaths enables the public, child advocates and policymakers to work together to understand comprehensive trends and craft more thoughtful, comprehensive reforms."

Several states are contesting their ranking. Cathy Utz of Pennsylvania's Office of Children, Youth and Families said the report did not reflect a recent state initiative to provide summaries of each fatal and near-fatal case in its annual child abuse report.

Tara Muhlhauser of North Dakota's children and family services division said officials withhold only information that is deemed confidential under state or federal law.

"We are not failing in our efforts to protect children in North Dakota," she said, contending that the F grade reflected only a "narrow category" regarding public information.

Romaine Serna of New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department said her state complies with federal law.

"It's a balancing act for us because we do believe in the public's right to know, but we also believe in families and their right to confidentiality," she said.

Elyn Jones of Maryland's Department of Human Resources said the low grade was no surprise because the agency has long been criticized for restrictive disclosure policies. Maryland is one of a handful of states that doesn't release information about serious child abuse unless a criminal charge is filed.

"The system is very broken," said Ameejill Whitlock of the Baltimore-based nonprofit Advocates for Children and Youth.

Contact reporter Lisa Kim Bach at lbach@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0287.