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Kidjacked | Jacked Up
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30 children died in Minnesota foster care during 1993-1996. Another 72 children sustained life threatening injuries. Arizona CPS News Archive
Arizona News Coverage
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Forum on Arizona welfare child agency brings out advocates who point out more holes in system
by Bob Christie
Arizona's child welfare safety net has many more holes than were made evident by recent revelations of ignored child abuse and neglect reports, speakers said Tuesday night at a forum on reforming Child Protective Services.
Court systems are unfriendly time-sinks for foster parents, CPS workers and biological parents trying to regain custody, some said. Others recounted how struggling families leave their kids home alone or dump them into the system just to get child care after major cuts virtually eliminated subsidies for the working poor.
tribtown.com
December 5, 2013
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More money not the answer for CPS
by Tom Patterson
If we really cared about our children, we would fix this Child Protective Services (CPS) problem by... throwing more money at it, naturally. So say the pundits and letter writers.
Look, I don't know either how 6000 files could get brushed aside. Shouldn't be that hard to find out who's responsible. All I know is that CPS has got to be some of the most emotionally wrenching, difficult work on the planet. You're constantly involved in high-stakes situations where you're damned if you do, damned if you don't with an army of know-it-alls, mostly journalists, ready to pounce on you anytime some despicable lowlife turns on their own offspring.
arizona.newszap.com
December 5, 2013
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5 CPS staffers placed on leave
Arizona's child welfare agency has placed five employees on paid administrative leave as it investigates how more than 6,500 child abuse and neglect reports were labeled as not worthy of investigation.
Department of Economic Security spokeswoman Tasya Peterson said Tuesday the suspensions don't mean the Child Protective Services workers are being disciplined, only that they are being investigated for possible wrongdoing.
trivalleycentral.com
December 5, 2013
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Arizona Tries To Secure Frail Bighorn Sheep Population By Killing Preying Mountain Lions
Bighorn sheep and the mountain lions who prey on them are being killed in the mountains north of Tucson after a reintroduction program of the sheep started last week.
The bighorns were brought in a week ago as part of an effort by Arizona Game and Fish to restore bighorn sheep to the Catalina Mountains. Then, this weekend, the mountain lions started hunting them. Spokesman Mark Hart said that wasn't unexpected.
fronterasdesk.org
December 5, 2013
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For Child Protective Services, rage is the right reaction
by Editorial Board
We know that 6,000 calls to the child-abuse hotline were coded "not investigated," and ignored despite a statutory requirement to investigate all reports of abuse.
The cases that got McKay's attention involved allegations of sibling-on-sibling sexual abuse and a father burning his child. CPS deemed these cases unworthy to investigate. McKay started asking questions. He found 6,000 heartbreaking answers, including cases set aside despite more than three prior reports on the same child. McKay told legislators that cases were ignored even when the alleged abuser was still in the home.'s easy
azcentral.com
November 22, 2013
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Repeat CPS cases raise new concern
by Mary K. Reinhart
A new child-welfare unit created to probe the most serious cases of abuse and neglect has found that one-third of the cases include children who have been the subject of prior Child Protective Services reports.
Phoenix homicide Detective Greg McKay, who runs the Office of Child Welfare Investigations, told a new CPS oversight committee Thursday that training for hotline workers has helped them better evaluate cases. But even before McKay's unit started work, the number of cases flagged by the hotline as possibly involving criminal conduct had tripled in the past two years, including caregivers who had been accused previously.
azcentral.com
October 19, 2013
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Police: Prescott man arrested for allegedly molesting his 2 adopted daughters, ages 5 and 9
PRESCOTT, Arizona - Authorities say a Prescott man has been arrested for allegedly molesting his two adopted daughters. Prescott police said Thursday that 50-year-old Christopher Lee Bergman has been booked into Yavapai County Jail.
He's being held on suspicion of two felony counts of child molestation. Police say Bergman has denied the allegations. They didn't immediately know if he has lawyer yet. They say the two girls - ages 5 and 9 - have been turned over to state Child Protective Services.
therepublic.com
October 3, 2013
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Child welfare system seeks more money
Around 400 new workers and more than $115 million is needed to handle the expected jump in the number of abused and neglected children in Arizona, the head of the state child welfare system said.
Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter said the new staff and additional foster-care funding is a must in order to keep pace with growth in foster care and eventually reduce case loads for Child Protective Services workers.
trivalleycentral.com
September 23, 2013
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DES chief: Arizona CPS needs $115 million, 444 workers
by Mary K. Reinhart
The head of Arizona's child-welfare system is requesting 444 new workers and more than $115 million to keep pace with the unabated growth in the number of abused and neglected children entering foster care and to reduce caseloads.
The Department of Economic Security's budget request for the coming fiscal year comes as the agency is training and deploying 200 new Child Protective Services case managers and support staff that lawmakers approved last session, but anticipates growth of 7 to 8 percent in the number of kids in care - now approaching 15,000 children - over the next two years.
azcentral.com
September 21, 2013
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Arizona child-welfare system seeking more money
Around 400 new workers and more than $115 million is needed to handle the expected jump in the number of abused and neglected children in Arizona, the head of the state child-welfare system said.
The Department of Economic Security's budget request for comes as the agency is training and deploying 200 new Child Protective Services case managers and support staff. Still, the agency says it anticipates growth of 7 to 8 percent in the number of kids in care in the next two years.
miamiherald.com
September 21, 2013
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Leading the initiative for transformation of the HHS system
Tracy L. Wareing is the Executive Director of American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), a bipartisan, nonprofit membership organization representing the state and local human service agencies through their top-level leadership.
APHSA houses nine affiliate organizations, whose members administer program-level and system-support operations in the states. Building on the expertise and experience of the APHSA membership, Wareing is leading the Association's efforts to drive transformation of the health and human services system to a more sustainable path that is both effective and cost efficient.
federalnewsradio.com
August 22, 2013
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CASA help needed for baby 'Jenna'
A CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteer is needed to serve as a "Baby CASA" for 2-year-old "Jenna," who has been experiencing some critical medical needs.
The little girl was removed from her home by Child Protective Services (CPS) because the parents refused to follow up with the doctor for additional appointments and failed to administer her medications. Jenna's illness could be serious if left untreated.
dcourier.com
August 19, 2013
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Arizona's foster-care crisis deepens
by Mary K. Reinhart
Arizona is caring for a record number of foster children as child-welfare workers juggle an ever-growing number of abuse and neglect reports, according to a new state report.
The biannual report shows that the state's Child Protective Services now has 14,314 children in foster care, an increase of 40 percent since March 2010, and continues to be buried under an avalanche of reports, most of them alleging that children are being neglected.
azcentral.com
August 9, 2013
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Strains continue for Ariz. child-welfare agency as abuse
Arizona's child-welfare system continues to be strained by increases in reports of abuse and neglect and in placements of children in foster care even as the state makes progress in areas such as reuniting children with families.
That's the assessment offered by state officials and child-welfare advocates in the wake of the state's release Thursday of its latest twice-yearly report on Child Protective Services, The Arizona Republic reported. The report said Arizona has a record 14,314 children in foster care in March, up from 12,453 a year earlier.
therepublic.com
August 9, 2013
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Tucson mom who fed baby feces sentenced to 13 years
by Sam Salzwedel
The Tucson woman who was convicted of intentionally making her child sick was sentenced to 13 years in prison Friday.
Hospital staff alerted Child Protective Services of her 7-month-old's inability to get over an illness. Doctors suspected Montaño of intentionall making her ill by feeding her feces. It's a disorder known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy.
kvoa.com
August 9, 2013
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Phoenix police: Couple starved baby, isolated kids
by Jim Walsh and Mary K. Reinhart
A Phoenix couple charged with child abuse in the death of their severely malnourished 15-month-old girl appear to have raised their seven children in relative isolation, police said.
Ernest Ingram and Denise Snow-Ingram, both 38, were each charged with one count of child abuse and remained in custody Thursday on $250,000 bond. Crump said additional charges are possible. Their daughter, Miriam Ingram, was taken Wednesday to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
azcentral.com
July 13, 2013
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Court's program aims to help foster kids succeed in school
by Patrick McNamara
On top of whatever problems made them wards of the state, kids placed in foster care are twice as likely to drop out of school or be held back a grade as their peers. Seventy-five percent underperform scholastically.
But Pima County Juvenile Court is ready to implement a program designed to improve the educational outcomes of children in the foster care system in Southern Arizona. The court will be the third in the country to take part in FosterEd, a program that works with juvenile courts, schools, caseworkers and guardians or parents to help kids in the foster-care systems be successful in the classroom.
azstarnet.com
July 5, 2013
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AZ state senator investigated for alleged child sexual abuse
Authorities in Arizona confirm they are investigating allegations of child sexual abuse against Arizona state Sen. Rick Murphy.
Murphy, the Republican chairman of the state Senate Judiciary Committee, is a foster and adoptive parent with a history of involvement in issues related to child-welfare, adoption and foster care issues. Police in Peoria, northwest of Phoenix, began the investigation June 22.
upi.com
June 28, 2013
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Don't let CPS bill fall by wayside
by Editorial Board
An important bill needs a final vote in the Senate. Passed by the House this week, SB 1375 contains timely and key changes necessary to continue important reforms at Child Protective Services.
It is not controversial. It passed the House unanimously. Now, it needs to go back to the Senate for a final vote. It should not get lost in the rush to adjourn after the special session concludes. Nor should it be sacrificed because of lingering resentment over Gov. Jan Brewer's get-tough approach on the budget and Medicaid expansion.
azcentral.com
June 16, 2013
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Molestations get detective 20 years
by Eric Betz
A retired Flagstaff police detective was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday after being convicted previously on child molestation charges.
Michael Gray, 64, admitted to inappropriately touching his teenage stepdaughter and adopted daughter while working in law enforcement. The girls told Coconino County Superior Court Division 6 Judge Ted Reed that they came forward about the abuse, which had ended years earlier, to protect their younger siblings.
azdailysun.com
June 8, 2013
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4-year-old boy accidentally kills dad in Arizona
Authorities in northern Arizona say a 4-year-old boy has accidentally shot and killed his father at a Prescott Valley home. Prescott Valley police say the shooting occurred just after noon Friday.
Police say the boy somehow found a gun in the home's living room and accidentally fired it and a bullet hit his father, who was rushed to a hospital where he died. Police identified the man as Justin Stanfield Thomas.
kansas.com
June 8, 2013
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Accused Utah chiropractor takes alleged diabetes cure on the road
by Kirsten Stewart
Brandon Babcock, a Utah chiropractor accused of exploiting elderly diabetes patients, is taking his show on the road. The 37-year-old has been traveling to Idaho, Florida and Arizona and holding free seminars in hotels.
The citation is a misdemeanor offense. It's unclear what bearing it will have on his criminal case in Utah, which is set for a pretrial conference next Monday. Babcock had his chiropractic license suspended and is out on $200,000 bail awaiting trial on charges he swindled thousands of dollars from elderly Utahns with a scheme to cure their diabetes.
sltrib.com
June 5, 2013
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Trial begins for mom accused of giving child feces | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona
TUCSON - The trial began for a mother accused of possibly making her 7-month-old daughter sick using feces.
Prosecutors say it is a case of Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. That means she made up an illness in somebody else to get attention, even though they say she created a real illness. They believe she wanted the attention of the girl's father.
kvoa.com
May 23, 2013
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Whole Foods Finally Has a Real Competitor
by Marc Courtenay
Frankly, I seldom shop WFM. The main reason is because there's a locally owned and operated business in my community that sells only natural and organic food and other supplies.
NGVC was built on the premise that consumers should have access to affordable, high-quality foods and dietary supplements, with nutritional guidance to help them support their own health. The family-run store has grown into a successful national chain with locations across Colorado, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, Montana, Kansas, Idaho, Nebraska, Arizona and Oregon. Altogether, the company has 1,800 employees.
thestreet.com
April 8, 2013
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Feds Admit FBI Warrantless Cellphone Tracking 'Very Common'
by Matt Liponoga
FBI investigators for at least five years have routinely used a sophisticated cellphone tracking tool that can pinpoint callers' locations and listen to their conversations - all without getting a warrant for it, a federal court was told this week.
The use of the "Stingray," as the tool is called, "is a very common practice" by federal investigators, Justice Department attorneys told the U.S. District Court for Arizona Thursday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Installed in an unmarked van, Stingray mimics a cellphone tower, so it can pinpoint the precise location of any mobile device in range and intercept conversations and data.
freepatriot.org
April 4, 2013
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