Sign In
Free Newsletter
Foster child who suffered horrific ordeal sues state
The court-appointed guardian of a 6-year-old foster child is suing two state agencies, several adoption entities and two sets of foster and adoptive parents, claiming the child suffered a horrific ordeal while in foster care.
Auditor: Admin staffing in child-safety agency reasonable
State auditors are giving a thumbs-up to the amount of administrative staffing in a high-profile social service agency.
Bill limits child abuse investigations from hotline calls
The House has passed a bill that would cut the number of child abuse hotline calls that require full investigations to focus child safety workers on cases that actually involve abuse and neglect.
Panel advances bill to ease child safety caseloads
A House panel advanced a bill that would exempt the Department of Child Safety from investigating certain non-criminal reports of abuse or neglect.
Exodus from Child Safety agency continues despite new spending
In fiscal year 2015, about one-fourth of people who worked at the Department of Child Safety left their jobs. And most of them quit. Turnover at the beleaguered agency is one of the highest within state government at 24.5 percent.
Ruling: Removal of kids hinges on current circumstances
A court ruling says Arizona judges should decide whether to place children in the state's custody based on circumstances when the decision is being made, not earlier when they're removed from homes.
Woman locks herself to Capitol doors in child custody dispute
A Phoenix mother locked herself to doors at the historic Capitol building Tuesday afternoon to protest the Department of Child Safety, which she claims wrongfully took custody of her son.
Lawmakers admonish Department of Child Safety
Arizona lawmakers voted to rebuke the Department of Child Safety on Tuesday afternoon, a striking statement against an agency that has struggled to impress the legislators who created it over a year ago.
Cap Times Q&A: Clarence Carter: Adding a trampoline to the safety net
Clarence Carter came to Arizona in 2011 to put his ideas for reforming the way government runs human services into action, but he found a backlog of child welfare cases that became synonymous with his time as the head of the Department of Economic Security.
Child Safety director says goal of reducing backlog “not attainable,” money “not well spent”
One year and $29 million later, Arizona’s child welfare agency is no closer to eliminating a sizeable backlog of stagnant child safety cases, a goal the agency’s director now says was unattainable.
Parents, grandparents, students aren’t fooled by the new state budget
Earlier this legislative session, many state lawmakers grilled Charles Flanagan – who was then director of the Department of Child Safety – about why reports of child neglect are still going up. They pointed fingers, made speeches and issued statements about how important it is to protect child safety and reduce child abuse and neglect.
Flanagan defends his leadership at Dept of Child Safety
Fired Department of Child Safety director Charles Flanagan defended himself against allegations his process of getting through a backlog of cases was dangerous to abused children, and said he’s speaking out for the first time since his firing to defend the record of his administration and DCS employees who have been smeared by recent news reports based on allegations from Greg McKay, the newly a[...]
