Nevada's child welfare funding plan in flux

The state's effort to let Nevada's largest counties run their own child-welfare systems could be held up because Gov. Kenny Guinn has rejected a plan for covering long-term costs.

Nevada Department of Child and Family Services officials told a joint legislative subcommittee Thursday the governor was uncomfortable with the plan, which took almost a year to set up.

Under the plan, the state and Clark and Washoe counties would swap costs for child welfare and long-term health care.

The goal is to have the counties manage all aspects of their child welfare systems. Washoe County already has integrated its welfare system, but the integration for Clark County has been delayed for two years.

Senate Republicans are skeptical about moving ahead with the integration plan before developing an alternative long-term funding system.

"I think I can speak for the Senate that there's some things we'll have to know before we go ahead," Sen. Raymond Rawson, R-Las Vegas, said.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, said the lack of a plan for long-term funding shouldn't stop the integration. After all, she said, lawmakers approved the measure in 2001 without any long-term funding in place.

"Fixing the system is a priority for the governor and the Legislature. The funding for it and the plan has already been approved and is in the budget," Buckley said.

Guinn's budget includes about $39 million to help pay for Clark County's welfare integration.

The state decided to shift child welfare responsibilities to bring consistency to the children. Under the old, bifurcated, system, counties were responsible for moving children out of a home, but then the state would take over the responsibility of placing the child in foster care and other long-term services.

Buckley said it means the child would linger in foster homes much longer than necessary and have little consistency with social workers.

"You couldn't have designed a worse system if you tried," Buckley said.

She also said the only people this delay for Clark County is hurting are the children who need the services.

"I'm extremely frustrated. This system needs to be designed to put the child first and whenever we hear excuses about why it can't be done you want to stand up and scream," she said.

The state will continue handling most child-welfare services for Nevada's 15 other counties.