If you’re considering the process of reporting child abuse or neglect, the Arizona Department of Child Safety might be a good place to start. This state agency investigates child protection complaints and recommends interventions in hazardous situations. You can learn more about reporting procedures on their arizona CPS, and find answers to frequently asked questions. If you don’t have any information about child protection, but are concerned about a child in need, you can donate items like clothing, diapers, backpacks, stuffed animals, and even a new toy.
arizona CPS is the state with jurisdiction
The child abuse jurisdiction and reporting law in Arizona is under debate by legislators. While attempting to come up with a state budget, legislators haven’t reached a final decision on what to do. Several legislators voted against the state’s continuing budget during a House Appropriations Committee hearing. Rep. Hoffman and Udall argued that the bill didn’t adequately address critical issues, such as state government spending.
The state must maintain this information in accordance with federal law. Exceptions to the public disclosure of CPS information must be interpreted as broadly as possible. The law requires that a county attorney disclose CPS information only when it is necessary to carry out its duties, including strengthening families and enforcing child abuse or neglect. A criminal case may be triggered by the release of this information. It is also the state’s responsibility to provide CPS information to the defendant once the criminal charges have been filed.
It has a shortage of foster parents and caseworkers
Despite a lack of funding, Arizona CPS is still short about 200 foster parents and 468 caseworkers, a large deficit that the agency hopes to correct by shifting resources to the West Valley, Pinal County and Maricopa City. In California, a lack of caseworkers results in a higher rate of family re-entry into the child welfare system, and foster children spend more time in foster care.
While the child welfare system has had a significant shortage in caseworkers and foster homes for the past several years, the problem may be more widespread than a lack of caseworkers or foster homes. In the past two years, Arizona has lost more licensed homes than it gained, and advocates believe there is a shortage of foster parents. Still, Murphy continues to volunteer on foster parent boards and demystifies the various forms for new foster parents.
It needs multi-disciplinary teams to investigate complaints
Arizona CPS needs to improve its investigations of complaints about child abuse and neglect, and one way to do that is to hire multi-disciplinary teams. Under the previous system, the state hired clerical workers to do administrative work, such as typing up notes. The state has allowed these contract employees to interview certain people, such as parents with suspicions of domestic violence, but not to interview children. Moreover, these employees must manage the number of cases that remain open and the percentage of cases that are overdue, both of which are a hindrance to child safety.
While the state has implemented several strategies to reduce the backlog, the processes used by DCS’ hotline staff have not been streamlined or standardized. In 2015, Chapin Hall’s report found that there were inconsistencies in safety priority matrix and DCS caseworkers had wide discretion when investigating complaints about neglect and abuse. As a result, many investigations were not necessary and families were sent to DCS caseworkers unnecessarily.
It has a high rate of child abductions
In April, Flagstaff police arrested a 23-year-old woman for allegedly punching her daughter in the face. A similar incident occurred earlier in the month when neighbors heard “smacking sounds” and the adult screaming. When police arrived, the woman and her daughter were gone. An investigation by the state child welfare agency revealed a computer glitch that led to wrongly removing the children. The children are now being cared for by child protective services.
Children’s death reports are crucial in Arizona’s child welfare system. Arizona’s Department of Child Safety (CPS) investigates every report of child abuse and neglect. Often, the agency knows the child’s family, but some kids end up in obscurity. The Arizona Department of Child Safety (CPS) will investigate parents when it believes they have a mistaken assumption. For example, a teacher might mistake a child’s busted lip for abuse, prompting CPS to investigate the parent.
