Assigned
to HHS AS
PASSED BY COW
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fifth Legislature, Second Regular Session
AMENDED
maltreatment
oversight committee; establishment
(NOW: DCS; child fatality review team)
Purpose
Background
Laws 2014, Second Special Session, Chapter 1 established DCS to protect the children of Arizona by: 1) investigating reports of abuse and neglect; 2) assessing, promoting and supporting the safety of a child in a safe and stable family or other appropriate placement in response to allegations of abuse or neglect; 3) working cooperatively with law enforcement regarding reports that include criminal conduct allegations; and 4) without compromising child safety, coordinating services to achieve and maintain permanency on behalf of the child, strengthen the family and provide prevention, intervention and treatment services. DCS is overseen by the Director, who is appointed by the Governor and must have administrative experience in family support services, the protection of children from maltreatment and possess qualifications that enable them to manage the affairs of DCS (A.R.S. §§ 8-451 and 8-452).
The State CFR Team is established within the Department of Health Services (DHS), consisting of the head, or designee, of 11 various state offices and entities, as well as 10 additional outlined members appointed by the Director of DHS who serve staggered three-year terms. Duties of the State CFR Team include but are not limited to: 1) developing a child fatalities data collection system; 2) providing training to cooperating agencies, individuals and local review teams on the use of the child fatalities data system; 3) conducting and submitting an annual statistical report on the incidence and causes of child fatalities in Arizona during the past fiscal year; 4) developing standards and protocols for local review teams and providing training and technical assistance to these teams; 5) developing protocols for child fatality investigations; 6) educating the public regarding the incidence and causes of child fatalities, as well as the public's role in preventing these deaths; and 7) informing the Governor and Legislature of the need for specific recommendations regarding unexplained infant death (A.R.S. § 36-3501).
Laws 2017, Chapter 282 established the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on the Department of Child Safety (DCS Oversight Committee), consisting of the chairpersons of the legislative standing committees of the House of Representatives and Senate that address child safety issues, as well as two additional members appointed by the President of the Senate and another two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The DCS Oversight Committee must review 1) DCS's implementation of policy and procedures and program effectiveness; 2) all DCS reports on program outcomes submitted to the Legislature for trends and areas for statutory improvement; 3) audits of DCS by the Auditor General; and 4) policies and procedures relating to guardianships and dependency proceedings (A.R.S. § 41-1292).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes the DCS Review Team to review all reports of child fatalities and near fatalities made to the child abuse hotline.
2. Requires the DCS Review Team to:
a) review all reports made to the child abuse hotline involving a child fatality or near fatality;
b) hold regular multidisciplinary team meetings to review reports of child fatality or near fatality where the child, the family or the perpetrator had prior DCS involvement;
c) identify systemic trends that influence DCS decisions and actions;
d) recommend changes to policy and practice to improve outcomes for children and families;
e) promote a culture of psychological safety within DCS by responding to fatality and near fatality cases, including the promoting learning, transparency and employee health;
f) produce an annual child fatality and near fatality report; and
g) select cases that present opportunities for systemic learning or that demonstrate opportunities for systemic change and respond to information requests by a legislative standing committee, JLBC or another committee appointed by the President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of Representatives.
3. Directs the DCS Review Team to hold regular multidisciplinary team meetings to:
a) review child abuse hotline reports of a child fatality or near fatality where DCS had involvement with the child, family or perpetrator within the prior three years;
b) select cases for systemic learning and order the DCS Review Team to do a systemic critical incident review of those cases; and
c) be provided with findings from the systemic critical incident reviews no less than quarterly to recommend changes to DCS policy and practice.
4. Specifies the multidisciplinary team is made up DCS employees designated by the Director of DCS.
5. Requires the DCS Director to appoint, at a minimum, the following multidisciplinary team members trained in safe system improvement:
a) a licensed pediatrician with professional experience in child abuse and neglect;
b) a peace officer with experience investigating child abuse and neglect fatalities and near fatalities;
c) a practicing social worker;
d) a behavioral health practitioner; and
e) an attorney with past professional experience representing children in child abuse and neglect cases.
6. Authorizes the multidisciplinary team to consult with outlined agencies that may have information pertinent to a child fatality or near fatality.
7. Requires DCS to provide an annual report of information gathered during its review of child fatalities and near fatalities, including:
a) the total number of fatality and near fatality reports in a fiscal year and by county;
b) the number of allegations, substantiated and unsubstantiated;
c) the number of reports due to abuse and neglect and whether the report was or was not substantiated;
d) the number of reports where the family had previous DCS involvement;
e) systemic trends that influence the practice and decisions of DCS and areas for improvement; and
f) details of cases that present opportunities for systemic learning or that demonstrate opportunities for systemic change.
8. Specifies that multidisciplinary team meetings are not subject to open meeting law.
9. Requires DCS to provide and present its annual report on child fatalities and near fatalities, in order to inform policy makers on system changes required to improve the child welfare system, to:
a) a legislative standing committee;
b) JLBC; or
c) a committee appointed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
10. Prohibits report information from being further disclosed, unless the information:
a) must be disclosed under court order;
b) has been disclosed in a public or court record; or
c) has been disclosed in the course of a public meeting or court proceeding.
11. Authorizes a legislative committee being presented child fatality or near fatality information by DCS to go into executive session to receive confidential information.
12. Requires the DCS Review Team, within 90 days, to respond to requests for additional information about a child fatality or near fatality.
13. Requires reported information regarding child fatalities or near fatalities to be kept confidential, unless otherwise authorized by law.
14. Allows public members of the DCS Review Team to receive confidential DCS information but prohibits further disclosure.
15. Requires the DCS Oversight Committee to review systemic failures related to alleged child maltreatment fatalities and near fatalities.
16. Allows the DCS Oversight Committee, in reviewing alleged child maltreatment fatalities or near fatalities, to:
a) critically analyze the systemic factors that may have contributed to an alleged fatality or near fatality, including the laws, policies and practices of outlined state agencies involved in the safety and welfare of the child, the child's family and the perpetrator, in order to identify improvements that could mitigate future child fatalities or near fatalities;
b) review interagency coordination and communication;
c) identify best practice and services that may prevent future child fatalities or near fatalities and review the recommendations of the DCS Review Team and the State CFR Team;
d) enter into executive session, as necessary, to promote the privacy and safety of the decedent's family or DCS employees; and
e) review reports produced and presented by the DCS Review Team and request additional information and follow up on associated details.
17. Defines systemic critical incident review as the process by which DCS evaluates fatalities, near fatalities and critical incidents to identify patterns in the factors that influence decisions and actions and to improve the quality of outcomes for children and families receiving DCS services.
18. Makes technical changes.
19. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by the Health and Human Services Committee
· Adopted the strike-everything amendment.
Amendments Adopted by the Rules Committee
· Makes technical changes.
Senate Action
HHS 2/13/24 DPA/SE 6-0-1
Prepared by Senate Research
February 26, 2024
MM/slp