PHOENIX — A months- long investigation into Arizona's child safety system is coming to an end as State Senator Carine Werner holds a final Department of Child Safety oversight hearing Monday.
The hearings started after three children — Emily Pike, Rebekah Baptiste and Zariah Dodd — died.
All three children had prior contact with the Department of Child Safety. Their deaths raised questions about missed warning signs and delayed interventions.
Now, lawmakers are pushing a package of reforms to fix the system and ensure what happened to some children in state care does not happen to others.
Proposed laws would add extended family members to the list of qualified foster care replacements, strengthen mandatory reporting and improve communication between schools and investigators. The reforms would also require caseworkers to photograph children over time to detect abuse.
In March, people who lived in group homes told lawmakers about their experiences.
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"For many foster youth, group homes are not experienced as places of healing but as places as punishment or setback," Hayden L'Heureux said.
"I’ve been through things no child should ever have to go through in the hardest part. A lot of it could’ve been prevented," Angelina Trammell said.
Today's hearing will feature presentations from child welfare experts. The Department of Child Safety will also give an update on policy changes.
The hearing is open to the public and will be streamed online.
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