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Child Safety agency pushes for new way of measuring case backlog
The Department of Child Safety has been judged since its creation by the number of cases it has left behind, but now agency leaders are asking to be monitored by a new metric.
Per diem payments to industrial commissioners raise eyebrows
There are 251 work days in a calendar year, and some members of the Industrial Commission of Arizona are claiming per diem payments for every one of them and more.
DCS chief offers new plan to cut backlog of cases
The head of the state's child welfare agency said Thursday he will slash the backlog of inactive cases by cutting down the number investigated on the front end.
Lawmaker wants testing for parents of drug-exposed babies
An Arizona lawmaker on Thursday called for changes in state law to allow ongoing testing of parents whose babies are born exposed to drugs after a child who was returned to her parents died of apparent abuse.
Former, current Grand Canyon workers allege abuses
Federal investigators are looking into allegations of discrimination, retaliation and a sexually hostile work environment in the Grand Canyon's river corridor.
House passes livestock cruelty bill without “ag-gag” provision
The removal of a controversial provision didn’t go far enough to bring critics of a livestock cruelty bill on board, but the House of Representatives still narrowly passed the legislation.
Quality assurance staff reportedly prevented CPS cases from being investigated
Some Child Protective Services workers believed to have been involved in preventing thousands of abuse reports from being investigated also took part in a new quality assurance review of the cases in recent weeks.
CPS forum – Messages offer a ray of hope that could lead to reforms
Speakers at a Dec. 3 CPS Community Forum stepped to the microphone three minutes at a time for two hours to deliver old news: Foster parents get no respect, caseworkers are overworked and underpaid, and the Legislature is tight-fisted.
Proposals for fixing CPS emerge
Authorities search for new ideas in the face of an ongoing crisis
Some lawmakers say Child Protective Services needs more money. Others say it should become its own agency, separate from the Department of Economic Security. Another cautions against “reactionary legislation” that won’t really solve anything.
History repeats itself with caseload woes at CPS
Ten years ago this week, Arizona lawmakers were on the verge of approving a law to strengthen Child Protective Services and ensure the agency investigates all cases of neglect and abuse.
Governor gives vote of confidence to DES director
Gov. Jan Brewer voiced her confidence in DES Director Clarence Carter today as she announced a special team to oversee the investigation of thousands of child abuse cases CPS disregarded under his watch.
Arizona abuse cases to be reviewed by next week
An Arizona government official says his department will review more than 6,000 unexamined reports of child abuse and neglect by Dec. 2.
