June 26, 2006

Dear Fellow Nebraskans:

In recent days I directed the Nebraska Health and Human Services System (HHSS) to take a series of immediate and specific actions to ensure that we continue to improve the services we provide vulnerable children and families. Our goal is better service to children.

The number of state wards reached an all-time high of 7,803 in April 2006. Nebraska also continues to have one of the nation’s highest rates of out-of-home placements per thousand children. In 2003, Nebraska had a rate of 13.8 children in out-of-home care. These children enter our state’s child welfare system through the actions of law enforcement or the courts, and many have been the victims of crimes.

HHSS, and in particular our front-line protection and safety workers, have been striving to substantially improve their ability to intervene on behalf of children. They have made significant progress since a series of important reforms were begun under my predecessor, Mike Johanns.

Nebraska has posted a 52.9 percent increase in children placed with relatives from 2001 to 2006, and adoptions are steadily increasing. We now a have a system of accountability in place that has demonstrated significant improvement in many of the federal measures used to grade child protection and safety units, and law enforcement and county attorneys will be able to access our intake information on families for the first time this year.

Yet while we are seeing some positive results, continued progress is imperative. A recent evaluation by the federal government pointed out several areas where our state fell short of national performance standards. Among our shortcomings were untimely family reunifications, failing to finalize adoptions within two years, multiple child placements, reentries into foster care and incidences of child abuse or neglect.

I know that better performance is within our reach and I am committed to helping ensure that we achieve that goal. I have been meeting with HHSS officials, private providers, foster parents, caseworkers and concerned citizens in an effort to get ideas for improving the system for the benefit of children in this state.

Based on what I have learned, I have told the management of HHSS that they will place an immediate priority on resolving the cases of children from the ages of zero through five. There are 1,455 such children presently living outside of their homes and in the custody of the state. That is an unacceptable number.

I have also directed HHSS to see that the system focuses on the permanent placement of children who have spent 15 or more of the last 22 months in our care. Whether that means finding permanent care outside the home, or getting children back to their families, we need to do a better job in achieving a resolution in these cases.

Government is not the best parent, nor did we ever intend it to be. We are at best a facilitator helping to ensure the proper placement of a child in a safe and stable environment where each child can have an opportunity to flourish.

However, we cannot do this alone, so I have ordered our caseworkers and upper-level management to work at fostering and encouraging greater cooperation with the courts, county attorneys and law enforcement agencies. The child welfare system is a shared responsibility, in which our HHSS workers play just one part.

Yet we must also continue doing a better job of training and retaining our workforce. Staff turnover remains a consistent challenge, but it is one we are addressing. We continue to seek opportunities for lightening caseloads, and we have found some opportunities that will not cost taxpayers. Based on the suggestions of caseworkers, I have ordered HHSS to begin working with K-12 schools to decrease the number of truancy cases referred to the state, so HHSS can focus on protection and safety.

Finally, I have directed the agency to explore the possibility of cross-training current workers from across the agency’s various departments. We would use current state employees in areas outside of their current jobs in order to prioritize needs. More money is not always the answer. Prioritized allocation of resources is.

By working together, Nebraskans will continue finding creative solutions to the challenges we face.