Arizonans are going to have to start looking for work again later this month if they want to keep their unemployment benefits.

The Arizona Court of Appeals issued the decision Tuesday and found that the Department of Economic Security failed to comply with a prior court order requiring it to file about 100 appeals for unemployment benefits, food stamps and cash welfare assistance by early March.

The chief judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals is ordering the state's massive social services agency to immediately file citizen appeals of its decisions or face contempt of court proceedings.

Department of Economic Security officials never processed a personnel form that stated an employee who was fired had instead requested to retire because the agency lacked evidence to support that claim.

The arrest Wednesday of a Department of Economic Security employee on suspicion of food stamp fraud has led to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office looking into who is responsible for putting falsehoods about her criminal history in a court document.

Several employees testified that the director who supervised Arizona child welfare workers knew about uninvestigated child abuse cases back in 2011, the Arizona Republic reported Thursday. At least four workers said that Clarence Carter was informed about thousands of reports of child abuse and neglect that had gone without a state-mandated investigation.

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.”

The rapidly rising number of uninvestigated abuse and neglect reports at Child Protective Services was documented in years of reports to the governor and Legislature, Department of Economic Services Director Clarence Carter confirmed Monday.

The plan to plow through 6,110 abuse reports Child Protective Services ignored calls for using a shortcut investigative method that critics say may be a distinction without a difference.