Gov. Katie Hobbs and her two predecessors, Doug Ducey and Jan Brewer, came together in a show of bipartisanship to celebrate the Department of Child Services (DCS) new welcome center. Just last month, the auditor general reported systemic failures by DCS caseworkers that harmed children’s cases.
Protecting Arizona’s children is a bipartisan effort. An honor to join @GovernorHobbs @DougDucey DCS Director @DavidLujan and community partners at today’s ribbon cutting for @ArizonaDCS new Welcome Center for children who enter care. #AZDCSWelcome pic.twitter.com/usTZ6iXveS
— Jan Brewer (@GovBrewer) August 16, 2023
Unfortunately, it appears that Janet Napolitano wasn’t able to come to the party. Neither was 18-year-old Betty, who recently left DCS care:
It may be that Betty’s case was like that of the potentially thousands of cases harmed by systemic DCS failures last year.
There are 109 local foster care review boards throughout the state as of February, according to information provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC); these boards conducted 13,280 case reviews for 21,782 children in out-of-home care last year. (Multiple children may be reviewed in a single case review, i.e. siblings).
DCS gives AOC the information needed for local boards to review children’s cases and provide recommendations to the juvenile court. Caseworkers are required to be present at board reviews to provide additional information and answer questions.
Local boards determine whether proper efforts were made in an Indian Child Welfare Act case to prevent child removal from home; a child’s continuation in out-of-home placement is necessary; a child’s placement is safe, appropriate, and the least restrictive; a written case plan exists establishing an appropriate permanency goal and outlining tasks for each case participant (child and parents); each case participant is following outlined case plan tasks; progress is being made toward establishing permanency for a child; the established target date for the completion of the child’s permanency goal is realistic; a child’s educational requirements and/or developmental needs are met; and the existence of significant service gaps or system problems in a child’s case.
The auditor general report indicated that DCS was thoroughly failing to properly review children’s cases.
In a random sampling of 13 cases reviewed across several different counties on June 28, 2022 and July 6, 2022, the report found none of the 13 cases had complete versions of all three required case documents to conduct a proper review. Seven of 39 documents were incomplete; 24 of 39 documents were missing.
Those 13 cases were a sampling of the 124 case reviews that took place those two audited days. Of the 124 case reviews, local boards received 94 percent of court reports but only 45 percent of case plans and 72 percent of TDM meeting summaries.
Of the 124 case reviews, caseworkers failed to show for 38 cases, or 30 percent. If that ratio to the greater total of cases for that year, that would mean caseworkers failed to show for 4,000 cases. Of those 124 sampled, two had no status update on physically endangered children: one child was hospitalized for abuse, the other afflicted with poor mental health and self-harm.
Again, if that ratio applied to the greater total of DCS cases from 2022, that would mean 214 children went without a status update.
The auditor general found that DCS hasn’t held caseworkers accountable for noncompliance with case review attendance.
Last month’s report by the auditor general is the first in a three-part series for the DCS sunset review. The second audit report will determine whether DCS properly investigated and resolved complaints against and conducted ongoing monitoring of licensed foster and group homes. The third and final audit report will provide responses to the sunset factors.
About 4,000 Arizona children enter foster care every year. The new welcome center from this week will serve as a transitory dwelling place for children taken from their homes, usually lasting around 48 hours.
However, the auditor general’s report makes clear that it’s what takes place in DCS after those 48 hours that are lacking. Perhaps the three governors will reconvene to celebrate once those issues are addressed, though it’s unlikely there’s a ribbon big enough to cut there.