Nebraska CPS News Archive

Privatization fails: Nebraska tries again to reform child welfare

In 2009, Nebraska privatized its child welfare. Now critics say it hasn't worked. Our coverage investigates current juvenile justice policies - many of them controversial - and closely examines the burgeoning debate over proposed new approaches.

Foster parent Jenae VanEvery got a call around midnight one day in September 2011 asking if she could take in two sisters - ages 2 and 3 - who had been found living in filth and squalor by Lincoln, Neb. police. The children were in the custody of the non-profit group KVC, one of the private contractors the state of Nebraska had hired after deciding in 2009 to privatize its child welfare system. VanEvery agreed but said she could not pick up the children until the next afternoon.

iwatchnews.org

August 21, 2012

State curbs fees to child welfare contractor

by Martha Stoddard

LINCOLN - Nebraska's last private child welfare contractor will get less money this year to care for abused and neglected children in the Omaha area.

Starting July 1, the state began paying the Omaha-based Nebraska Families Collaborative by the case instead of a fixed amount per month. The change, according to a World-Herald analysis, means the difference between a potential $65 million for the year and an estimated $58 million under the new contract.

omaha.com

July 26, 2012

Mountain lion shot in 2011 will be stuffed, mounted, displayed in school

by Kim Schmidt

KEARNEY - The Kenwood Elementary School Cougars will get their mascot.

The 2-year-old male mountain lion that was killed in southwest Kearney in May 2011 will soon be gracing the entryway of the school at 915 16th Ave. Kearney Public Schools acquired the carcass and the cat is being stuffed and mounted.

kearneyhub.com

July 8, 2012

Mom gets probation for child abuse

by Andrew Bottrell

The mother of two North Platte boys reportedly found by police locked in a dog kennel on Oct. 24, 2011, has received two years of probation.

Ashly Clark, 23, of North Platte pleaded no contest to one count of felony child abuse, a class 3A felony, in Lincoln County District Court on Monday. Clark waived a pre-sentence investigation and Judge Richard Birch ordered her to serve two years probation.

nptelegraph.com

July 3, 2012

Parents: Be vigilant for signs of child sexual abuse

by Christopher Burbach

Jerry Sandusky probably will be locked up for the rest of his life, which would extract justice for his victims and provide protection for other potential victims in Pennsylvania. But what about abuse victims closer to home?

The day after Sandusky, a former Penn State University football coach, was convicted of 45 child sex abuse charges, a dance teacher in Omaha made his first court appearance to face charges of sexually abusing three boys he had taught. The center last year provided sexual abuse services to more than 1,300 children from metropolitan Omaha and southwest Iowa. And for every known incident of abuse, many more occur without being reported, experts say.

omaha.com

July 3, 2012

Advocacy group says Nebraska making progress reducing needless foster care

by Deena Winter

A new report by a national child advocacy group says Nebraska appears to be making progress in taking fewer children out of their homes and putting them in foster care.

The report says during the year ending Sept. 30, Nebraska took away 2,540 children, compared to 3,373 the prior year and the lowest number since at least 1999. A national expert on child welfare reform, Richard Wexler, said a 25 percent drop is significant - assuming it's accurate and the state is not "massaging the numbers."

nebraska.watchdog.org

June 21, 2012

Wildlife Experts Confirm Increased Cougar Population in Nebraska

Wildlife experts say the recent cougar sightings across Nebraska could become more common.

What to do in case of an encounter: Due to their secretive nature and low density, mountain lions rarely interact with humans. Occasional interactions may occur with human infringement on natural areas and mountain lion immigration into populated areas with high deer densities.

1011now.com

June 15, 2012

Adoption Debate Flares After Russian Boy Dies in Nebraska

by Fred Weir

The tragic death of a 9-year old Russian-born boy, who was apparently alone in the Nebraska home of his adoptive American parents when it burned down last week, has triggered a renewed outpouring of media outrage in Russia.

"This death raises many questions," Mr. Astakhov wrote on his blog, according to Russian media. "Either the boy was being punished [and for that reason was stuck in the basement during the fire] or he was neglected and got into the basement accidentally. Why the boy was locked in the basement and why he could not get out is something we will ask the US attorneys."

alaskadispatch.com

May 24, 2012

Child welfare bills may get paid

by Paul Hammel

LINCOLN - For 15 years, Prince of the Road transportation services of Kearney has hauled foster children and other state wards to school, detention centers and appointments for the State of Nebraska.

But amid the financial troubles that struck the state's effort to privatize its child welfare system, the 100-employee company stopped getting paid for many of its 10,000 trips a month. Nearly 20 drivers were laid off when the payments stopped. The company got rid of minivans to help deal with nearly $115,000 in unpaid bills for services. But it kept providing the rides because the state asked it to continue.

omaha.com

March 9, 2012

'Fierce advocate' for Foster Kids Terminated by Board

by Nebraska Watchdog

The longtime director of the Foster Care Review Board was ousted today by her board of directors, who voted unanimously to terminate her after 29 sometimes tumultuous years at the helm.

It was unclear exactly why the board terminated Carol Stitt - who was hailed by both the board and her supporters as one of the fiercest advocates for foster kids in Nebraska. After the meeting, some of Stitt's supporters were in tears and others just furious. Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, said it was disgraceful that Stitt was not allowed to continue "important work."

missouri-news.org

January 21, 2012

Woman Calls 911; Abandons Children

by Jake Wasikowski

Channel 6 News looks deeper into the story of a woman who apparently called 911 to come take her children away. Then isn't home with them when police arrive.

Police are looking for a woman who called 911 saying she couldn't care for her children anymore, and then abandoned them when police showed up. Police say a mother on the other end tells them she can no longer afford to take care of her four children, and that they should be taken away by child protective services. When officers arrive they find the kids, between the ages of 2 and 12, in a home they say wasn't fit for children to live. The 30-year-old mother couldn't be reached, and the kids were taken into protective custody. Jacque Schafer says she's seen at least one of the children outside half naked in the cold without supervision.

wowt.com

January 17, 2012

CHILD WELFARE: Navigating a Fractured System

by Robyn Wisch

Omaha, NE – The child welfare system in Nebraska is incredibly complex. But for the families in the system, it’s incredibly personal.

In part one of our series: Child Welfare: Navigating a Fractured System, we examine why child welfare in the state has been so notoriously splintered, and how some families feel lost in it. The Theye family came to the attention of the state last year, because all three kids had missed weeks of school. And after going to court, the Department of Health and Human Services and KVC, a private agency contracted with the state, recommended the children be removed from the home. But instead of placing them in foster care, they placed them with their father. That’s a very different response from a few years ago, when the family first came into the system.

kvnonews.com

January 12, 2012

Questions about child welfare to dominate Nebraska Legislature

by Martha Stoddard

LINCOLN - Nebraska's 2012 legislative session looks to be the year of the child. During the next four months, lawmakers will wrestle with key questions about the future of child welfare and juvenile justice in the state.

How they answer - or don't answer - those questions will shape the lives of abused and neglected Nebraska children and youthful troublemakers. "I think this is going to be one of the more significant issues that we deal with," said State Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha. "We have a responsibility to these young people."

omaha.com

January 1, 2012