Governor Napolitano says the Legislature “is going to have to step up to the plate” to help solve problems with Child Protective Services.

At the same time, the governor said child abuse problems begin with parents.

“CPS didn’t send a 13-year-old child into prostitution. A mother did that,” Ms. Napolitano said at her Aug. 28 news briefing, referring to a case that broke Aug. 27, in which JoAndrea Peeler, 36, of Mesa was charged with 26 counts involving the alleged use of a minor, her daughter, in drug and sexual conduct crimes. The woman’s daughter had been placed in a CPS shelter, but the mother won back custody.

The governor said the Legislature has given CPS “many mixed messages” about what the agency should be doing and needs to statutorily define CPS’s mission — protect the safety of children — and adequately fund the agency.

Currently, the mission at CPS is seen to be “keep families together,” Ms. Napolitano said.

She said that during the 2004 budget negotiations, “the Legislature wanted to slash and burn over at CPS.”

“Money is not the answer,” Ms. Napolitano said, but CPS has suffered from short staff and not enough money for training caseworkers.

“Clearly, we’re missing some cases,” she said. “Some children are falling through the cracks.”

Published reports say 29 children who had prior cases with CPS died of abuse or neglect in the past five years.

Pilot Program

The Legislature this year approved a pilot program that would open court proceedings and certain records in cases involving children to reveal abuse and neglect.

A CPS report made in 2001 included allegations that two children of Luis and Etelvina Rodriguez were put in cages as punishment. The twin boys, now 5, were found at the family home Aug. 23 in makeshift cages that contained human waste and roaches.

The parents were jailed and charged with two counts each of child abuse, and the boys are in the care of CPS.

The case reportedly was given low priority and never investigated by CPS, adding to further criticism of the state agency from Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, who also discussed the death this month of 2-year-old Charles Young of Mesa, who died after being found in June in a closet in his parents’ apartment.

“This is but one more name in a book of failures, Mr. Romley said Aug. 27. He has blamed CPS management for the agency’s failure to prevent child deaths and abuse and said he is considering a grand jury investigation of the agency.

“I share Rick’s passion on this issue,” the governor said, but she would not comment on his grand jury statement. Mr. Romley also favors separating CPS from the Department of Economic Security.

Ms. Napolitano said the state doesn’t need “a bureaucratic solution” to the problem.

After a series of public hearings on CPS is completed in two weeks, the governor will make formal recommendations for changes and improvements at the agency. In the meantime, she has directed DES Director David Berns to look into the Peeler, Rodriguez and Young cases to see if CPS employee sanctions are warranted. —