Nearly everyone agrees that Arizona’s Department of Child Safety is a disaster and holds the Department in contempt, and last week a Maricopa County judge joined the crowd when she found the Department in contempt of court. Maricopa County Juvenile Court Judge Karen O’Connor found the Department in contempt for failing to provide needed services to a family.
Judge O’Connor directed the agency to create a program to train all case managers how to quickly refer a case for developmental-disability services and to ensure that parents and children receive those services, according to the Arizona Republic.
The ruling came despite the fact that legislators passed two bills this past session that required DCS caseworkers to ensure that foster children receive the care they need, and that cases are handled in a uniform fashion.
Rep. Kelly Townsend’s bill, HB2427, requires Arizona Department of Child Safety to apply rules, and policies concerning the removal of a child from a home uniformly across the state. In September 2015, the Arizona Auditor General released a damaging report in which it was revealed that children have been ripped away from their families by inexperienced and overworked caseworkers. The audit found that the Department’s “child safety and risk assessment tool does not sufficiently guide caseworkers in making child safety decisions.”
Governor Doug Ducey signed that bill, and HB2442, known as “Jacob’s Law,” which should ensure easier, better access to behavioral health care for Arizona foster kids and families.
Judge O’Connor directed the agency to create a program to train all case managers how to quickly refer a case for developmental-disability services and to ensure that parents and children receive those services, according to the Arizona Republic. According to the SFGate.com, the judge gave the Department until November to implement the training program or it will have to pay a $9,000 fine.
“The contempt finding stems from a single case in which the department failed to comply with three orders. Though the department did ultimately comply with orders to provide services such as a crisis-stabilization team for the child’s transitional home and behavioral-health services for the family, O’Connor said the delayed services did not make up for the months of anxiety and distress the child’s family endured,” reads the SFGate.com report.
“If a judge has to rule on every single mismanaged case, the courts will be tied up for heaven knows how long,” stated Arizona Representative Kelly Townsend. “It would be better if we did the job correctly the first time.”
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