Panel OKs bill limiting use of congregate care

CARSON CITY -- A bill that would generally prohibit the placement of children younger than 6 in congregate care settings such as Child Haven, Clark County's emergency shelter for neglected and abused minors, was amended and passed Monday by an Assembly Committee.

Assembly Bill 147 would allow placement of children under age 6 in such facilities if certain processes are followed.

The bill is one of the major child welfare reform bills under consideration by the Legislature this session.

Gov. Jim Gibbons testified in support of the measure in March.

The Clark County Commission last month passed a resolution on its own to stop placing children in the Child Haven facility by 2008. The Assembly bill adopted the county's language to phase out the use of the facility.

Assemblywoman Ellen Koivisto, D-Las Vegas, noted during discussion on the bill that one of the key problems in Southern Nevada is the availability of placements for children.

"What's going to happen if we don't have Child Haven?" she asked.

Assembly Health and Human Resources Committee Chairwoman Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, said a child could be placed in the facility if there was no other option. But the bill would require an exception report to be filed with the Legislature, she said.

"Kids are not going to be left on the street," Leslie said.

But a child under age 6 who was put into a congregate care setting would have to be moved as soon as possible under the legislation.

One other exception added by the committee to the use of such facilities is if the placement would keep siblings together.

Leslie said after the hearing that the bill is primarily aimed at infants, and the fact that they do better with one continuous caregiver, such as a foster parent, than with shift workers in a congregate care setting.

In its resolution, Clark County committed to stop placing most children under 3 years of age in Child Haven by Dec. 31. The county also agreed to stop using Child Haven as a placement for most children under age 6 by the end of 2008. Exceptions can be made on a limited basis until June 30, 2009.