Document Type

Report

Publication Date

10-2008

First page number:

1

Last page number:

160

Abstract

Assembly Bill 629 of the 2007 Nevada Legislature mandated that a performance audit of Nevada’s child welfare agencies be conducted. This legislation was passed in response to documented concerns regarding the appropriate provision of services by the agencies, including inconsistent data and multiple safety issues. The UNLV Research Team comprised of staff from the Nevada Institute for Children’s Research and Policy, the School of Social Work and the William S. Boyd School of Law was hired by the state to conduct the audit. The purpose of the findings and recommendations of this audit are to assist in improving the Nevada child welfare system. Pursuant to A.B. 629, this study includes multiple components, including, but not limited to:

  • Random, unannounced site visits to the agency offices to review open and closed cases. This review included the Unified Nevada Information Technology for Youth (UNITY) and paper files concerning children reported as neglected or abused.
  • Interviews with child welfare agency supervisors and/or managers, and agency administrators.
  • Focus groups with direct practice workers from all three jurisdictions to glean
    information regarding barriers and suggestions for improvement.
  • Review of each region’s policies and procedures to determine whether they adhere to applicable state and federal regulations.
  • Review of recommendations from various independent reports to ascertain whether the recommendations were successfully incorporated into practice.
  • Law and policy analysis, including a review of each agencies’ policies and procedures.

Keywords

Child welfare; Children – Institutional care; Children – Services for; Nevada

Disciplines

Social Policy | Social Welfare

Language

English

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