News that a $16 million notice of claim was served this week on the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DSC) related to years of alleged abuse endured by four children adopted by a DCS case worker and his wife is the latest sign that serious changes and more supervision of the agency are needed, according to one state legislator.
“We need an overhaul of DCS on many levels,” says Rep. Kelly Townsend (LD-16). “Even if that means more federal oversight, because the State hasn’t improved as promised when DCS was created.”
The $16 million claim served on DCS stems from alleged actions and inactions by state employees to a dozen reports of abuse or mistreatment at the hands of Brian and Monica Campbell. Brian Campbell worked for DCS, while his wife was a longtime dispatch supervisor for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO).
Several Cochise County parties are also named in the notice of claim, which must be served on a public body at least 60 days before a lawsuit can be initiated.
While civil liability is addressed among government attorneys and insurance carriers, the Campbells will stand trial later next year on numerous felony and misdemeanor charges of child abuse. Some of the charges stem from a July 2018 incident in which the Campbells and their adult daughter used a Taser on a teenaged boy during an incident recorded on one of several surveillance cameras throughout the Campbells house.
It has been reported that the Campbells received state funds of roughly $700 per month, per child due to alleged behavioral issues. Some of those issues were likely caused by the abusive environment, according to the notice of claim.
For Townsend, the financial incentives connected to the removal of children from one home and placement into another is especially concerning.
“We are seeing the ramifications of incentivizing the child welfare system,” she noted. “We need to remove the incentives for the good of the family. It needs to be a priority.”
Townsend pointed to the bipartisan Family First Prevention Services Act passed by Congress in 2018. It contains several major reforms to the nation’s child welfare system which will shift the priority toward keeping children safely with their families when possible in order to avoid the traumatic experience of entering foster care.
The Family First reforms also include looking at the least restrictive, most family-like settings best suited for each child’s needs if foster care is necessary. There is a lengthy phase-in period with the Act, but Townsend believes the changes will have a powerful impact in Arizona.
“What should be the last resort -pulling children from their families- has been the first resort in Arizona for too long,” said Townsend, who is currently in a Master’s degree program at Arizona State University in social work.
Just months after Family First was signed into law, the Taser incident at the Campbell’s home in Elfrida led to the first indepth investigation of abuse in the household despite numerous reports by the children to teachers, DCS workers, even other deputies. The couple gave up their parental rights to the four named victims earlier this year.
While each of the Campbell children is seeking $4 million each to settle their claims against DCS and Cochise County, a federal judge approved a $400,000 judgment last month against three DCS workers in Pima for their actions in removing two teenaged boys from their parents’ custody for several days in December 2016.
The judge in the case of Daschke v. DCS and Pima County had earlier ruled that case workers failed to demonstrate any exigency for taking the children from their home during the holiday season without a court order. A separate $700,000 settlement was paid to the Daschke family by Pima County for the actions of one of its sheriff’s detectives.
Attorney Lynne Cadigan, who is court-approved to serve as the victim representative in the criminal cases against the Campbells and is their attorney in the notice of claim, has also sued DCS on behalf of three children placed several years ago in a foster home operated in Sierra Vista by David and Barbara Frodsham.
David Frodsham and two other men are serving lengthy prison sentences after admitting to sexually abusing one of the couple’s foster-turned-adoptive sons in 2016. Last year another former Frodsham foster son initiated legal action for damages due to other abuse in the household which was the subject of several complaints to DCS and other organizations working with the family on behalf of state agencies.
The Frodsham-related lawsuits are slowly making it through the court system. And Townsend recognizes that a major obstacle in addressing problems with DCS is the secrecy surrounding its operations, particularly in court.
“We need to stop gagging parents and children from sharing their experiences,” she said. “And make it easier to know what DCS is doing on behalf of our children.”
One way to know what is happening with DCS is to review public records. On Nov. 17, the Arizona Supreme Court will hold oral arguments in a civil lawsuit filed in 2014 against DCS for access to public records the agency refused to release.
A Maricopa County judge later ordered DCS to turn over many of the documents -which number around 500. The judge also ordered DCS to pay ACLU’s attorney’s fees and court costs, following a state law in place for nearly 20 years when one party “substantially prevails” in a public records challenge.
However, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office argued that the ACLU should not be reimbursed its attorney’s fees, as it did not win access to all of the records it wanted. The Arizona Court of Appeals – Division One agreed, and overturned the order for attorney’s fees.
In doing so, the court of appeals established a new method for judges to use in determining if such fees must be paid. The method is not supported by the language of the public records statute, which prompted the ACLU to file a petition for review with the supreme court.
An amici curiae (friends of the court) brief in support of the ACLU’s petition has been filed with the supreme court by the Goldwater Institute, the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (ACLPI) and the Arizona Center for Disability Law. The non-profit organizations argue that it would “create poor public policy” to allow a public body in Arizona to avoid paying the attorney’s fees for improperly withholding records from the public.
A decision by the Arizona Supreme Court is expected in early 2021.