Private foster care: Child welfare versus profit
Nebraska's recently privatized child welfare system was in disarray in April, when two contracted companies dropped out because they found the work unprofitable.
The withdrawal of two of the state's five foster care contractors has disrupted the already-troubled lives of many children, causing missed therapy, missed visitation time with parents, changes in home placements and repeated changes in caseworkers, according to advocates from the Nebraska Appleseed law project.
This case and experiences in other states illustrate a recurring theme in the privatization of services like foster care and child welfare: Such programs for vulnerable populations are essential to communities, but often don't turn a profit without fraud or dangerous corner-cutting.
- In Kansas, the first state to privatize foster care, lawmakers held hearings in March to investigate complaints that contractors have boosted their profits by keeping children in state custody longer than necessary.
- An investigation by the Denver Post found that private foster care businesses charged the State of Colorado three times as much per child as equivalent county services, while many of the private agencies had records of child abuse and molestation in the homes where they placed children.
- In Florida, a private contractor sent abused and neglected children to sleep in conference rooms in an office building, sometimes for weeks, a state judge found.
In Nebraska, state administrators have declared they will proceed with statewide privatization of child welfare services. Advocates say much more state oversight is needed to adequately manage the contracts - which research shows is an added cost of privatization.
