September 1, 2005
KEVIN O'HANLON, Associated Press Writer

LINCOLN, Neb.-- A federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges that the state of Nebraska is endangering children with an "understaffed, underfunded and unresponsive" foster care system.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Lincoln by New York-based Children's Rights, the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest and several private law firms.

The class-action is on behalf of the 6,000 children in the state's foster-care system.

"Defendants' failure to protect Nebraska's foster children and provide them with legally required services subjects these children to significant and ongoing harm, deprives them of a chance for a safe and stable childhood, and violates their rights under the United States Constitution and various federal statutes," the lawsuit said.

Kathie Osterman, spokeswoman for the state Health and Human Services System, said she had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.

But she stressed that the state has a plan in place to address concerns about the system.

"We're in the beginning of the third year of our ... child welfare program improvement plan that focuses on safety, permanency and well-being for children," she said. "The results show we're on the right track and have made progress in many areas, and we're committed to reaching the goals that have been established."

The lawsuit alleges that the state has failed to address long-standing systemic problems such as a drastic shortage of foster homes, dangerously high caseloads for caseworkers assigned to monitor child safety, a lack of critical mental health services, the lowest "per diem" payments to care for foster children of any state in the nation and a lack of services and resources to get children adopted.

The lawsuit said one foster child, identified only as "Paulette V.," is now 18 and has been repeatedly physically and sexually abused during 12-years in foster care - during which time she was placed in 17 different foster homes or facilities.

"Instead of providing these traumatized and vulnerable children with a safe and temporary home, Nebraska's mismanaged, overburdened and underfunded foster care system routinely further harms them and allows them to deteriorate, without the basic care, services, protection and opportunities for a permanent home that are necessary for their physical, emotional and psychological development and well-being," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit says that many foster homes are overcrowded, often housing as many as six children at a time.

It says children do not receive adequate medical care or mental health services.

The lawsuit also says that caseloads for social workers in some areas are more than three times the national standard.