LINCOLN- This year's annual report on child welfare shows some improvement along with a number of issues for children and families in Nebraska. The Inspector General for Child Welfare Jennifer Carter said the Department of Health and Human Services has not met the caseload requirement for the caseworkers that are responsible for keeping mistreated children safe. This statue was passed in 2012 in hopes to help worker burnout and turnover that relate to poorer outcomes for Nebraskan children.

Another huge issue within the state is the suicide attempt rate for youth involved in the system. This issue trickles into home placements and more. Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers are also receiving a lot of attention for the the crises they have experienced in the past year. In the fiscal year of July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020 the inspector general's office received 403 total intakes, 198 critical incident reports, 179 complaints, 19 requests for information and seven grievances from the findings of DHHS. Of the almost 200 critical incident reports, almost 50 of those were sexual abuse claims and 25 suicide attempts.

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