Cuts and the child welfare system

Clark County’s child welfare system has been subject to a lot of well-deserved criticism in recent years. Deaths related to abuse and neglect were infamously underreported in Southern Nevada. Some kids were simply lost.

One source of trouble locally was the “hand-off” of children gathered into short-term care by county child welfare workers, as they were passed to the state bureaucrats who were supposed to be responsible for the children’s long-term care.

So a few years back, this “bifurcated” system was consolidated. Clark County (and Washoe, to the north) agreed to take over the consolidated “child protective” functions. In return, the state would pay the county the sums it had previously been dedicating to the purpose.

But all has not gone smoothly. For one thing, because county workers are so overpaid in general, county child care workers — when the county can figure out how to hire enough workers who make the grade — are paid more than state workers used to be paid, meaning the state money doesn’t go as far once it’s handed to officials on Grand Central Parkway.

At this point, the county has delayed signing a new child services contract with the state, complaining the contract could make the county liable for $1 million to $3 million in federal penalties if the county fails to meet lower worker caseload goals — at the same time Division of Child and Family Services chief Fernando Serrano is passing along a threat from Gov. Jim Gibbons to meet a state revenue shortfall by reducing the planned state child-care stipend.

That’s the background to Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid’s climbing up on the barnyard fence the past few weeks and crowing about how he’s not going to let the governor get away with this, it’s all about “protecting the children,” etc., etc.

Mr. Reid has identified a budget line which he believes should not be cut. Fine. Late Tuesday, Gov. Gibbons agreed to remove child protection from the programs facing possible cuts. Mission accomplished.

Gov. Gibbons showed enough foresight and openness to call a summit meeting of state and municipal government chiefs last week, asking for suggestions on where to trim the state budget’s rate of growth.

How much money were we talking about, here? Until Gov. Gibbons took the cut off the table, the state contemplated trimming the Clark County child welfare pass-through from $70 million to about $66.5 million — a total of some $3.5 million.

Now, a deal’s a deal. Clark Couty agreed to do a job; the state agreed to pay. But let’s not be naive. No one would be surprised if Commission Chairman Reid, a Democrat, were to eventually seek higher public office. Painting himself as a champion of “the children” — while simultaneously branding a Republican governor as “out to hurt the children” — is way beyond a political two-fer.

Tax revenues are down all over. The administrative branches of government should all be preparing to tighten their belts.

To his credit, Mr. Reid has not yet joined with such tone-deaf country clubbers as university system Chancellor Jim Rogers and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman in advocating higher taxes. But identifying programs which should not be cut is only the first half of the assignment.

Commissioner Reid is part of the County Commission majority who gave away an extravagant $80 million raise package to county employees earlier this year — raises to workers who already enjoy far better pay, pensions and benefits than most of the taxpayers who support them. And that’s on top of cost-of-living hikes.

In fact, Clark County is the most flush governmental entity in Nevada.

Commissioner Reid couldn’t raise $3 million by cutting back the broadcasting hours of the county TV station? By challenging the science-less federal mandate that the county must spend millions of dollars waging a war against “Dustholes”? Couldn’t some of the tax money that goes to build architecturally profligate libraries and performing arts centers in this valley be shifted to more pressing needs?

Mr. Reid has told us where he believes government shouldn’t cut. Fine. But where would he apply the red pen?