BEHIND CPS REFORM: CRUNCHING NUMBERS

posted by Michael Chihak

By AMER TALEB, Arizona Week Intern

The numbers behind Arizona’s push to reform Child Protective Services paint a disturbing picture.

Depending on who's counting and how the count is taken, anywhere from 15 to 48 children died of abuse in the last three years in Arizona after cases involving them were opened by CPS.

A record number of children now live in foster care in the state, and many don’t receive proper attention because caseloads are 60 percent above state workload standards, according to a report in the Arizona Republic.

A second Republic story said more than 700 caseworkers investigate or manage about 35,000 abuse and neglect reports annually.

Six-year-old Jacob Gibson’s death last August reignited the debate about CPS’ effectiveness. CPS workers knew about the alleged beatings Jacob was subjected to for at least three years.

Gov. Jan Brewer formed the Arizona Child Safety Task Force less than two months after Jacob’s death. The committee examined Arizona’s child-safety policies and issued their report to the governor in December.

The report concluded that CPS reform is only one piece to the complex puzzle of protecting children, something that requires more help from schools, foster homes and law enforcement.

Friday’s Arizona Week digs deep into the problems with Arizona’s child-safety policies and asks what’s being done to fix them.