Republican legislators who are facing a backlash from the conservative right for approving the expansion of Medicaid tapped into a vast network of supporters to easily outraise colleagues and opponents last year.

Recent outbreaks of diseases in schools and elsewhere illustrate Arizona’s challenges when it comes to getting residents vaccinated, according to Maricopa County’s top health official.

Republican legislators facing a backlash from the conservative right for approving the expansion of Medicaid tapped into a vast network of supporters to easily outraise colleagues and opponents last year.

While Brewer boasted of Arizona’s economic turnaround of the past few years and the attention the state has received nationally for its improved business climate, the governor said Arizona’s work is not done.

Gov. Jan Brewer’s plan to turn Child Protective Services into a standalone division that reports directly to her office received broad support following her State of the State address. But advocates, experts and lawmakers warned it is only a first step in reforming the troubled agency.

In early 2009, Child Protective Services revealed for the first time in its Child Welfare Semi-Annual report that legitimate calls into the Child Abuse Hotline “were not assigned” and “were not investigated.”

Gov. Jan Brewer is following through on her promise to help out the Republican lawmakers who stood with her in the fight for Medicaid expansion.

Arizona's child-welfare system continues to be strained by increases in reports of abuse and neglect and in placements of children in foster care even as the state makes progress in areas such as reuniting children with families.

Long before lawmakers took a vote on Medicaid expansion, Republican precinct committeemen across the state issued a warning to GOP legislators: If you vote for expansion, we will do everything we can to take you out in the next primary election.

Long before casting their votes for Medicaid expansion and a bipartisan budget proposal, Republican lawmakers who chose to support Gov. Jan Brewer had been issued a warning: Vote yes at your own risk.