Tuesday, April 2, 2013

New reports show Arizona CPS still struggling

Posted: Apr 02, 2013 9:38 AM Updated: Apr 02, 2013 9:38 AM

PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona's struggling child-welfare agency faces a continuing increase in its backload of cases while the number of caseworkers remains short of the state's own standards.

Those are among findings in two new reports on Child Protective Services' workload and staffing during the past half-year.

The Arizona Republic (http://bit.ly/11gFzjh ) reports that the reports are being reviewed as lawmakers work on a new state budget.

Gov. Jan Brewer is requesting $70 million of additional funding for CPS and related state programs that provide foster care and adoption services.

The reports say CPS is nearly workers short of meeting caseload standards. That's up from a shortage of 380 workers last year.

Meanwhile, there's a backlog of just under 13,000 inactive cases, up from 10,000 in mid-2011.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/21856134/new-reports-show-arizona-cps-still-struggling

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