Joint Committee Committee on Child Welfare (04/23/2010)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

COMMITTEE ON CHILD WELFARE

Date:	04/23/2010	ATTENDANCE

Time:	01:10 PM to 05:48 PM	Boyd	X
		Gagliardi	*
Place:	SCR 356	Lundberg	X
		Nikkel	*
This Meeting was called to order by		Kefalas	*
	Senator Newell	Newell	X

This Report was prepared by
	Kelly Stapleton
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Office of the Child's Representative County Directors of Dept Child Welfare Service Providers Child Protective Services in Other States Discussion of Recommendations from CWAC Comments from the Department of Human Services Challenges Identified by County Commissioners Committee Discussion on Next Steps		- - - - - - - -

01:10 PM -- Update from the Office of the Child's Representative

Linda Weinerman, Executive Director, Office of the Child's Representative and Sarah Ehrlich, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Child's Representative and Lee Wheeler-Berlines, Executive Director, Colorado Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, introduced themselves to the committee. Several handouts, including a letter from the Office of the Children's Representative and a chart depicting dependency and neglect court proceedings in Colorado, were provided to the committee (Attachments A and B).

01:13 PM

Ms. Weinerman began her presentation and explained the role of a guardian ad litem (GAL) within the judicial system. She stated that a GAL is only brought into the child welfare process when a complaint has been filed within the court system. Ms. Ehrlich further explained the role of the GAL. Ms. Weinerman stated that the county departments of human services are the only entities that may file complaints with the courts when a parent has been neglectful, thus they have significant input in the process. She continued to say that the only way an individual (non-parent) can file a complaint against a neglectful parent is to contact their local county department of human services and have the department file the complaint. She stated there is no other recourse for concerned citizens. She stated that Georgia and Colorado are the only two states that allow county departments of human services to administer the child welfare system. Ms. Ehrlich spoke to a chart illustrating the entities that are authorized to file a case in court regarding child neglect in other states (Attachment C). Ms. Weinerman spoke to House Bill 10-1226 that allows counties to offer voluntary services to families who are deemed to be a low- to moderate-safety risk to a child, rather than referring these cases to dependency and neglect hearings in court. She stated that this bill is one way that counties will have more flexibility.

01:23 PM

Lee Wheeler-Berliner, representing the Colorado Court Appointed Special Advocate Association, spoke to a map of the state which depicts which counties have a court appointed special advocate (CASA) program (Attachment D). Peggy Rudden representing Advocates for Children, described how the program works and provided a handout to the committee (Attachment E). She recounted stories of children who have a CASA and their success rates. She stated that CASAs have saved the state considerable dollars. Mr. Wheeler-Berliner provided some statistics to the committee regarding how much time is spent with a child in the judicial system.

01:33 PM -- County Directors of Department of Human Services

A panel of county directors of departments of human services came to the table.

01:35 PM

Cheryl Ternes, President, Social Services Directors Association and Director, Arapahoe County Department of Human Services, introduced herself to the committee. She began her testimony by stating that the directors support 27 of the 29 Child Welfare Action Committee (CWAC) recommendations. The CWAC was established by executive order in 2008 to provide recommendations to the governor on how to improve the child welfare system in Colorado. The committee met over a two-year period and issued final recommendations in December of 2009. She spoke to recommendation 11 which recommends that the state conduct a workload study. She stated that only one county supported the recommendation from the CWAC to refer authority and administration of the child welfare system to the state, 5 abstained from voting, and the remaining 58 counties voted against the recommendation. Ms. Ternes stated that state-administered systems have a higher percentage of child fatalities than states that have county-administered child welfare systems. She spoke to data suggesting that child welfare systems under the authority of the county have faster response times than state-administered systems. Ms. Ternes continued and indicated that 51 counties voted against recommendation 14 which would establish a centralized call center. She described Arapahoe County's call center and stated it works effectively. Ms. Ternes provided her written testimony to the committee (Attachment F).

01:45 PM -- Patricia Wilson Pheanious, Manager, Denver Human Services, provided her written testimony to the committee (Attachment G). She described the population of children served in the child welfare system. She stated there are several factors that present challenges to the county departments that administer child welfare programs. She highlighted several factors and stated that both counties and the state would have difficulties addressing these challenges. She commented that the child welfare system is not funded to act in a preventative manner. Ms. Pheanious spoke to protecting children and preventing child abuse. She explained that the child welfare system encompasses more than just protecting children, it's about education, poverty, and income levels of families. She provided data to the committee regarding the relationship between child poverty and child welfare. She spoke to the counties concerns regarding recommendation 29, which would require the state to administer the child welfare system.

01:55 PM -- Linda Fairbairn, Director, Prowers County of Social Services, introduced herself to the committee and provided her written testimony to the committee (Attachment H). She described her professional background to the committee. She spoke to the dependency and neglect process in Prowers County. She stated that Prowers County has developed a model which encompasses other members of the community including other family members to ensure that children are safe and protected.

02:03 PM -- Kindra Mulch, Director of Social Services, Kit Carson County and Cheyenne County, introduced herself to the committee and provided her written testimony to the committee (Attachment I). She described the demographics of her county. She stressed that local control is extremely important in her county. She stated that in a county of 8,000 people, everyone knows everyone. She commented that strong leadership is important and spoke in support of the child welfare training academy. Ms. Mulch stated that they do not have the level of personnel that is required by the child welfare training academy due to the size of her community. She suggested that the state needs to improve the delivery of behavioral health services in Colorado.

02:16 PM

Senator Lundberg asked the panel to comment on the child fatality review process. Ms. Ternes spoke to the child fatality review process. Ms. Pheanious stated that she was satisfied with the internal process and the state process. She stated one of her concerns is that when the child fatality review report are made public, information pertaining to the report is still confidential, yet the report is public. Ms. Mulch stated that confidentiality is very important. Ms. Pheanouis spoke to the Mountain and Plains Child Welfare Implementation Center that will be working towards implementing a best practice model.

02:31 PM -- Challenges Identified by Child Welfare Service Providers

Dr. Skip Barber, Executive Director, and Dr. Jerry Yager, Colorado Association for Family and Children's Agencies, Jim Barclay, Foster Care Adoption Agencies of Colorado, and Mary Lewis, parent of a foster child, came to the table and introduced themselves to the committee.

02:34 PM -- Dr. Skip Barber provided a copy of recommendation 32 from the CWAC to the Joint Select Committee on Child Welfare (Attachment J). He described the recommendation, which advocates for a system of care for children rather than a system of care that is encapsulated in silos. He provided a historical background regarding the state's behavioral health services. He spoke to the funding mechanism of the child welfare system. He asked the committee to reconsider rate cuts to child welfare providers. He stated that within the last fiscal calendar year, six residential facilities closed due to lack of funding. He cautioned the committee that the state is facing a serious crisis because of the lack of residential child care facilities for children with high-end needs.

02:41 PM -- Jim Barclay continued to discuss funding mechanisms for child welfare providers. Mr. Barclay concurred with Mr. Barber's testimony regarding the crisis concerning residential child care facilities and child placement centers. He urged the committee to reprioritize state funding.

02:46 PM -- Dr. Jerry Yager commented on the child welfare system.

02:52 PM -- Mary Lewis stated that she has spoken with several mandatory reporters involved in the system. She relayed a story and stated that several mandatory reporters are extremely frustrated by the system. She stated there are many success stories but they are not necessarily highlighted. She suggested that there is a lack of consistency and transparency in the child welfare system.

03:00 PM

The committee discussed funding of the child welfare system. Dr. Yager stated that the system is stressed. He stated that many factors contribute to child fatalities. He suggested that integration of the system and a continuum of care is extremely important.

03:13 PM -- Child Protective Services in Other States

Kelly Crane, Policy Specialist, National Conference of State Legislatures, provided data to the committee stating that approximately 460,000 children are in some type of care, which is the lowest number since 1993. She continued by stating that the number of children entering foster care is lower than the number of children exiting care. She described several strategies such as the differential response approach described by Ms. Weinerman which allows child county departments to engage the families of abused children differently. She spoke to the outcomes of this change in policy. She spoke to another initiative which encompasses family supports and family strengthening. She provided an example of the initiative saying that departments which coordinate public housing would work with departments providing child welfare systems. Ms. Crane also described the family team decision-making strategy which is intended to increase the number of children children exiting the foster care system. She spoke about parent-child visits which maintain the relationship between family members in order to reduce the sense of loss or abandonment. She indicated that this strategy has resulted in shorter foster care placements. Ms. Crane spoke to strengthening kinship and improving the legal representation for foster children.

03:23 PM -- Dr. Patricia Schene, Child Welfare Fellow, American Humane Association, described the American Humane Society. She stated that it provides a clearing house of information and resources for the child welfare system. She spoke to the CWAC and its recommendations. She stated that the scrutiny of the child welfare system has increased significantly over the last decade. She stated that the internal review process has nudged the system to improve itself. She described the differential response initiative and stated that it has produced concrete evidence demonstrating effectiveness. She stated that the goal of that initiative is not make the family feel like they are on 'the other side of the department.' She stated that differential response initiatives allows the department to speak with the child and their families without fear and it also permits a broader approach to caring for children in totality. She spoke to various initiatives that work towards prevention. She stated that these initiatives take various forms, but essentially help the families connect to resources in their communities. She indicated that several states are working to reduce inconsistencies and implement some type of practice model that will ensures that quality is infused into the system.

03:39 PM

Ms. Schene encouraged the committee to work towards collaboration between systems to serve children in the state. The committee discussed various factors that are linked with child abuse such as poverty, education, and racial disparities. Ms. Schene stated that states that bring down child poverty reduce child maltreatment.

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.

04:26 PM -- Comments from the Department of Human Services

Jenise May, Deputy Director, Department of Human Services, offered to respond to committee questions. Ms. May addressed the recommendations discussed by Dr. Wells and Ms. Fox, stating that the Governor has committed to further vetting those recommendations prior to their implementation. She stated that the recommendations require further planning, and she asked that the committee not introduce legislation on those issues. Ms. May stated that the child welfare system is complex, and there is no one solution to preventing child deaths in the state. Ms. May responded to questions from the committee regarding the time line for final approval of the recommendations, the implementation of a monthly monitoring system for the completion of fatality reviews, and funding for the Child Welfare Training Academy.

04:34 PM

Lloyd Malone, Director of the Division of Child Welfare, Department of Human Services, responded to committee questions regarding a document distributed to the committee showing the number of child fatalities due to child abuse or neglect that occurred in Colorado in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He described the criteria for conducting a state child fatality review. He further described, of the cases highlighted in the document, how many children were in foster care, how many children had an open assessment or case with the county department of social services, and how many children did not have active child abuse or neglect case at the time of their deaths. Ms. May responded to questions from Representative Kefalas regarding the lessons learned from the child deaths that occurred in 2008. Mr. Malone responded to additional questions from Senator Lundberg regarding delays in completing investigations of deaths of children who were known to the child welfare system, stating that he was unaware of issues in completing the investigations at the county level, but noted that there were instances in which the written final reports of the state reviews were not forwarded to the counties. Mr. Malone further clarified the state review and reporting process. Mr. Malone responded to additional questions from Representative Kefalas regarding the issue. The committee further discussed actions taken against counties in child welfare cases.

05:00 PM -- Challenges Identified by County Commissioners

Susan Beckman, Arapahoe County Commissioner, spoke to the challenges faced by county departments of social services. She asked that the select committee advocate for additional resources for counties and that the committee support a study of county caseworker workloads across the state. She discussed recommendation 14 of the CWAC, concerning creating a centralized intake center for reports of child abuse, and recommendation 29 of the CWAC, concerning a restructuring of the child welfare system in the state. She stated that most counties were adamantly opposed to recommendation 29, and were concerned that the recommendation was made without proper vetting. Ms. Beckman expressed her concern that there was not proper data to support the implementation of recommendations 14 and 29. She stated that throughout the nation, county-administered child welfare systems have better outcomes.

05:08 PM

Barbara Kirkmeyer, Weld County Commissioner, discussed her position on recommendation 14 of the CWAC, stating that the state has had previous problems with centralized computer systems. She further discussed recommendation 29 of the CWAC, stating that the recommendation was that the state take over the administration of all human services programs, not just child welfare programs, and the committee went outside of its scope by making the recommendation. She stated that barriers to accessing services would increase if the recommendation was implemented. She discussed child fatalities that have occurred in Weld County in previous years. She described the services that are provided by counties to families. Ms. Kirkmeyer discussed funding for child welfare services in the county, stating the funding provided by the state is not sufficient to meet the needs in the county, and Weld county is expecting to contribute $5 million in local funding for the cost of these services this year.

05:17 PM

Jeanne Nicholson, Gilpin County Commissioner, stated that county commissioners have not been fully informed regarding child fatalities in the child welfare system. She stated that counties do not respond well to suggestions that the state should take over the child welfare system since they have not been fully informed of the issues surrounding child fatalities. She stated that there are strengths and weakness to all systems, and the best system would involve counties and the state working together. She asked that the select committee not take any action during the current legislative session.

05:21 PM

David Foy, Washington County Commissioner and President of Colorado Counties Inc., testified that counties are not fully informed of the processes of reporting concerning child welfare deaths. He described his personal experience with the death of his child and the subsequent county investigation of the death. He described the commissioners' response to the CWAC recommendation 29, stating that the counties will be strong participants as the recommendation is further vetted.

05:26 PM -- Committee Discussion on Next Steps

Senator Newell asked the committee for their input on how the committee can move forward. She stated that the issues the committee has been considering are difficult and that it is obvious that everyone is committed to the welfare of children. Senator Boyd stated that it did not appear as though there was support for introducing additional legislation in the current legislative session. She suggested that the committee members continue to follow the implementation of the recommendations of the CWAC, and that the House and Senate Health and Human Services committees get an update during the 2011 legislation session on the implementation of the recommendations. Senator Lundberg discussed what the state's role should be with regard to child welfare issues, and expressed concern that many families are inappropriately made part of the system. Senator Lundberg expressed his thoughts on mandatory reporting requirements.

05:36 PM

Representative Nikkel discussed her belief that many of the problems in the system are caused by a lack of communication. She suggested that the committee continue to meet after the legislative session in order to take more public testimony regarding the child welfare system. Representative Kefalas suggested that the committee members read the materials that were distributed, and committed to continuing to discuss the proper role of government in the child welfare system. He suggested other committees that may be able to continue discussions related to child welfare issues. Representative Gagliardi committed to attending additional meetings on child welfare issues. Senator Newell summarized the committee member's recommendations regarding the next steps for the committee. Senator Newell commented that there is fear and distrust among the parties involved in the child welfare system and thanked the CWAC for their work. She suggested that she and Representative Kefalas work with legislative staff to compile the recommendations provided to the committee into a final report.

05:48 PM

The committee adjourned.