Child advocates have called on Nebraska to rethink its approach to child services reform, saying failures in efforts to privatize care for thousands of children could scar them for years.
But a top state official said this week the state won't change course significantly despite setbacks. Todd Reckling, who oversees child and family services for the state, said Nebraska is doing a good job in the face of what he called "unfortunate" circumstances.
In less than a month, two contractors the state hired to provide essential services to more than a third of the 6,340 state wards have been lost -- one to bankruptcy, the other because it decided the contract didn't pay enough. That leaves three contractors, and they are expected to pick up the extra work later this summer.
"I can never say there's zero disruption, but we want to minimize that and so far we've been able to,'' Reckling said.
But Kathy Bigsby Moore of Voices for Children in Nebraska said the loss of two of the five contractors shows there's something wrong with the system.
"If a scientist is doing an experiment and this much of the experiment had unraveled in just four months, would you keep mixing the same chemicals or try something different?" she asked.
State officials have tried to fill the void with state workers, and they say subcontractors continue to provide key services. But the effect of losing two contractors can be seen: After Omaha-based Visinet went bankrupt and closed its doors late last week, a handful of the 2,000 children it served had to be housed at a Lancaster County detention center.
Over the weekend, a child missed a scheduled visit with a family member because of a disruption in services caused by the loss of Visinet, and there have been problems transporting children to school and for services they are supposed to get, said Sarah Helvey, who oversees child welfare programs for the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.
State workers caring for the children that Visinet provided services to "don't know the history of their care and don't know the family," Helvey said. The other company that ended its contract, Cedars Youth Services, will continue to provide services until the end of June.
For children with mental illnesses, violent tendencies or other issues, Bigsby Moore likened the stress caused by the disruptions to pulling on a rubber band already about to break.
Troubled children and families are being shuffled to different professionals who make important decisions on what services they get, she said. Children who still live at home with parents or guardians are most affected, she said, because the so-called "service coordinators" who made important decisions about their care and monitored progress disappeared after Visinet closed last week.
State employees who helped oversee the cases and signed off on service plans for children are now taking over the service coordinators' duties. But Bigsby Moore said the state workers have had much less contact with the children than the service coordinators.
In many cases, problems caused by the disruptions may not be apparent for years, she said, calling on state officials to re-evaluate the reforms enacted just this year.
Reckling said the state has begun discussions with the three remaining contractors to see what, if any, changes need to be made to ensure they continue providing services. He wouldn't reveal details of the talks so far but said contractors had concerns about money and operations.
Helvey said her group alerted state officials early on that the contracts might be insufficient.
Late last year, the state Foster Care Review Board expressed concerns that the state was rushing reform. Driving it is a desire to have fewer children in out-of-home placements, and Reckling said the lost contracts won't derail the approach the state is taking to accomplish that.
"The overall goal of reform ... is the right direction to proceed," Reckling said.
