Bill > SB1174

This bill amends Arizona law concerning the Department of Child Safety's (DCS) centralized intake hotline, which is the primary point of contact for reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Key changes include requiring hotline workers to quickly and efficiently compile a single report detailing the entire history of a child and their siblings who have been subjects of prior hotline calls or department investigations, and to review all calls for that child from the previous ninety days. The bill also mandates that if a caregiver has four or more reports of abuse or neglect within twelve months, the investigation must be assigned to a more experienced child safety specialist or one with advanced forensic training. Furthermore, if the hotline receives a call about a child involved in a dependency action, the department must disclose these calls to the court overseeing that action. The bill also clarifies that the hotline worker shall review calls from the previous ninety days that did not initially meet the criteria for a DCS report and may use that information to determine if a new allegation warrants a full report. Finally, the bill specifies an effective date of December 31, 2026, for these changes.