ARIZONA STATE LEGISLATURE

Senate Committee on Family Services

House of Representatives Committee on Human Services and

Senate Family Services and House of Representatives Human Services

Committee of Reference for the Statutory Audits of the

Department of Economic Security and

Child Protective Services

Minutes of the Meeting

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

10:00 a.m., House Hearing Room 3

Members Present:

Representative Pete Hershberger, Chairman	Senator Karen Johnson, Chairman
Representative Cheryl Chase, Vice-Chairman	Senator Thayer Verschoor, Vice-Chairman
Representative Manuel Alvarez	Senator Linda Gray
Representative Mark Anderson	Senator Rebecca Rios
Representative Laura Knaperek	Senator Victor Soltero
Representative Pete Rios

Members Absent:

Representative John Allen

Representative David Bradley

Staff:

Dan Brown, House Research Analyst

Beth Kohler Lazare, Senate Health Committee Research Analyst

Justin Weaver, Senate Assistant Analyst

Chairman Hershberger called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m. and the attendance was noted.

Opening Remarks

Dan Brown, House Research Analyst, stated two statutory requirements are fulfilled by this Committee hearing. 

The first statutory requirement is pursuant to Laws 2006, Chapter 330, whereby the Legislature required the Office of the Auditor General to orally report to the House Human Services and Senate Family Services Committees and Committees of Reference on the progress made by the Department of Economic Security (DES) regarding the Sunset Review Reports.

The second requirement fulfilled by this hearing pertains to the Joint Legislative Audit Committee assigning the presentation of two performance audits by the Office of the Auditor General to the Committees of Reference.  The two audits were conducted pursuant to ARS 41-1966, which establishes an audit team in the Department of Economic Security.  The two performance audits are regarding Child Protective Services (CPS).

Presentation on the Department of Economic Security Sunset Reports by the Office of the Auditor General Pursuant to Laws 2006, Chapter 330

Shan Hays, Performance Audit Manager, Office of the Auditor General, presented a PowerPoint presentation on the Department of Economic Security Sunset Reports by the Office of the Auditor General entitled “Arizona Department of Economic Security Follow-Up to Sunset Review” (Attachment A).  Ms. Hays presented the four sunset reports separately and answered questions posed by the Committee Members.

First, Ms. Hays presented the Audit report on Welfare Programs.

Representative Hershberger stated, in regards to the privatization of the Jobs Program, Arizona has done a pilot project of jobs privatization in Maricopa County for a number of years.  Legislation was then passed to privatize the Jobs Program statewide.  The implementation was postponed for a number of years based on federal reauthorization of welfare reform.  The state proceeded with a date certain in the legislation to privatize the Program and this coincided with the federal Budget Deficit Reduction Act, which reauthorized welfare reform at the federal level and changed some of the rules. 

Arizona is now faced with a problem with the jobs requirement of attaining 50% of citizens who receive cash assistance to be in work related activities.  The changes will keep the 50% the same but the credits have changed because the baseline was changed from 1996 to 2005, resulting in a loss of a good deal of credits.  Arizona is in the neighborhood of a rate of 27% to 28% and must move to 50% or the state will receive federal sanctions. This is a big problem because the changes are occurring at the exact time the state is shifting to privatization. 

DES employees are now leaving because they know their jobs are ending and all of a sudden work rates have reduced at a time when the state is going to be measured at a higher standard.  It is highly likely Arizona will not meet those jobs standards at the first year benchmark and will receive sanctions.  It is not known how understanding the federal government will be but he believes there will be contingency plans that include improvement plans.  The state made the decision to go to privatization, which will happen, but it is happening at a time that is difficult.

Representative Knaperek asked what the time frame is for the sanctions.  Representative Hershberger stated he believes it will take effect at the end of the fiscal year.

Representative Anderson asked what year the Legislature made the policy decision to privatize the Jobs Program.  Ms. Hays stated the legislation was passed in 2002 to require privatization by July 1, 2004 and that requirement was then postponed to July 1, 2006.

Representative Anderson commented if the requirement was not postponed the state would not be facing the problem that has unfolded over time.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Hays to further explain why the awarding of contracts is an issue and cannot get started until October 1, 2007.  Ms. Hays stated DES had issued contracts after the 24 month follow up to privatize the Jobs Program but there were some procurement related issues.  The DES Chief Procurement Officer has cancelled the contracts and plans to reissue the requests for proposal (RFP).

Senator Verschoor asked what recommendations were made for performance measures and penalties for the improvement of jobs privatization.  Ms. Hays stated in the first RFP that was looked at during the course of the audit, there were no penalties to the contractor if the contractor, in a region, did not meet federal standards.  If the state was penalized by 5% of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant then DES would assess penalties across the board to all of the contractors. It was recommended that DES include this as a performance measure to all of its contractors.  Ms. Hays added the audit also recommended that DES look at intermediate sanctions, such as liquidated damages, to penalize contractors.

Senator Johnson asked if anything has changed regarding the issue of welfare recipients selling food stamp cards.  Ms. Hays said her office did look into this issue but does not recall what was found and will report back to the Committee with that information.

Representative Knaperek asked if the Auditor General’s Office goes back and checks if the recommendations that have been implemented are working.        Ms. Hays stated her office only looks to see if the recommendations have been implemented.

Representative Knaperek stated it seems like the state is falling short and at some point, before January 7, 2007, she can talk with the Director to see if there is any way there can be a follow up on the impacts of implemented recommendations because it is great if implementation occurs but she is concerned with not knowing if the recommendations are fixing the problem.

Next, Ms. Hays presented the Audit report on Service Integration.

Senator Johnson stated the Auditor General’s report stated one of the 18 outcome measures DES has developed is reduced foster care.  Senator Johnson asked if DES went into detail regarding how they plan to do this.  Ms. Hays said the audit reviewed how DES identified measurable outcomes and not the specific processes that will be used to achieve those outcomes.

Representative Knaperek asked if agencies, particularly DES, are using state-of- the-art outcome measures.  Ms. Hays said during the audit of service integration a definitive consensus was not found and she does not think there was a definitive best practice list of outcome measures.

Ms. Hays next presented the Audit report on the Division of Developmental Disabilities.

Representative Hershberger stated the greatest unmet need appears to be services for families in terms of physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy. However, the Department of Administration has required providers, many of which are private contractors, to have extra insurance, such as sex offender insurance and automobile insurance. This provides extra barriers for the Department to have an effective array of services among the private providers.

Representative Knaperek asked if there needs to be another audit in the future to find more problems or if DES is going to implement something to prevent future problems.  Ms. Hays said it is her belief that by implementing the Auditor General’s recommendations, DES should address the problems that were found.

Representative Knaperek asked if service in the rural areas of the state were investigated during the audit of the Division of Developmental Disabilities.       Ms. Hays stated during the audit of therapy services her office did look at the availability of services throughout the state.  It was found that one of the factors that contributes to the difficulty of providing the needed services is in some parts of the state there are not enough therapists.

Representative Knaperek stated due to the demographics of Arizona, the lack of therapists in rural areas is going to continue to be a problem and she is curious as to what DES is going to do to be proactive to recruit therapists because consultation models are not going to work if families do not have what they need.

Senator Johnson asked Ms. Hays if she knows when DES started the study of providing rates for therapy and how long that study has been going on.  Ms. Hays said DES had started that study by the time the audit report was issued and is in progress, but the Department can provide more detail as to why the study is taking so long to complete.

Senator Johnson stated one reason it has been difficult to recruit therapists is because they do not know how much they are going to be paid or if the rates are equal to rates in other areas.

The last presentation by Ms. Hays was the Audit report on the CHILDS system.

Senator Johnson asked if there is any type of work that is going on to make CHILDS more integrated and user friendly for the case workers.  Ms. Hays stated it is her understanding DES is making changes to CHILDS in order to make it more user friendly.  However, the Department should be able to provide more up- to-date information.

Senator Verschoor asked if the CHILDS data is used by the courts or only by the Department. Catherine Dahlquist, Senior Performance Auditor, Arizona Office of the Auditor General, stated the CHILDS data is used by the courts.  CPS workers are required to develop reports for the courts, especially in dependency cases, which are based on information in the system.

Senator Verschoor stated the reason he asked if the courts use the CHILDS information is because in the four years that he has been in the Legislature, one of the biggest issues he keeps hearing about is that judges are making decisions without the information available to them. 

Representative Knaperek stated there has been problems with the CHILDS system since it started in 1996 or 1997 and she wonders if it is time to try something new. 

Representative Hershberger stated CHILDS does have a human element and this is why it is so difficult to solve the problems with this system.  Representative Hershberger added policy makers need to define an investigation as a referral to an investigation or as something that is entered into the CHILDS system and then develop a better performance measure of what an investigation is.

Tracy Wareing, Director, Arizona Department of Economic Security, testified in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations.  She stated she has been at DES since July 2006 and has worked closely with the Department for several years as legal counsel and, most recently, in the Governor’s office as a policy advisor for human services.

In regards to the Auditor’s recommendations, Ms. Wareing informed the Committee that almost all of the recommendations have been completed.  Many of the recommendations are about better tracking systems, often tied to the technology in the Department.  Some are ongoing in nature, such as the service integration recommendations.

Ms. Wareing said the Department has developed 18 outcome measures which are in the service integration publication and the Department will publish regular updates regarding the status of those outcomes.  In addition, the Department has worked closely with the Universities around the evaluation of their programs.  These recommendations are always ongoing and they never stop constantly looking at how the Department is holding itself accountable and how they are doing in terms of practice improvement.

In regards to the CHILDS audit, Ms. Wareing said the Department has taken the first step to change the automated system to make sure reports are able to be generated. 

Ms. Wareing added the auditors are very careful in closing out recommendations because they want to see how they are implemented.  Almost all the recommendations that are not yet complete fall in the categories of something that requires significant technology or additional dollars, something that is already done but tracking how it works in practice, and a few that are tied to something that needs to happen before it can be done.

As to the specific recommendations for the privatization of the Jobs Program,  Ms. Wareing stated most deal with ensuring when the Department does privatize, the contractors have a number of checks in place to be able to assure that they have security around the data that they will maintain.  The Department cannot officially call the recommendations closed until there are contracts on the street.

Ms. Wareing said the original law regarding the privatization of the Jobs Program was passed in 2002 and amended in 2004 with a requirement that the Department take all reasonable efforts to privatize the Program by July 1, 2006.  Over the course of those years, the Department was waiting for Congress to reauthorize TANF.  In the end, the Department went ahead with the privatization process and issued the RFP in the fall of 2005 and got original bids back in November 2005.  In February 2006 the Department received the reauthorization back from Congress with significant changes into what is required in each state in terms of work participation.  The work participation rate is the rate by which any person that is receiving TANF must participate in job related activities.  In Arizona, the Department was in a position of having done what the federal government was changing the law to.  On the other hand, the Department has a different work participation rate to meet.  The Department is going to move to something that requires at least 40% and will get a slight case load reduction. 

Ms. Wareing stated the Department is struggling because a large number of staff has left because of the impending privatization of the program and has impacted where the Department is with the work participation rate.  In the mean time, the Department made amendments to the RFP, bidders came back in, and the Department awarded contracts in October 2006.  Unfortunately, the Department discovered, after having three protests filed by unsuccessful bidders, that there were irregularities in the procurement process. The Department discovered a problem with the scoring mechanism.  The three member evaluation committee modified the weighting of the scores after the scoring process had begun.  The Department decided to cancel the contract in the spirit of ensuring that procurement process was accurate and that the most appropriate bidders were awarded  the contract. 

In conclusion, Ms. Wareing said the Department has worked very diligently in privatizing the Program and even though they were past the  July 1^st date it was largely because the Department needed to make the adjustment based on the new law that was passed in February 2006 and the bidders needed to make significant changes to their proposals.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Wareing who is on the evaluation committee.  Ms. Wareing stated she did not know off hand who the members are but would obtain that information and present it to the Committee.  Ms. Wareing added the irregularities were not the fault of the Committee because they were supposed to be guided through the process by the Department.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Wareing how the members are chosen.  Ms. Wareing said the members are chosen by the Department, probably by the Assistant Director of the program or the Deputy Assistant, in consultation with other staff in the Director’s Office.  She is not positive of the process because the selection had taken place before she started working there.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Wareing who in the Department is responsible for guiding the members through the process.  Ms. Wareing stated the Procurement Office within the Department has that responsibility and Procurement Officers are assigned to each proposal the Department is working on.

Senator Gray asked Ms. Wareing if the protests were filed due to the problem with the scoring.  Ms. Wareing said the protests were broader than what the Department found.  When there is a protest filed the Department is obligated to review the procurement process.  The Department did not find any evidence of bias, which was alleged by some of the bidders, or any other allegations in the protests. 

Ms. Wareing stated under the new process, the Department will be reissuing the RFP by the end of November.  There will be a somewhat expedited procurement process, with the Department using the SPIRIT Automated Procurement System through the Department of Administration, which helps track the process more closely.  After the awards are made, there will be a three month transition period in the spring.  The phased roll out will then begin in the summer, after the three month transition process.  The Department will begin having privatized services with the intention that it will be completed by October 1, 2007  This aligns with the federal fiscal year, which is important due to the new work participation rate.  Due to some of the changes that have been made and the struggles with work participation, the Department needs to take the time to make sure the program is as stable as possible when it is transferred to the new contractors. 

Ms. Wareing added the Department feels it should not be sharing liability for any failure to meet the work participation rate this year.  It would be very difficult to try to apportion it with private contractors if the awards are given in March.  In some ways this will be a cleaner process for the Department.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Wareing to clarify the definition of work participation rate.  Ms. Wareing stated the work participation rate means those on welfare are participating in 30 hours a week of employment or something that qualifies as employment.  The case load reduction credit will bring the State’s rate requirement to 40%.

Senator Verschoor asked, with unemployment down, why the 40% work participation rate is not being met.  Ms. Wareing said she believes the Department can improve the work participation rate. The Department wrote the RFP to get to a better work participation rate and to engage case workers directly with families and individuals about what barriers are preventing them from obtaining employment.  The Department’s work may effectively work over a year but for a certain period of time they may not be in that 30 hour per week employment.  The Department intends to do everything possible over the next several months to get the program stabilized and to continue with the privatization.

Senator Gray asked Ms. Wareing if the passage of Proposition 202 (2006) will affect child care subsidies.  Ms. Wareing stated this is something the Department is keeping in mind because it will be another impact on how they deal with families because while it is good for families to earn more money it could also affect some of the families that are on the margin for assistance.

Ms. Wareing stated service integration is the heart of how DES is moving forward.  All of the recommendations are in progress because of their ongoing nature.  The Department believes it has uncovered some of the reasons that service integration has not been successful in the past.  One is sharing communication and success at all levels of the agency.   Another is the direct work with community and family partners.  One other reason is measuring outcomes because the Department expects there are goals that need to be met.

Ms. Wareing added the work of the Auditor General and her staff is valued and their recommendations are always on target and often aligned with things the Department is already working on and moving forward.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Wareing if CHILDS is a system that supports integration.  Ms. Wareing stated she believes that all of the automation tools, including CHILDS, need to be part of integrating services.  There are challenges in terms of having systems interface but where technology was a few years ago versus where it is today is very different.  The Department uses CHILDS data analysis around the kinds of information that the Department maintains in order to understand what happens in a community and she is excited about the potential for the system to move the Department forward.

Ms. Wareing added the state is in compliance with federal case management requirements which are very difficult to meet.

Senator Soltero stated DES is more stable and thanked Ms. Wareing and the staff for their work.

Presentation on the Child Protective Services Performance Audits by the Office of the Auditor General Conducted Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 41-1966

Sandra Tulloss, Senior Performance Auditor, Arizona Office of the Auditor General, presented a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Presentation on the Performance Audit of the Department of Economic Security, Division of    Children Youth and Families, On-the-Job Training and Continuing Education”  (Attachment B) and  answered questions posed by the Committee Members.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Tulloss if the training a new case worker receives in the field is the same as the training they receive in the classroom.  Ms. Tulloss said the training in the classroom is more theoretically based, having to do with the basics of case management as opposed to the training in the field which is more of the practical application of that one person’s particular job.

Senator Verschoor stated he finds this problematic and very typical. It is problematic because when a new case worker comes out of the classroom training and goes into the field, they are told to forget everything they learned in the classroom and this ends up being a waste of time and money.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Tulloss how much time a case worker receives training on the CHILDS system.  Ms. Tulloss stated she does not know how much exact classroom time is involved but it is significant.  In terms of training in the field, there is a one page checklist and one of the steps does include some CHILDS information, however, it was found when employees were asked how much training they received in the field only a small number indicated they received it.

Senator Verschoor stated the conclusion he has formed from this information is the people who do the field training do not know what to do.

Ms. Tulloss stated at the time of the audit there was not a formal education program for instructing staff on how to do the on-the-job training.  While there was a manual that was in draft form, it was not formalized or widely disseminated.  One reason for the recommendation in that regard was to help ensure that those who are responsible for the training understand what they are doing.

Representative Hershberger said the Committee has identified CHILDS and training as areas that really need scrutiny, oversight, and attention by the Department.  The Department can improve the services to children and families by scrutinizing and improving those two areas.

Representative Anderson stated the audit report stated CPS is still thinking about implementing continuing policies and asked if those policies are part of the CPS reform legislation from 2003 or part of the Auditor’s recommendations.             Ms. Tulloss said she does not know what the legislation states specifically.  However, in 2003 the Auditor General issued a performance audit which included a small piece that recommended the Division needed to do more to ensure that training was consistent.  Additionally, during that same year, the reform plan also included recommendations to formalize a continuing education program.  For this current audit, at the time there was only a formal policy having to do with training and therefore the recommendation was made to develop policies.  Since that time the Auditor General’s office has been in the process of the doing the follow up and she is aware CPS has internally passed more policies.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss if the new employee training is conducted in one place.  Ms. Tulloss stated the classroom training is offered in Prescott Valley, Phoenix, and Tucson.  In regards to the field training, there is one field training supervisor per district and unit supervisors, which provide the bulk of the training, are centralized in a location that particular person is employed in.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss if a person needs a degree in order to be employed as a case worker.  Ms. Tulloss stated not necessarily.  In the rural areas there is more difficulty recruiting people with college degrees and there are arrangements allowed for that.  However, in the urban areas there is more of an emphasis on having a degree.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss to briefly state the training process a new case worker goes through.  Ms. Tulloss said a new case worker starts with two weeks of office training, most likely in the local office where they are assigned.  The case worker will then begin the six week classroom training.  There is three weeks of training, followed by a one week break where they go out in the field, and then come back for the final three weeks classroom training. 

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss what happens if the case worker in training does not live near an area where the training is provided.  Ms. Tulloss stated most of the employees stay in the city and are reimbursed by the state for the travel costs.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss if there is a test given at the end.  Ms. Tulloss said there is not a test given but CPS has contracted with a professor from the Arizona State University (ASU), Tucson campus to develop an assessment which assesses the skills that case workers learn and it is given to the students at several different points.  The results are used to evaluate the training program as a whole and not evaluate individual students.  The field training supervisors are expected to be in contact with the unit supervisors and should be given feedback as to how any one particular student is doing.  If the student is struggling in one or multiple areas, the field training supervisor is to follow up and ensure that student receives the training necessary for he or she to be competent in those fields.

Representative Rios asked Ms. Tulloss if the audit looked at the investigation stipend.  Ms. Dahlquist stated the investigation stipend has been implemented.  In 2005, the Office of the Auditor General looked at this issue and it was found that the Division had expended $500,000 on that stipend.  The stipend is provided to investigative workers who have been investigators for 36 months and are assigned at least six new investigations in the month received.

Representative Chase asked Ms. Tulloss how case workers are evaluated on their continuing performance of the decisions that they are making.  Ms. Tulloss stated there is a regular performance evaluating system and many of the decisions that are made which are particularly sensitive to a family are subject to many layers of review and ultimately a judge needs to sign off on those decisions after 72 hours.

Representative Chase stated these case workers are the first people to see and deal with these situations and their performance does need to be monitored through the process.

Representative Knaperek asked Ms. Tulloss when the next audit of CPS will take place.    Ms. Tulloss said there are no further audits planned but there will be follow ups on audits that have been conducted every six months, continuing through 24 months.

Catherine Dahlquist, Senior Performance Auditor, Office of the Auditor General, presented a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Arizona Department of Economic Security, Child Protective Services Timeliness and Thoroughness of Investigators” (Attachment C) and answered questions posed by the Committee Members.

Senator Verschoor stated one of the Auditor’s recommendations is to streamline the investigative process and he asked Ms. Dahlquist what exactly is being cut out in order to streamline the process.  Ms. Dahlquist stated that recommendation was tied into the report on the CHILDS data integrity and focused on a comprehensive review on division and district policies and procedures to see what can be eliminated, what was redundant to start at that level and with the policies and procedures.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Dahlquist if there are paper reports that are transferred to the CHILDS system.  Ms. Dahlquist said in some cases there is paper backup where case workers are required to interview families and take hand written notes and then input that information into the CHILDS system.  Also, there are certain documents that will remain as hard copy documents, such as those that require a signature from the families. 

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Dahlquist if paper reports are separate from reports entered in CHILDS.  Ms. Dahlquist stated in most cases reports are entered in CHILDS and a copy can be printed out.

Senator Verschoor asked Ms. Dahlquist what is being done with the 551 full time employees (FTE) that the Division increased by.  Ms. Dahlquist said to the best of her knowledge the positions have been placed in CPS, some case manager and supervisor positions, but some are support positions as well.  The Division has been making attempts to fill all of the positions.

Representative Knaperek stated she is mortified because she thought things would be better.  If this information in the audit report is correct then children are not being protected, inaccurate information is being presented to the courts, and there is bad information if another report occurs on a child in the future.  This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed immediately.

Representative Rios stated in regards to the increase of 551 FTE’s, the state is growing rapidly and what might have been a good number two or three years ago may be inadequate now.

Representative Hershberger added since 2003 there are 5,000 more investigations with the elimination of Family Builders.

Representative Knaperek stated she does not believe the 551 positions can be filled and the Division may need to try something different.

Ken Deibert, Director, Division of Children, Youth, and Families, testified in response to the Auditor General’s recommendations.

Mr. Deibert stated prior to taking his current position he was the Administrator of the child welfare system in Idaho and he is pleased with the level of innovation of Arizona’s child welfare system.  Mr. Deibert added he is committed to making the correct improvements in the child welfare system, supporting families, and making decisions that are based on fact, not only in terms of decisions about how the Division interacts with families, but what decisions are made regarding programs, service delivery systems, and the types of services that are provided.

Mr. Deibert said Arizona is one of only four states to be in federal compliance with the child welfare reporting system.

Senator Johnson asked Mr. Deibert if the other 46 states are receiving sanctions for not being in compliance.  Mr. Deibert stated the federal government has not yet started to issue sanctions for non-compliance.  Most states are in varying degrees of implementation. 

Senator Johnson stated if Arizona is one of four states that is in compliance, and the Division is having the problems with the CHILDS system, she wonders what good it does to have the system.

In response to Senator Johnson’s statement, Mr. Deibert stated the system, originally, was not designed to be used as a tool to enhance and improve the work of the case worker.  It was a system designed to capture data to give to the federal government to justify the payments they were giving the state.

Representative Knaperek asked if the Auditor General’s information is true, and the information in CHILDS is not accurate, if the state is truly in compliance with the federal government.  Mr. Deibert stated during their audit, the federal government looks at the data integrity of the elements that the state needs to report to the federal government and their assessment is the state is in compliance with those data elements.  Mr. Deibert added, based upon his conversation with staff, the Division is fully intent on addressing the management pieces of the CHILDS system, to ensure the integrity of the data, to ensure the adequacy of the system to improve its workability for the staff is addressed, and to continue to make improvements based upon discussions with staff.

Mr. Deibert stated, in regards to the sharing of data that is in CHILDS, the Division is working with the Pugh Commission to look at strategies to improve the coordination of services between the child welfare system and the court system. 

Senator Verschoor stated this is not a new thing.  Data has needed to get to the courts for as long as CPS has been around and by now he believes a system should be in place for getting the data to the courts on time. 

Senator Verschoor asked what can be done now to get the data to the courts on time.  Mr. Deibert stated he cannot answer that question specifically at this time but the Division is committed to making sure that the information the courts needs gets there in a timely fashion.  CPS is working with the Pugh Commission and the courts to make sure data can be transferred from one system to another. 

Senator Verschoor stated this is the point he is trying to make because it is great they are working on improving the flow of information, but in the meantime the reports should be delivered on time.

Representative Rios stated he never got the impression from the testimony that CPS was not getting data to the courts on time but it had to do with the completion of the forms in CHILDS.

Senator Verschoor stated getting data to the courts on time is a problem.  People have talked to him about the problems they have had with having children before judges who do not have the data.  There has been testimony in the Family Services Committee from the Juvenile Courts that they are not receiving the reports on time and testimony from the Office of the Auditor General that only 54% of the reports are started on time.  This needs to stop and nobody has been able to say what can be done to fix it.

Representative Knaperek stated while she has heard Mr. Deibert speak of trying to improve the timeliness of the system but not the accuracy and she is concerned about this because it is one thing to have timeliness but if the data is not accurate the judge will make bad decisions.

Representative Hershberger said Senator Verschoor is not the only one that is frustrated, but he believes the CPS worker that is overworked and under paid is also frustrated.  It is constructive to address this frustration practically and reasonably and to look at a broader picture of how to improve CPS as a whole and to not isolate one segment apart from the other.

Senator Verschoor stated he does not see any information stating the reason why things are the way they are is because case workers are under paid and over worked.  However, there was an extensive report on the training and if the training is as dismal as the reports indicate, that would explain why there are problems.

Senator Soltero said it might be a good idea to bring case workers forward and ask them for recommendations for fixing the problems.

Senator Johnson stated a couple of years ago, legislators did meet with case workers and one of things that came out of that meeting was at least 15% of the employees in the agency were “bad apples.”  There was resentment that those employees did not get taken care of in the appropriate manner and that reduced the morale of the good employees.

Mr. Deibert stated he looks forward to speaking with the Committee Members in the future and that he will be able to show that CPS has fully implemented the Auditor’s recommendations.  As he reviews where the Division is in the implementation plan for the audit findings, be believes the vast majority of the findings have been addressed or are currently in the process of being addressed.  The Division will work with the auditor on the subsequent follow ups and continue to make improvements. 

Mr. Deibert added significant changes have been made to the training program and it is considered one of the leading performance based training programs in the country.

Representative Knaperek asked Mr. Deibert what the cost is for the training per employee.  Mr. Deibert stated the cost for the complete training program per employee is $9,500, which includes per diem and hotel costs.

Discussion and Recommendations

Representative Knaperek recommended, as follow ups to the audit are performed, that the Auditor General further disaggregate the CPS data by region.

Melanie Chesney, Director, Performance Audit Division, Office of the Auditor General, stated the follow ups are specifically done on the implementation of the recommendations and the Office would not go back and analyze data.  This would require another audit and work into the Auditor General’s  schedule for the next two year cycle.

Representative Hershberger stated the recommendation should be to request that particular type of break down of data in future audits.

Public Testimony

Tim Turner, former CPS investigator, testified regarding his experience working for CPS.

Mr. Turner stated prior to moving to Arizona he had nearly eight years of investigative experience in two other states and was employed as a level 3 investigator in the Kingman office for two years until he left in October 2006.  He spent a vast majority of his time training new workers and many came to his unit with no practical hands-on knowledge.

Mr. Turner said when he went through the core program there were two half days of training in CHILDS in the five weeks of training he had and after he was employed he was required to train each individual worker as they came out of training on CHILDS, field work, and how to interview clients. 

In regards to the CHILDS system, Mr. Turner said for an unsubstantiated case there were 70 windows to complete and for cases where children had to be removed and placed in foster care there were over 200 windows to complete.  He said he would work well into the evening during the week and virtually every weekend in order to complete the work.

Mr. Turner added he believes there would be a room full of former and current CPS employees willing to provide a great deal of insight as to what is going on if the Committee requested it.  There are bad case workers and supervisors but there are those that are very dedicated workers that choose to go into other lines of work because they cannot take the pressure anymore.  Mr. Turner said he does not believe the promotion system is based on merit but on who you know and your friends. 

Mr. Turner concluded, the unit he worked in has no supervisor, one level 3 investigator who is being pressured to resign, one level 2 investigator who is less than six months out of training, and one level 1 investigator who is right out of training.  Vacancies cannot be filled and when they are filled, employees do not stay. 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bill Ritz

Committee Secretary

(Audio recordings and attachments on file in the Secretary of Senate’s Office/Resource Center, Room 115).

---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------

Senate Family Services and

House Human Services COR

November 28, 2006

Page 16

---------- DOCUMENT FOOTER ---------