Five child welfare workers fired in the wake of a scandal about uninvestigated abuse complaints will not be getting their jobs back.

Clarence Carter, who was at the helm of Arizona’s child welfare system when it was revealed thousands of child abuse reports were set aside without investigation, resigned today.

Five former Arizona child welfare workers are seeking $10.5 million from the state in a wrongful termination claim filed this week after they were fired amid an agency scandal.

Spurred by a crisis over thousands of uninvestigated reports of abuse and neglect and the state’s inability to resolve a backlog of cases, Gov. Jan Brewer disbanded Child Protective Services, created a holdover agency and proposed a new department to focus solely on child welfare.

The Department of Child Safety, which Arizona lawmakers approved in a special session May 29 at the urging of Gov. Jan Brewer, may be new, but it still bears the burdens left behind by its predecessor.

The second special session of the 51st Legislature officially ended today at 12:56 pm. Only a single vote was cast against the CPS reform package, with Ward voting no on S1002 (appropriations; Dept of Child Safety)

Gov. Jan Brewer signed two bills Thursday creating a new independent agency to handle reports of child abuse and neglect.

The House suspended rules in order to make up for lost time waiting on the legislation. The lower chamber suspended Rule 9(C)(7) requiring notice to lawmakers and the general public by 4 pm the day before a special meeting can be called, as well as Rule 33(B), which prohibits committees from taking action on a measure unless the measure is posted on a committee agenda by 4 pm the previous day.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to outline her administration's proposal to overhaul the state child welfare agency Thursday and call the Legislature into special session to debate the proposal early next week.

The attorney for five workers fired from Child Protective Services said today that the report which led to their termination was essentially a pre-determined fix.