TAKE OPINION OUT OF CIVIL COURT

WE CAN NOT BE AS HOPFUL TO SAY THAT PERFECTION LIES IN EVERYONE. THOUGH THE WAYS THAT CHILDREN ARE "PROTECTED ARE A DIFFERANCE OF OPTION. THIS IS A PETITION ASKING TO CREATE A LAW THAT GOVERNS THE INVESTIGATION OF CPS BY PHOTO'S VOICE RECORDING, AND COLD HARD FACTS. FAMILY'S THAT NEED HELP SHOULD BE ALLOWED HELP. FAMILIES WRONGFULY ACCUSSED SHOULD BE ALLOWED THE SAME AS CRIMINAL COURT INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN THE COURT OF LAW. AS IT IS NOW FAMILIES CAN BE TAKEN APART ON A SUB-JECTIVE OBSERVATION WITH NO THOUGHT TO THE TRAMA A CHILD RECIVES EVEN IF " RETURNED" .



Arizona CPS social workers are now using a %u201Cnew%u201D risk assessment tool that the state spent a lot of money to develop. Apparently the goal of the risk assessment is for investigations to be more thorough and comprehensive.A sample risk assessment distributed to employees had 81 pages, which astounded CPS social workers who are expected to complete this process each time they do an investigation. It could be that caseworkers will spend more time doing paperwork and less time detaining children.According to one child welfare expert, the risk assessment tool is based on 20-year-old standards and will do nothing to make children safer. However state officials say the assessment is used in other states and that Arizona CPS staff contributed feedback for development of the project.From the June 4, 2007 article in the Arizona Daily Star:

Without the changes, %u201Cwe weren%u2019t able to see how they (investigators) made their decisions,%u201D said Janice Mickens, an administrator with CPS. %u201CWe need to have something that guides us throughout this process.%u201D

Risk assessment tools have been used by CPS agencies for years. The %u201Cnew%u201D Arizona risk assessment is based on a Washington risk assessment developed in 1986, and some experts consider it antiquated. The state of Washington also considers it out of date and is working on developing new methods.From the article:

The general philosophy behind it and the Arizona model is what is known as a %u201Cconsensus-based%u201D approach, meaning the case manager assesses risk from a number of areas like the child%u2019s behavior and development, severity of abuse and the qualities of the caretaker, among others.Such an approach has been criticized in social work academic journals for being subjective, overly broad and using the same variables to predict different types of abuse and neglect.

Using a risk assessment, CPS social workers can detain children based on what might happen, even when nothing has happened. Questions on the risk assessment may include questions such as %u201Care the parents legally married?%u201D and %u201Chow many children are in the home?%u201D.Rep. Jonathan Paton of Tucson said %u201C81 pages seems excessive. I can envision a lot of frustration from workers who have too many cases as it is.%u201D But Mickens, the CPS administrator, said she didn%u2019t think the risk assessment will add much time to the investigation process because social workers are already filling out some of the same forms.The agency didn%u2019t study the time factor so they don%u2019t know how long it will take Arizona CPS social workers to fill out the form, but they feel this risk assessment is a %u201Ccritical tool%u201D as it will force CPS caseworkers to %u201Cask the right questions%u201D.Arizona CPS has been responsible for several recent high-profile deaths of children who had open CPS cases: Tyler Payne, 5; his sister Ariana, 4; and Brandon Williams, 5.