Arizona CPS Record Debacle

Arizona CPS officials say it was a “computer glitch” and are downplaying the significance of over 30,000 people not receiving their full records. “The withheld information could include details of Child Abuse Hotline reports,  services provided to the family and case notes from CPS workers and supervisors.”

“In addition to the missing records, another seven reports also have not been  released that should have been. Peterson also could not say Monday what was  contained in those reports, and the DES has not yet responded to The Arizona  Republic’s public-records request for that information.

The missing records could prompt attorneys to reopen child-dependency, civil  or criminal cases if it can be shown that the information would have changed the  outcome.

The DES officials say their review determined that most of the undisclosed  information was redundant and already contained on the pages that were  released.

And the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which represents CPS in dependency  cases, said missing documents likely would have had little impact on cases  because attorneys for the parents receive the same information that the  prosecutors have.

“We have disclosure obligations in our cases, and we disclose the information  that we’re going to rely upon to prove our case,” said Nicole Davis, chief  counsel for the Child and Family Protection Division. “We don’t have any reason  to believe that the outcome of any of the cases that we’ve handled would’ve been  different.”

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery co-chaired a gubernatorial task  force last winter that issued dozens of recommendations about how to improve the  child-welfare system.

Gov. Jan Brewer created the task force following several high-profile child  deaths. Since then CPS has been struggling to handle a record number of foster  children, stem staff turnover and reduce caseloads.

Montgomery declined to comment on the missing records.

Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk said she’s hopeful that none of the  criminal prosecutions in her county will have been compromised by the state’s  failure to disclose information. Polk said child-abuse and neglect cases are  handled jointly with law enforcement, prosecutors and CPS.

“Because of the joint investigative nature of what we do, we’re working as a  team to gather that information,” Polk said.

Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the governor has “absolute confidence”  in DES Director Clarence Carter and is pleased that the agency moved to rectify  the problem once it was discovered.

“This problem did not begin under his leadership, nor did it begin under this  administration,” Benson said. “Apparently, it went on unnoticed for quite some  time.”

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, a former foster parent, said lawmakers overlooked  CPS last session when they approved funding to upgrade other state computer  systems, despite testimony about the agency’s antiquated system.

In addition, she’s concerned that CPS has been unable to track the number of  children who spend the night in field offices or the number who enter foster  care because their parents have been picked up by immigration officials.

“What else are they keeping from the Legislature, from the media and the  public?” she said. “It seems to me that there’s a systemic problem here. It’s  more than just a computer glitch.”

Undisclosed CPS records downplayed

[The Arizona Republic 9/17/12 by Mary K. Reinhardt]

“Those receiving notices include parents involved in the nearly 8,600 open  dependency cases, about 1,500 parents who have requested records on their CPS  cases, nearly 1,200 judicial or law-enforcement requests, 55 members of the  media, and more than 21,000 attorneys.”

“Maricopa County Juvenile Court Judge Aimee Anderson said she expects it to  become a larger issue for civil, criminal and family courts than the Juvenile  Court, where about 90 percent of dependency cases are settled without a trial.  But she added that a lot depends on what information was missing from the  requested records.”

“The withheld information could be substantive, including:

Details of Child Abuse Hotline reports.

Services provided to the family.

Case notes and documentation from CPS workers and supervisors.

Assessments of children who participated in services.

Appeals of previous child-maltreatment findings.”

 

Arizona CPS discovers computer glitch that hid files for years

[The Arizona Republic 9/14/12 by Mary K. Reinhardt]

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