At Arizona DCS, the phone keeps ringing, but investigations decline

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS: The percentage of hotline reports excluded from investigation because of a new law has been changed from the figure reported in an earlier version of this story.

Investigations into reports of child neglect have dropped 8 percent over the last year, even as the number of calls coming into Arizona's child-abuse hotline has held steady.

The Department of Child Safety attributes the decline to changes made in the last year in how the hotline is operated, saying it has taken steps to cull out reports that do not need state intervention.

The agency says all reports of abuse are still checked out, and the changes free up its investigators to focus on only the credible reports of the less-dire allegation known as neglect. But some worry the state might be missing a chance to do early intervention that could prevent a family situation from becoming more severe.

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The year-over-year decline in investigations reflects larger DCS trends. After the number of Arizona children in out-of-home care peaked around 19,000 in March 2016, data now shows that total declining. Fewer kids are being taken into state custody and more kids are exiting state care.

The hotline changes include:

A 2016 law, which said DCS doesn't have to pursue calls where the caller left no details on how to find a child, or cases where the alleged neglect happened more than three years earlier.

A checklist the agency added, which helps operators better determine what constitutes abuse and neglect.

A recording played to hotline callers, reminding them that any false report could lead to a criminal misdemeanor.

Law allows fewer investigations

There were initial questions whether the 2016 legislation allowing DCS to not investigate certain reports risked a return to the scandal that led to the creation of the child-welfare agency in the first place.

In 2013, the agency then known as CPS was rocked by the revelation that more than 6,000 reports of child abuse and neglect had been set aside and marked "not investigated" as child-welfare workers grappled with a flood of reports in the wake of the Great Recession. Ultimately the unit was moved out of the state's overall welfare agency, given a new name and a redefined role. But questions persisted as the number of children it took from their families soared.

MORE: Why DCS takes kids away is too often unknown

Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, one of the lawmakers who was appalled at the practice unmasked in 2013, said last year's deliberate decision to not investigate didn't bother her.

"It's the 'Someone did something horrible to a child in a Walmart parking lot' (report), " Brophy McGee, R-Phoenix, said, citing the example of a report that lacks details, from the Walmart location to any description of the people involved.

At the time, DCS Director Greg McKay estimated the legislation would lead to a minimal reduction. And the data, after a year, bears him out: The change in the law accounts for just 0.5 percent of the decline in investigations.

There were 244 reports excluded from investigation out of the 46,139 received last year, DCS reported.

"That sounds minimal, but it's an incremental gain of time for our investigators," said Cynthia Weiss, the agency's communication director. With the new guidelines, investigators can spend time on more-serious, quantifiable complaints, she said.

The checklist developed over the last year also provides specific guidance to hotline operators, DCS says. By clarifying the definition of when a child is in a vulnerable situation, operators can better determine what constitutes abuse and neglect, contributing to the reduction of investigations, officials say.

All told, it means 65 percent of the calls to the hotline in the last fiscal year were investigated, compared to 72 percent a year ago and 76 percent two years ago.

In addition, the reminder to callers that a false report is a misdemeanor crime might have prompted some callers to think twice, but that's impossible to prove. There is scant evidence of any prosecutions.

Debate over the hotline itself

House Minority Leader Rebecca Rios, D-Phoenix, is wary of the changes to hotline operation, just as she was of the law reducing the types of calls DCS must investigate.

“Given the track record of DCS, my concern was they were looking for an out to cover themselves for not responding timely to the overwhelming need," Rios recalled of her objections last year. "This was a way to drive down the numbers.”

She's further concerned that the "vulnerability" criteria might leave some children at risk — not to immediate danger, but to problems that could fester and grow into bigger issues.

“Get in early, identify counseling, if it’s food or assistance they need, get it to them before the severity increases," said Rios, a former social worker. That may not require a DCS investigation, she said, but it could help if the agency sent someone from a social-service agency.

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But the agency based its changes on a study DCS Director Greg McKay commissioned that found 42 percent of a sample of hotline calls didn't require any action. In those cases, researchers at Eckerd Kids, a family-service operation, found no incidents of abuse or neglect, no need to dispatch social services to a family, and no other hotline calls involving the child. The study looked at 211,000 investigations conducted over at least five years.

With 35 percent of its hotline calls not leading to investigation, Arizona is moving toward the national average. The Administration for Children and Families, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reported in 2011 that 40 percent of hotline calls did not result in investigations.

To some, the concept of hotline reporting is flawed. Dale Margolin Cecka, who runs the Family Law Clinic at the University of Richmond (Va.) Law School, has argued that states should abolish anonymous calls to child-abuse hotlines. Arizona is one of many states that accepts anonymous calls. But she doesn't stop there.

"I don't think the public should call them at all because they don't know what they're calling about," she said. It's different with mandated reporters, such as doctors, teachers and psychologists, who are trained in how to identify child maltreatment and abuse.

Plus, mandated reporters must identify themselves, she wrote in a 2015 law-review article, so they are held accountable for their reports. This adds a greater level of confidence, she said.

About this report

In 2016, when the number of children removed from their families peaked at over 18,000, the Arizona Community Foundation gave The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com a three-year grant to support in-depth research on the topic. As part of that effort, reporter Mary Jo Pitzl and our other staff experts investigate the reasons behind the surge in foster children and the systems meant to support and protect them.

Are you part of the system? We want to understand your story. Go to childwelfare.azcentral.com.

CALL THE HOTLINE: 1-888-SOS-CHILD (767-2445).

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl

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