Uncategorized

Drop in The Arizona Department of Child Safety Case Investigations

A 2016 law stated the Arizona Department of Child Safety didn’t have to act on calls where the caller left no details on the location of a child, or if the neglect or abuse was more than three years old.

Investigations into reports on child neglect have declined 8 percent over the last year. Changes in the way the hotline is operated have contributed to the decline according to the Department of Child Safety. The agency has replaced Child Protected Services. The agency incorporated a checklist to help determine what is considered abuse or neglect.

In 2013 more than 6,000 reports of child abuse and neglect were not investigated. In 2016, 244 reports were not investigated out of 23,579 according to the Department of Child Safety. Last fiscal year, sixty-five percent of calls to the agency hotline were not investigated, differentiating from 72 percent last year, and 76 percent two years ago.