State aims to settle child-welfare lawsuit in early '06

The Utah attorney general and the Division of Child and Family Services are shooting for early next year to end an ongoing class-action federal lawsuit against the state's child-welfare system.

By that time, officials are hoping to have numbers that show the state has made great improvements in the system in both 2004 and 2005, according to Assistant Attorney General Alain Balmanno, the state's lead attorney on the 12-year-old case.

"We think that two years of steady improvement may do the case," Balmanno told members of the Child Welfare Oversight Panel on Monday.

U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell has previously targeted 2006 as an end date for the case, which was filed in 1993 by the California-based National Center for Youth Law. The civil rights group alleged that children in Utah's foster care system were not safe and perhaps endangered by the state's child protection system.

In his report to lawmakers Monday, Balmanno said he reminded the judge of that target date at a status conference last week. Balmanno said the state intends to make a motion to exit the lawsuit in early 2006, even without the stipulation of the plaintiffs.

The judge, however, warned Balmanno that the state's scores on measures set up through the duration of the lawsuit would have to be "pretty good" for her to grant such a motion.

" 'I don't need perfection,' she said, 'but it has to be excellent,' " Balmanno said. "She's just putting us on notice, and I think we need to be aware of that."

The state has instituted almost sweeping reforms of its foster care and protective services programs in the wake of a May 1994 settlement in the case. Since that time, DCFS has been under continued court-ordered review by a federal monitor.

Recent changes to the original settlement — approved by Campbell at last week's hearing — altered the way the agency's performance is scored. For instance, partial performance, such as meeting 10 of 11 requirements, is now given some credit toward final scores, Balmanno said.

Resolving the lawsuit once and for all is a priority for the state, he said.

"The new (Department of Human Services) director, Lisa-Michele Church, and the new governor have made a huge point of emphasis that we are to get better at the (case performance reviews) and we have to get out of this litigation," Balmanno said.

But even then, he warned, legislators must be careful when passing bills that impact the areas at issue.