Gov. Jan Brewer announces the creation of an independent team to look into child abuse cases that were not investigated by the Arizona Child Protective Services, said a press release from the governor's office.
It was reported that 6,000 cases of child abuse went un-investigated over the past four years. The Child Advocate Response Examination Team will oversee CPS staff through process of picking up these neglected cases.
"Failure to investigate even one, let alone thousands of cases of potential child abuse is absolutely inexcusable and undermines people's confidence in the system that is charged with protecting the welfare of Arizona's children," Brewer said in her statement. "Every case must be investigated, period."
The CARE team will also help identify other areas of concern in the CPS system. Such review will include consideration of personnel, operations, processes and policies, and once areas of improvement are identified, the CARE team will submit a summary of the findings to Brewer, the press release said.
Brewer created the CARE team seeking to ensure there is a thorough and transparent process in investigating the neglected CPS cases.
News of the CARE team launch comes after a box with confidential CPS documents were found dumped in a Phoenix alley last week.
The CARE team will be chaired by Charles Flanagan, director of the Arizona Department of Juvenile Corrections. Some of its members include state Sen. Leah Landrum-Taylor and state Rep. Kate Brophy McCgee.
By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.