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PHOENIX – On Sept. 24, the Arizona Auditor General released a report that detailed a number of issues they found involving the Arizona Department of Child Safety, following a special audit.
Here’s what they found.
Why is there a special audit of DCS?
The backstory:
According to the report, the special audit was made following a Sept. 18, 2024 resolution made by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee with the Arizona State legislature.
Per documents related to the meeting, the resolution called for a special audit of the of DCS’ processes for investigating reports of child abuse and neglect, to be completed as two audit reports that are due by Sept. 30, 2025 and Sept. 30, 2026.
The resolution was adopted before the deaths of Rebekah Baptiste, Zariah Dodd, and Emily Pike. The three teens were linked to DCS in varying ways.
What did the audit report find?
Big picture view:
The report found the following:
1. Six of 115 noncriminal reports reviewed by the Auditor General “lacked any evidence either in the Department’s case management system or its hard copy files that individuals under investigation were informed of their rights and specific allegations in writing, as required by Department policy.”
2. 72 of the 115 noncriminal reports reviewed “did not provide the individual(s) under investigation with the specific allegation(s) made against them in writing, inconsistent with A.R.S. §8-803 and Department policy.”
3. DCS investigators ” did not properly document it made these notifications consistent with policy for 63 of 115 noncriminal reports we reviewed that should have included a Notice of Duty to Inform.”
4. DCS Investigators “did not always complete and/or partially completed and/or supervisors did not always review key assessments or plans that help ensure
child welfare,” which is contrary to department policy.
5. DCS “did not enter investigation findings in the Department’s case-management system within 45 days,” as required by A.R.S. §8-456, for 51% of the noncriminal reports received.
What’s defined as ‘noncriminal’?
What they’re saying:
Per the Auditor General report, a noncriminal report is one of two report classifications given by DCS, and it involves child abuse or neglect reports that include:
· Allegations of domestic violence that do not include a weapon occurring with a child present in the room.
· Allegations of an inability or unwillingness to meet a child’s needs
· Allegations of a child being in a living environment that is a threat to that child’s safety
· Allegations of verbal threats made to a child without a weapon in hand
· Allegations that a newborn was exposed to alcohol or controlled substances, legal or illegal, while in utero.
· Allegations that a child was not protected from child-on-child sexual contact
· Untimely death of a child from a car accident or an alleged suicide that did not involve a firearm
How many noncriminal reports were there in 2024?
By the numbers:
Figures provided in the Auditor General report show that for the 2024 fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024, there were 42,336 reports that were deemed to meet established criteria for becoming a report of child abuse or neglect.
Of those 42.336 reports, the report states that 36,960 of them were determined to be noncriminal.
What measures are being recommended by the Auditor General?
Dig deeper:
The special audit report contains 15 recommendations, which include:
1. Inform all individuals under investigation of their statutory rights and specific allegations against them verbally and in writing, and upload all Notices of
Duty to Inform as evidence of these notifications to the Department’s case management system.
2. Comply with state law by entering investigation findings into the case management system within 45 days.
3. Establish and implement a process that allows DCS leadership to track whether investigation findings are entered on-time, and to track and monitor specific common causes of untimely investigations, whether it is outside the department’s control or not.
What did DCS officials say about the findings?
The other side:
The report includes a response from DCS regarding the report. Per the response, DCS officials agreed to all of the findings in thee report, and will implement all the recommendations. Some of the recommendations, however, will be implemented in a different manner.
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