STATE OF NEVADA - Division of Child and Family Services

Substantive Changes
There are no substantive changes in state law that effect eligibility.
Criminal Background Checks
Nevada instituted a policy, 0515 Child Abuse and Neglect (CANS) and National Criminal Investigative Database (NCID)
Requirements for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents in April of 2009. The policy creates statewide standards for
completing and responding to CANS checks and establishes statewide standards for authorizing placement of children
with caregivers who have undergone an NCID and CANS check prior to placement to ensure compliance with the
requirements set forth in the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006.
AB76 was introduced and enacted in the 2009 legislative session. The intent of this bill was to ensure the state is in
compliance with the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006 which requires all child welfare agencies to conduct checks
of the fingerprint-based National Crime Information Databases (NCID) and a child abuse and neglect screening (CANS) in
every state of residence in the preceding five years for every prospective foster/adoptive parent. This additional
information will assist child welfare agency staff to assess caregiver protective capacity to maintain children safely in their
homes. As a result of AB76, NRS424.033 was revised. The revisions are designed to improve the child welfare agencies
ability to further ensure that vulnerable children are not put into situations of abuse or neglect; specifically:
1) The State of Nevada is in compliance with the requirements set forth in the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act of 2006.
2) the Division of Child and Family Services and all child welfare agencies within the state will conduct a national
fingerprint-based criminal background check (NCID) and a child abuse and neglect screening (CANS Check) in every
state a prospective foster/adoptive parent has resided in the preceding 5 years.
3) Checks will be made regardless of whether Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments or adoption assistance
payments are to be made on behalf of the child.
4) Additional safeguards will be in place for children that are cared for through the child welfare system to ensure they
are placed with caregivers who have undergone an NCID and CANS check in each state they have resided in the
proceeding five years which will provide additional information to the child welfare agencies on prospective foster and
adoptive parents when child welfare agencies need to make a decision as to whether the prospective foster and
adoptive parents have the capacity to keep them safe.
5) Allow the state to charge fees for completing the CANS checks to off set some of the costs the state is currently
incurring due to other states’ fees. Some savings may result from placement of agency custody children with relatives
not requiring licensure or receiving foster care reimbursement payments.
Nevada Citizen Review Panel
CRP was established in 1999 and is maintained by the CAPTA grant. The CRP is a subcommittee of the CJA. The Panel
membership increased from one panel to three panels during 2006 to encourage more participation by Nevada citizenry.
The panels include the Statewide CRP (it oversees all of the citizen review panels), the Northern Nevada Citizens
Advisory Committee/CRP, and the Southern Nevada Citizens Advisory Committee/CRP. The panel participates in quality
improvement targeted case reviews, review of policy and practice, and makes recommendations for improving the child
protection system. The Statewide CRP, in collaboration with the northern and southern CRP's, produces an annual report
that is submitted with the annual progress and services report. The DCFS response letter is located in Attachment A along
with the CRP annual report.
Citizen Review Panel Report and State Response
State Requirements
As part of the CAPTA requirements, states are required to codify citizen review panels through state law. In Nevada, this
was completed with the passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 158 during the 1999 legislative session. The relevant text of AB
158 was incorporated into Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) under Chapter 432B.396.
The DCFS of Child and Family Services shall:
1) Establish a panel comprised of volunteer members to evaluate the extent to which agencies which provide protective
services are effectively discharging their responsibilities for the protection of children.
Nevada APSR – SFY 2010
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