Date: 04/23/2010
Final
Discussion of Recommendations from CWAC
COMMITTEE ON CHILD WELFARE
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03:49 PM -- Discussion of Recommendations from Child Welfare Action Committee (CWAC)
Dr. Katherine Wells, Denver Health and Denver Family Crisis Center and member of the Child Welfare Action Committee (CWAC), discussed the membership of the CWAC, stating that the committee was comprised of a number of different stakeholders. She described how child abuse cases are reported and investigated and stated that each county varies in its procedures for receiving and screening reports of possible child abuse or neglect. She suggested that there is a public perception that the counties are not using objective criteria when investigating reports of child abuse or neglect. She relayed data on the number of physicians who do not report suspected child abuse. She discussed the reasons why physicians indicate they do not report, including that he or she knew the family, that he or she did not trust the child welfare system, or that he or she felt that they could provide better services to the family than the child welfare system. She discussed recommendation 14 of the CWAC, which recommends that the state develop a centralized hotline and processing system for reports of suspected child abuse. She stated that once the information is obtained through the centralized system, it would be distributed to the proper county for further investigation. She explained the parameters of the recommendation, including training requirements for staff, processes for documenting and recording reports, and procedures for acceptance of referrals. Dr. Wells discussed the benefits of implementing a centralized intake center. In response to a questions from Senator Newell, Dr. Wells stated that the recommendation did not receive wide support, and, at the recommendation of the Governor, is being vetted for one year prior to being implemented. She spoke to some of the concerns regarding the recommendation and indicated that some of the concerns relate to funding for the staff at the centralized call center, while other concerns related to a fear that it would be a move away from a county-administered system.
04:08 PM
Lynda Fox, member of the CWAC, distributed a copy of her testimony to the committee (Attachment K) and discussed recommendation 29 of the CWAC which relates to restructuring the administration of the child welfare system. She stated that the goal of the recommendation is to improve accountability. She stated that the CWAC wanted to improve families' access to services. She explained that, under the recommendation, the 11 counties with the largest populations of children would have the option of continuing to deliver human services using county employees or those counties could choose to have the state deliver services with state employees. Those counties that chose to continue providing services would be required to contribute additional funding for services. The remaining counties would be grouped into regions and services would be delivered by the state with state employees. She further discussed the CWAC's recommendation that a state-level and regional advisory council be established. She stated that the local counties are in a good position to respond to specific local needs, and the goal of the recommendation was to impose accountability and consistency while maintaining local flexibility. Ms. Fox responded to questions from Senator Boyd regarding what the incentives would be for the larger counties to continue to provide child welfare services. Ms. Fox stated that because counties have a history of providing the services, they may wish to continue to do so, and that the specifics of the financing structure would have to be further studied. She responded to additional questions from Representative Gagliardi regarding whether county representatives were consulted in the development of the recommendation. The committee continued to discuss the recommendations described by the witnesses.