The writer, of Clearwater, Fla., is chief executive officer of Eckerd Care.
In the recent debate about child welfare, Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman expressed deep concern that moving away from privatization would add "confusion and duplication" and return the state to the "failed practices of the past." And Kerry Winterer, CEO of the Department of Health and Human Services, recommended that the Legislature continue to fund privatized child welfare case management.
Heineman, Winterer and others couldn't be more accurate, as privatization — while a bold move — gives Nebraska the best chance at fixing a decades-old broken system. This absolutely is the right direction to take for Nebraska's children and families.
I've seen impressive results in multiple states that have successfully implemented some form of privatization, including Florida where Eckerd — a lead agency for community-based child welfare and foster care services — transformed the worst performing area in the state to one of the best in fewer than three years.
Soon, Eckerd will be managing a child welfare system in Florida that is larger than the systems in 14 other states and the District of Columbia combined, as we were recently given an opportunity to transform another area of Florida.
As a result of the transition to a community-based system of care and a thoughtful approach to working through the challenges of the transition, Florida has safely reduced the children in foster care by 45 percent and is ranked No. 1 in the nation in the number and timeliness of adoptions achieved.
What worked for Florida can work for Nebraska.
As energy, effort and a great deal of justified emotion are being spent on the issue of case management jurisdiction, we're losing sight of the big picture. The entire foster care system — not just pieces of it — must undergo top-to-bottom comprehensive reform to effectively serve Nebraska's most vulnerable children and the selfless foster families who care for them. This should all happen within a privatized system.
Nebraska children and families deserve a new vision and a fresh approach. Ultimately, if the state initiative Families Matter is truly about families and children mattering, then the system needs to be about them.
What's best? A privatized child welfare system that:
>> Safely reduces the number of children who are removed from their families.
>> Provides a robust diversion system that keeps families together in a safe environment.
>> Improves the lives of children who enter the foster care system, while quickly and safely achieving permanency.
>> Provides a modernized approach that is child- and family-centered.
Although the Nebraska child welfare reform is on the right track with privatization, children and families continue to fall through the cracks. I caution a move too quickly back to the "failed practices of the past."
I recognize that there is a real sense of urgency for change, but I urge that Nebraska avoid heading down the path of least resistance in desperate attempts at a piecemeal strategy. The priority of this conversation must be the children and families struggling to navigate through a failed system.
Nebraska can be the model to which other states aspire if it's willing to implement a big-picture, comprehensive plan that builds on the strengths of privatization reform and takes it to the next level.
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