Following the tragic deaths of three children with prior contact with the Department of Child Safety (DCS), Arizona lawmakers are gearing up to seriously assess the child welfare system. Sen. Carine Werner, the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, has confirmed a series of meetings to address the flaws in the system. These closed-door meetings are drawing attention for their promise to tackle the oversight in child safety protocols that may have contributed to the fatalities. In a recent one-on-one with ABC15, Werner expressed that legislation would be influenced by ongoing investigations, particularly noting the case of Rebekah Baptiste. "I did meet with DCS this week, and we went over some reports that have come back related to the investigations around the Rebekah Baptiste case; which are going to be very helpful in the legislation that we put forward," Werner told ABC15.
Changes are speculated to not only reform policy but also to directly impact training procedures, according to Werner's disclosures about her department's cooperative efforts with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO). The MCAO has acknowledged receiving federal funds to conduct statewide classes on advanced forensic interviewing, a tool deemed "critical" when investigating sensitive cases. Senator Werner highlighted the importance of expanding the staff that receives such specialized training. "And DCS, my team, and Rachel Mitchell have met, and we've talked about training, what needs to change around training," Werner explained to ABC15.
Earlier reports from Arizona's Family Investigates emphasized the urgency of the situation, with Werner stating, "The deaths of Emily Pike, Zariah Dodd, and Rebekah Baptiste should be a wake-up call for us all." She continued to lay bare the tragic consequences of system failures in a news release, "These tragedies make it painfully clear that when our child protection systems–both state and tribal–fail, the consequences can be horrific. We cannot allow these failures to repeat." The stakeholder meeting set for early September is expected to be a pivotal step toward critical safety improvements and policy changes.
Despite the urgency of the situation, the series of stakeholder meetings has been planned to be conducted privately, a decision that has drawn concerns regarding transparency from the public. However, Werner assured that a joint hearing will allow the events of the meetings to be presented to the public. "We'll pick a date for that, and everything will be presented in that hearing," Werner told ABC15, "So that no one is going to feel like anything was done behind closed doors that did not get brought to the front where they could see it." As Arizona's child welfare system comes to a pivotal juncture, these developments point to an earnest attempt to address deep-rooted issues and perhaps, offer solace through action—a solace owed to those failed by the system.
