Insurance loss raises concerns

Clark County's loss of liability insurance for foster parents has a national advocacy group seeking federal intervention to avert a potential crisis in care.

The National Center for Youth Law already has been contacted by two sets of Clark County foster parents who may surrender foster children back to the system, said Bill Grimm, senior attorney for the center.

The county government's failure to provide insurance against liability and property damage is just going to make Clark County's current shortage of foster parents even worse.

"Foster parents open their hearts and their homes to care for some of our most needy children," Grimm wrote in a Dec. 5 request for help made to Sharon Fujii, regional administrator for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"The insurance provided to them for making the commitments and taking the risks associated with being a foster parent is a legitimate and reasonable expectation. It is also their right under federal law."

Clark County received notice of cancellation from United National Insurance Company on Oct. 24.

Foster parents were informed on Nov. 27 that the carrier chose not to renew Clark County's coverage because of excessive claims.

The excessive claims included a $300,000 settlement paid in October over a lawsuit involving Everlyse Cabrera, a 2-year-old girl who disappeared in 2006 while in foster care.

Grimm was angry that it took Clark County more than a month to tell foster parents that their coverage would lapse at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

"This is totally unacceptable," Grimm said. "It's a failure to the foster parent community and a failure to the children in those homes."

Grimm also asserts that it's a federal requirement to provide liability insurance to cover a foster child in care. But state and county officials said that situation involves insurance coverage of the foster parent, not the child.

Clark County was the only Nevada entity that offered foster parent insurance. It's not provided in Washoe County, the rural counties or at the state level, said Steve George, spokesman for the Nevada Division of Health and Human Services.

United National canceled the state's policy prior to accepting Clark County as a client in 2004.

After checking with legal counsel on Thursday, George said his understanding is that liability coverage for foster parents is optional.

Clark County Family Services Director Tom Morton shared George's position.

In the wake of being dropped by United National, Morton said, his staff researched the issue. They were told by the National Foster Parent Association that such coverage is not mandatory.

"It's my understanding that this is the exception rather than the rule," Morton said.

Morton regrets not informing foster parents of the situation sooner. It took the department three weeks to determine that there was no short-term solution to the loss of coverage, Morton said.

The Thanksgiving holiday also delayed notification.

The county is exploring the possibility of creating a system of self-insurance for foster parents, Morton said. But that's a complicated undertaking that would require planning, input and approval from several county entities.

"The fact is, we're just not able to provide any alternative on an individual basis," Morton said.

Morton said he has received one call so far voicing concern for the loss of foster parent coverage.

In Grimm's letter asking federal officials to investigate Clark County's failure to insure foster parents, he detailed the circumstances of one foster parent caring for a group of four siblings, all with special needs.

"Many of the children are very aggressive, and at least one already has been responsible for injuring another child outside the home," Grimm wrote. "With such special needs children, the foster parent is rightfully concerned about her liability."

Grimm also said that an increasing number of foster parents are being named in lawsuits brought against the Clark County child welfare system.

Grimm's group has sued the county over child welfare issues, but the federal court action seeks system improvement and not a monetary settlement payable to the National Center for Youth Law, based in California.

"Even foster parents that are confident they are providing exemplary care are rightfully afraid that they could be the target of these lawsuits," Grimm said.

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