STATE OF NEVADA - Division of Child and Family Services

2) Adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of subsection 1 which must include, without limitation, the imposition of
appropriate restrictions on the disclosure of information obtained by the panel and civil sanctions for the violation of
those restrictions.
3) 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.
4) Adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of subsection 1 which must include, without limitation, the imposition of
appropriate restrictions on the disclosure of information obtained by the panel and civil sanctions for the violation of
those restrictions. The civil sanctions may provide for the imposition in appropriate cases of a civil penalty of not more
than $500. The DCFS may bring an action to recover any civil penalty imposed and shall deposit any money
recovered with the State Treasurer for credit to the State General Fund.
Nevada Citizen Review Panel
The Statewide Nevada Citizen Review Panel (CRP) was established in 1999 under Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS)
432B.396 and has federally mandated responsibilities under Title I, Section 106, of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act (CAPTA). In response to meeting the federal requirement for three CRP's based on a Basic State Grant
funding increase for Nevada, both the Northern and Southern Citizens Advisory Committees (CACs) were invited into the
CRP process in 2006. Approval to join as a CRP was given by the Northern CAC in late 2006 and by the Southern CAC in
early 2007. These groups have begun to examine specific areas of focus defined for CRP’s by CAPTA, and to develop
system improvement recommendations for inclusion in the Annual Report. The Panel and the CACs operate with the
following mission:
To ensure the protection and safety of children through an evaluation of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
State Plan by examining State and local agencies’ policies and procedures and specific cases where appropriate.
Although membership categories for the Panel and Citizen Advisory are not federally mandated Nevada groups include
representation from a variety of State and County agencies, community organizations and professionals with backgrounds
related to child protective services, children’s mental health/disability, substance abuse and child advocacy (CASA).
The Statewide Panel works toward fulfilling the following three primary goals:
1) Reviews the State’s implementation of previous CRP recommendations.
2) Participates in ongoing Quality Improvement (QI) case reviews.
3) Considers and implements new areas of subject review within the CAPTA Assurances, Section 106.
In essence, the Panel and advisory committee’s work consists of the review of internal policies and procedures within the
CPS system. Each year, the Panel’s findings are summarized in an Annual Report submitted to the federal government
as part of the CAPTA requirements.
The Panel’s feedback and recommendations are greatly appreciated and valued by DCFS. DCFS encourages the Panel
to submit targeted review recommendations in a semi-annual letter to the DCFS Administrator so that recommendations
to improve child welfare practice can be considered in a timely manner.
The CRP subcommittee is a part of the Task Force. The Task Force continues its support of the Statewide CRP and the
two Citizen Advisory Committees (CACs) in Washoe and Clark County which also serve as review panels. These groups
have begun to examine specific areas of focus defined for citizen review panels by CAPTA, and to develop system
improvement recommendations for inclusion in the Annual Report.
During this report period, Statewide CRP members participated in two targeted reviews 1) a case review that focused on
the requirement of CAPTA Part-C referrals for developmental assessments and 2) a policy review on statewide
consistency in developmentally appropriate visitation practice. The targeted case review process allows CRP members to
take a closer look at specific issues, rather than an entire case. Targeted reviews involve shorter time commitments and
provide more flexibility for volunteer CRP members, potentially increasing the specific topics that can be examined by the
CRP. Results from the CAPTA Part-C assessment case review yielded approximately a 50% referral rate. Unfortunately,
it was difficult to determine whether this is a practice concern and caseworkers are not making necessary referrals for
assessments, or if this is a documentation problem and referrals are not being tracked through UNITY. Panel members
believe both may have been contributing factors.
Statewide CRP 2009 recommendations focus on the following:
Nevada APSR – SFY 2010
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