Neb. ends contract when youth services firm files bankruptcy, leaves 3 agencies to serve state

State loses 2nd private youth services contractor

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska’s overhaul of its child welfare system has hit a snag with the loss of two of the five private agencies the state hired last fall to coordinate care for roughly 6,300 state wards.

But the state Department of Health and Human Services remains committed to the plan to shift more of the responsibility for youth and family services to private companies, and officials said Friday the state will step in to make sure children receive services.

The state ended its contract with Visinet on Thursday after the agency sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection so it could reorganize. Cedars Youth Services canceled its contract with the state last week because it cost more to provide the services than the company received from the state.

The loss of two of the five agencies this quickly worries Sarah Helvey, who oversees child welfare programs for the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest, which advocates for the poor.

“The primary concern is that the contracts are underfunded and have insufficient resources to do what’s required,” Helvey said.

But HHS officials said they are willing to adjust the new public-private care system, which just took effect statewide April 1, where needed, and CEO Kerry Winterer defended the state’s payments.

“At this point, there should be adequate dollars there because we’ve provided these services in the past for these same dollars,” Winterer said.

Todd Reckling, who oversees child and family services for HHS, said the remaining three lead contractors — KVC, Nebraska Families Collaborative, and Boys and Girls Home — are committed to the job and should be able to coordinate care statewide.

Those companies monitor the needs of all the children and families in state care, either providing services themselves or arranging for other agencies to provide services. The concept is similar to the way a general contractor hires and oversees subcontractors on a construction project.

Visinet CEO John Powers said his company, which has offices in Lincoln and Omaha, plans to continue providing services to children and families in Nebraska but gave up its coordination contract.

Powers said he thinks the reforms the state is working on are a good idea and will ultimately be successful.

Reckling said overall, he is pleased with the way the transition to using private companies to coordinate care is going, but it will take several years to completely reshape the system.

“Our overriding principle is to have the least disruption possible for kids and families,” Reckling said.

On the Net:

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services: www.dhhs.ne.gov

Cedars Youth Services: www.cedars-kids.org

Visinet Inc.: www.visinetinc.com