Foster funding fix remains in flux
About 450 children could be separated from homes if no solution found
It’s been one year since state officials postponed a change to Nevada Medicaid funding amid fears it would shutter organizations serving Clark County’s most vulnerable foster children.
Officials pledged to find a way to fill the funding gap, but the change is scheduled to take effect next month, and no solution is in place.
David Doyle, operations director of Eagle Quest, said foster care agencies like his will no longer be able to afford helping families care for some 450 children with serious physical, mental or emotional issues. Without the aid, the children could be separated from their foster homes and placed into psychiatric hospitals, the county’s emergency shelter and elsewhere.
“We’re going to be adding hundreds of children to places like Child Haven and (juvenile) detention,” Doyle testified Wednesday during a meeting of the state Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee.
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services on July 27 will change the state’s Medicaid policy, scaling back a funding stream that accounts for more than half the money received by local agencies specializing in therapeutic foster care.
The potential crisis is part of the state’s shift away from basic skills training for foster children. Doyle said agencies in Clark County began implementing a new statewide treatment model, called Together Facing the Challenge, last summer.
The program has been well-received by foster families and has resulted in children staying in the same homes longer, said Reesha Powell, the deputy admin
FUNDING
dent representative, Macias had to fill out an application, write an essay and secure three letters of recommendation. Student applicants were then reviewed by the state Department of Education, and two finalists were sent to Sandoval, who made the final choice.
Problems and solutions
Mojave staff members see Macias as a consummate professional and a go-getter. As part of her involvement with the National Honor Society, Macias coordinated and oversaw all the volunteer efforts, said Joseph May, a science teacher at the school and the adviser for the society.
“She’s demonstrated good ability to identify problems that need solutions,” he said.
Among the problems she focused on were school safety and student engagement.
Macias said she feels safe at her school, but she’s more concerned about students committing acts of violence than an outsider. That fear would lessen if all students had proper support systems, she said.
There are also some physical improvements that could be made to make schools safer, she said, like making it more difficult for people to
To be chosen as the student representative, Ashley
Macias had to fill out an application, write an essay and secure three letters of recommendation. Student applicants were then reviewed by the state Department of Education, and two finalists were sent to Sandoval, who made the final choice.
get on or off campus unnoticed.
Safety ties directly to the problem Macias sees with student engagement. She doesn’t have the silver bullet to fix the problem, but she says Mojave has made strides in improving student morale.
Take Spirit Week, for example. Schools traditionally hold weeklong events with a different theme each day and invite students to dress up to match each theme. Macias said Mojave this year made an effort to stick with simple themes, such as a “blackout day” where students dress in all black, to make it easy for students to get involved.
Most students have at least one black shirt or blouse they can put on and feel part of the community, she noted.
Getting teachers and staff involved is key to helping students feel more engaged, too, she said.
State representative
Macias has already attended one State Board of Education meeting and three or four safety task force meetings.
“They’re really intense,” she said, adding that she prepared for hours for the state board meeting, making sure she read all the background materials.
She also prepared a cheat sheet to help her when staff and board members use education acronyms that weren’t familiar. She hopes, as the year progresses, to be able to provide the board with more context on the student perspective.
In addition to her state service, she’ll be taking five Advanced Placement courses at Mojave, one elective course and one course in the school’s medical career program.
She hopes to attend a four-year college after high school — probably in state to save money — and get a bachelor’s degree in athletic training. Ultimately, she’d like to be a physical therapist.
Contact Meghin Delaney at 702383-0281 or mdelaney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Meghindelaney on Twitter.