Nearly half of the child abuse and neglect cases previously ignored in Arizona have now been assigned to investigators. Child Protective Services is now looking into just shy of 2,900 cases.
That is the word from the so-called CARE Team, which Gov. Jan Brewer appointed to oversee the more 6,500 cases that were not investigated by CPS over several years. The team is led by the head of the state's Juvenile Corrections department, Charles Flanagan.
The scandal was revealed in late November by Department of Economic Security Director Clarence Carter. His department oversees CPS. Carter has placed five senior CPS workers on administrative leave while an investigation is underway, but he has resisted calls from critics to step down.
