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Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel

MINUTES OF THE

CHILD WELFARE LEGISLATIVE OVERSIGHT PANEL

September 9, 1997--9:00 a.m. -- Room 305 State Capitol



Members Present:    
    
    Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard, Senate Chair
    Rep. J. Brent Haymond, House Chair
    Sen. Blaze D. Wharton
    Rep. Steven Barth
    Rep. Nora B. Stephens
    
        


    
Staff Present:     
             Mr.Bryant R. Howe
     Research Analyst
    Ms. Janetha W. Hancock
     Associate General Counsel
    Ms. L. Kaye Clark
     Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.


1.    Panel Business_
    a.     Approval of minutes of August 19, 1997 meeting
    
     MOTION: Sen. Wharton moved that the minutes of the August 19, 1997 meeting be approved as printed. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Barth was absent for the vote.

    b.    Review of Custody Trends in the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS)-- Bryant R. Howe, Research Analyst, distributed handouts to the panel regarding the number of children in custody of the DCFS, the number of children in custody by treatment goal and permanency status, the percent of caseload by permanency status, and characteristics of children with adoption treatment goal. He reported that the caseload decreased slightly in September.

    Sen. Wharton asked if the length of time in custody for children with adoption goals is increasing. Mr. Howe agreed to prepare information showing the trend line over the last two years for the median length in custody by treatment goal.

2.     Overview of the Utah Child Welfare Statutory System: System Components, Requirements, Time Frames, and Performance_Bryant R. Howe, Research Analyst, distributed a document produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures entitled "New Directions for Child Protective Services" which highlights Missouri's and Florida's child protective service systems. The report focuses on neglect cases and keeping children in their homes.

    Mr. Howe distributed a handout entitled "The Utah Child Welfare Statutory System." He reviewed the available data on how the system is performing at each of the steps taken after a child abuse or neglect is reported to DCFS. He referred to the most recent report of the Bureau of Services Review (BSR) regarding the compliance rates for each step.
     Sen. Wharton expressed concern about the compliance rate of priority1 child protection cases. He requested that staff research the reasons behind these rates. Mr. Howe said he would get additional information on priority1 cases including the number of priority1 referrals, why 20 percent are not in compliance, and the time frame on that 20 percent.

    Mr. Howe reported that in 100 percent of the cases from the BSR sample, 24 hour team meetings were convened in a timely fashion. He said that more information needs to be provided from the courts regarding shelter, adjudication, disposition, and permanency hearings.

3.    Review of the Duties, Role and Functions of the Grievance Council, Consumer Hearing Panel, Ombudsman Office_
    b.    Background_Janetha W. Hancock, Associate General Counsel, reviewed the history of the Grievance Council and Consumer Hearing Panel. She distributed a handout entitled "Former Statutory Grievance Council H.B. 265 (1994)" which shows how the Grievance Council was created. She said that in 1995 the Legislature repealed this statute and created the Consumer Hearing Panel to hear, resolve, and make recommendations regarding consumer complaints against DCFS. She referred to the handout entitled "Current Statute: Consumer Hearing Panel" which states that DCFS is required to comply with the recommendations of the panel.

    Ms. Hancock then reviewed the document entitled "Order On Stipulation Regarding the Grievance Council" in which Judge David K. Winder ordered DCFS to create a Grievance Council by June 1, 1997. The Grievance Council has authority only to make recommendations to the Division, and has no power to overturn decisions made by the Division, or to make determinations regarding a party's rights or responsibilities.

    As requested in last month's meeting, Ms. Hancock reported on the Michigan statute entitled "Children's Ombudsman Act." She said Michigan's Children's Ombudsman Office is completely independent of the DHS, is appointed by the governor, and reports directly to the governor. Other differences between Utah's and Michigan's ombudsman offices include: who can file a petition; authority to investigate complaints; and the ability to speak out against mistakes and problems found within the system.

    Kristin Brewer, Office of Guardian Ad Litem, said "interested party" should be changed to "interested person" in Utah's statute.

    Sen. Wharton said that reviews conducted by the Grievance Council and the Consumer Hearing Panel may be held too late in the process to provide relief to clients and that grievances need to be handled outside of the department that the complaint is against.

    b.     Perspectives from Department of Human Services_Rod Betit, Robin Arnold- Williams, Marsha Peterson _
    Rod Betit, DHS, explained that the Office of Child Protection Ombudsman (OCPO) was created to handle public complaints against DCFS. He said that this system provides an opportunity to express and deal with differences and also protects the balance of authority. Mr. Betit feels the OCPO does not duplicate the Grievance Council nor the Hearing Panel and recommends that it not be made more prescriptive.

    Marsha Peterson, OCPO, distributed a handout entitled "OCPO Packet Contents" which states the vision, mission and conflict resolution process of that office. She explained that the purpose of the office is to mediate disputes and track and monitor concerns regarding children in the care of DCFS. She said that unless an appeal is filed, the recommendations of OCPO are expected to be implemented. If consumers are not satisfied with the final decision, they may go to the Consumer Hearing Panel or the Grievance Council.

    Robin Arnold-Williams , DHS, stated that there is a commitment within DHS to implement the recommendations of OCPO. She said it is critical to organizational health to have advocates within the system. She said DHS has a tracking system to assure that the recommendations are implemented.

    c.     Comments from Members of the Consumer Hearing Panel --
    M. Karlyn Hinmann, Consumer Hearing Panel, said that hearings are initiated by the consumers of DFCS . She defined "consumer" as someone who has dealt with the DCFS. She then explained the procedures used by the Consumer Hearing Panel in arriving at decisions and recommendations. She said the panel focuses on the needs of the consumer to get to resolution. She said although there has been much improvement, there are still weaknesses in the follow through. She requested that an alternate be appointed to the panel.

    Scott Clark, Board of Child and Family Services, reported that an alternate has been appointed to the Consumer Hearing Panel. He said his concerns include: (1) the need for meaningful participation from the Attorney General's Office; (2) compensation for members; and (3) the authority of orders from the panel.

     d.     Committee Discussion on agenda at next meeting _
    Chair Haymond asked Sen. Wharton to report to the panel as a member of the Grievance Council at the next meeting.
    
    Mr. Howe presented the information from the handout entitled "Children in Custody - Average Length of Time in Custody (in months) by Goal" showing the trend line over the last

two years for the median length in custody by treatment goal as requested by Sen. Wharton.

    The next meeting of the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Panel will be held on October 7, 1997 at 9:00 a.m. in room 305 of the State Capitol.

     MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to adjourn the meeting at 11:10 a.m. The motion passed unanimously.



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