PHOENIX - The state's scrutinized child-welfare agency says a special investigative team has reduced an extensive backlog of cases.
Child Protective Services has cut the number of inactive cases by about 73 percent since August, said the director of Department of Economic Services, which oversees CPS.
Of the more than 9,000 cases that were not under active investigation in August 2011, 2,700 cases remain on the backlog, DES Director Clarence Carter said Wednesday. Staff turnover, a cumbersome paperwork system and economic factors contributed to the backlog.
Carter and other staffers held a news conference Wednesday to discuss reforms at the organization.
Legislators at the state Capitol on Wednesday also heard a series of bills based on recommendations from a CPS task force appointed by the governor.
Gov. Jan Brewer formed to the task force last fall after several high-profile incidents where children were harmed despite previous abuse complaints being made to Child Protective Services.
In one case, an emaciated 6-year-old Phoenix boy died six days after being taken to a hospital emergency room last August with a brain bruise and other injuries. CPS had five prior reports alleging abuse and neglect by his parents, who have pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges.
High staff turnover, compounded by factors like a burdensome paperwork system, furloughs and cuts to social services created a "perfect storm" for backlog, said Sandra Lesko, one of the staffers on the investigative team. The heavy workload causes seasoned cases workers to walk away, she said.
Even though they were working long hours, "they didn't know that they could make a difference anymore," Lesko said.
The investigative team found that it was taking staff around 200 days to close a case, though CPS policy says cases should be closed within 60 days.
Brewer's latest budget proposal seeks a $3.7 million funding increase for CPS. The governor wants the state to hire former law enforcement officers to fill 28 new jobs for investigative specialists. The specialists would train other CPS workers, provide expertise on criminal conduct positions and participate in investigations "when the situation may call for a law enforcement presence," Brewer's budget proposal said.
The proposal also included funding for new managers to oversee investigations and improve the complaint hotline, and the creation of a new senior position to promote experienced staffers while keeping them in the field.
Critics have said strengthening investigations is one piece of the problem, but the Legislature also needs to provide money for the support and salaries for CPS staff, and a restoration of funding for social services such as child care and substance-abuse treatment. Those programs, among many others across state government, suffered amid budget cuts in recent years.
At the Legislature, a handful of bills tackling CPS reforms were approved by committees on Wednesday.
One bill in the House would create an oversight committee to look for further reforms at CPS and study efforts in other states to privatize some functions of the child welfare system.
Other bills in the Senate seek to renew a program providing a monthly stipend to grandparents if CPS places a child with them, and remove some barriers for relatives looking to adopt a child.
Lawmakers who sponsored the proposals served on the Governor's task force.
