Last year not good for state's vulnerable kids

LINCOLN — Last year was not a good one for some of Nebraska's most vulnerable children, according to a report released Monday. The annual report from the Inspector General of Nebraska Child Welfare showed an increase in death and serious injury reports among children whose lives had been touched by state child protection systems for the year ending June 30. Inspector General Jennifer Carter said 21 child deaths and 27 serious injuries were reported to her office during the year.

That's up from 11 deaths and 15 serious injuries during the previous year. "Definitely the numbers were going in the wrong direction this year," Carter said. She said there is not enough information yet to say whether the numbers amount to a trend.



"It could be that this is just a year that is more tragic." Not all deaths or injuries were preventable or the result of abuse or neglect, she said. But state law requires three of the deaths and eight of the serious injuries to be investigated more thoroughly because the children involved were in a state-licensed facility or had been served by the child welfare system.

Another three deaths and seven serious injuries were caused by abuse and neglect but the families had not previously been reported to the Department of Health and Human Services. The report pointed in particular to the seven infants who died from co-sleeping or unsafe sleeping situations. Several of those infants died while sleeping in the same bed as one or both parents.

Others were put to sleep in an unsafe manner, such as on their stomachs or with too-soft bedding. While the deaths were considered accidental, Carter said the number of such deaths was "notable and more than in previous years, and therefore an issue of which the Legislature should be aware." Her office investigated one sleeping-related death of an infant at a licensed family child care home.

The baby had been left to sleep in a playpen for several hours and managed to get wedged underneath the mattress pad and bottom of the playpen. The baby suffocated. Law enforcement and state child welfare workers concluded the incident did not amount to abuse or neglect.

But, after reviewing best practices and other states' regulations, the inspector general's office recommended changing Nebraska's child care regulations to require regular checks on sleeping infants. The report said HHS officials accepted the recommendation and are working on an update. The report also noted the challenges created for the inspector general's work by an opinion Attorney General Mike Hilgers issued.

The August 2023 opinion said the watchdog position created to keep an eye on the child welfare and juvenile justice system violated the state constitution. Within hours of the opinion, HHS officials shut off access to information, including notifications of deaths and serious injuries. Juvenile probation officials, who are part of the judicial branch, had not provided information for years, citing separation of powers.

It took a memorandum of understanding negotiated between the Legislature and Gov. Jim Pillen to again allow the inspector general to get information from HHS. The agreement, announced in February, included the creation of a special legislative committee to develop a longer-term solution.

Carter's office and an Inspector General of the Nebraska Correctional System office had been created by the Nebraska Legislature following serious problems within the child welfare and corrections systems. Get local news delivered to your inbox!.