KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasCounty Data Scrutinized in Child Death Cases
Eyewitness News was the first to tell you about a state review of child deaths in Clark County. Kids with connections to the system, be it Child Protective Services, mental health or juvenile justice. Though the report has yet to be released, the I-Team has learned more about what's in it.
The report is essentially a data analysis -- a spreadsheet, we're told -- of children who have died from abuse and neglect in Clark County over the last four years. The I-Team has learned the state has reached four conclusions:
At least 18 people attended a closed-door meeting Tuesday at the Clark County Government Center to discuss the report. They included representatives from the Clark County Department of Family Services, the State of Nevada Department of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General's office just to name a few.
The I-Team was told the discussion centered around several issues including how to make the report more understandable, how to release it to the public and clearing up data questions like three child deaths in which the county did not include where the child actually died in its report to the state. Location of death in those cases was listed as "other settings."
The I-Team has also learned that the data is still being debated including why the county and state's numbers don't match up.
The numbers have so many people nervous that the reports were collected at the end of the meeting so that participants would not have copies. We expect it to be released later this week and with it the announcement of a review of the county CPS system, and a commission to oversee the death review process.
Next week a legislative committee will begin to try to figure out why so many children in Clark County are dying despite intervention from Child Protective Services. More>>
