A battle is brewing over how to reshape the state’s social-services delivery system, and it’s promising to be a pitched fight.
A committee appointed by Gov. Bill Ritter has recommended a state takeover and a vast regionalization of delivery of child welfare services, food stamps and Medicaid.
The proposal would take smaller counties out of the equation and make large counties that want to keep their systems assume more of the costs.
The proposal has prompted an outcry from counties, which have raised some legitimate issues about the overhaul.
At this point, there are many practical questions that must be fully explored before the proposal advances any further.
Chief among them: Will the proposed changes, beyond a doubt, make the system better?
Can the state offer higher-quality services given its fiscal constraints?
How much would it cost to convert the system and operate it? Would it improve circumstances for the state’s needy residents and its abused children?
These things must be anchored in data and not just opinion, regardless of how well-intentioned the people behind the opinions might be.
This issue has its roots in the outrage that was sparked by the 13 Colorado children who died despite having been brought to the attention of social-services agencies because of abuse concerns.
The committee has come up with a raft of recommendations, many of which have gotten a positive reception. They include providing annual in-service training for child welfare workers, recruiting communities of faith to increase foster and adoptive care placements, and a centralized child abuse hotline.
It’s the change in organizational structure that has generated the most heat. As it stands, Colorado’s social services are delivered by counties, which are supervised by the state. The change would mean the state would supervise regional offices, or large counties.
Streamlining the administrative structure, said committee member Skip Barber, would save money. Barber, executive director of the non-profit Colorado Association of Family and Children’s Agencies, said the committee heard of rural counties with light or non-existent caseloads that still had to staff a county human services department. There also were reports of services available in one place but not another.
Arapahoe County Commissioner Susan Beckman said what the committee saw as inconsistencies could be seen as an effort to provide only the services most needed in a particular area. Furthermore, if there are problems in certain counties, those ought to be addressed individually.
She called the state takeover proposal a “slap in the face” to counties.
The committee has suggested legislation be introduced in January to push forward with the changes.
We think the committee’s report is valuable for the candid discussions it will provoke. But by no means should it be construed as the final word on how government should help the state’s children and families.
