Though foster children can receive dental coverage through Medicaid, few dentists in the county participate in the government-funded program. Many children have gone several years without dental services while in foster care. Dentists say the state has been slow to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, and that the paperwork is a nightmare. Foster parents also don't have a list of dentists who accept Medicaid patients. Foster children have to wait as long as six months to visit state-funded mental health therapists.
Foster parents say they're sometimes kept in the dark about therapists' recommendations.
More people are willing to become volunteer advocates, helping children fulfill needs not met by their caseworkers. But the county doesn't have enough paid staff to oversee many more volunteers. While Nevada has one of the highest rates of adoption in the nation, the state still has problems placing children over age 2, especially minorities and kids with behavioral problems. The older a child gets the less likely he will be adopted. Ralph Hemmington, head of Metro's sexual abuse unit, says a primary reason caseloads have risen is increased awareness of abuse and neglect.