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(Lincoln, NE) Gov. Dave Heineman provided a first glance at preliminary results from actions taken to help improve the state’s handling of child welfare cases following the issuance of several gubernatorial directives earlier this summer.
On June 21, the Governor directed the Nebraska Health and Human Services System (HHSS) to take several specific steps designed to decrease the amount of time children spend in Nebraska’s foster care and child welfare systems. HHSS is tracking the data on each subset of cases and is providing regular updates to the Governor.
“Our goals for these directives are straightforward and achievable,” Gov. Heineman said. “We want to begin decreasing caseloads while prioritizing several subsets of cases for the maximum possible positive impact. While the data is far too preliminary to describe as a trend, I am pleased that HHSS is making a dent in these cases.”
Following the issuance of the Governor’s directives, HHSS staff identified 1,184 cases that fit his priorities. By July 31, they had reviewed 1,093 of the cases, or more than 92 percent. Of the cases they’ve reviewed, HHSS has successfully resolved 209 of them.
Gov. Heineman said, “Over the past two months case workers have made progress by laying the foundation for a resolution in these cases with the goals of achieving permanency and stability for young, impressionable children. I do not expect this to be an overnight success, and there may well be bumps along the way. I am, however, pleased to see progress beginning to take shape.
“It’s important we remember that what we’re talking about are the lives of Nebraska children. They are not simply faceless cases, and our top priority is to reach a resolution for the children involved in this reform.”
Child Welfare Directives (pdf 28k)
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