Arizona law prioritizes family placements and sets foster care safeguards

The law makes placement with a parent, relative, or person with a significant relationship a priority. Kinship foster care services cover children removed from home who are in the department’s custody and placed with relatives or people who have a significant relationship with them. In an emergency placement with a relative or trusted person, every adult in that household must agree to a name-based background check and submit fingerprints within 15 calendar days after that check. Kinship foster care applicants who are not licensed foster parents must be at least 18, and adult household members must provide fingerprints for criminal records checks. Caregivers may qualify for financial help. The department must explain available services and eligibility and help families apply.

A licensed group foster home that will give medication to a foster child must have written policies for managing that care; the department may inspect the home without notice. These rules apply to licensed group foster homes caring for foster children, including children with medically complex needs. Policies must cover health care access, giving and tracking medication, staff qualifications, and steps when a child’s refusal to take medication endangers someone’s health or safety. For a child with a chronic physical or developmental condition who needs extra health services, the department may require more staff or changes to the policies.

The department must require each newly hired child safety worker to work and train under an experienced worker’s supervision for at least one year. This requirement applies to each newly hired child safety worker. The one-year period applies to each newly hired worker.

The auditor general must establish a team in the child safety department, which may review the department’s system for tracking children’s placements and locations. The system tracks the placement and location of children in the department’s care. The team may review the system under an audit plan adopted after review by the joint legislative audit committee. The department must provide data, including electronic data, that the auditor general considers necessary.