ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
domestic violence
prevention; procedures; protocols
Requires
the Department of Economic Security (DES) to establish written protocols for
screening domestic violence within families, referring families for domestic
violence services and training child welfare, law enforcement and other
professionals.
Services
Resources is a subcommittee of an unofficial Child Protective Services (CPS) ad
hoc committee that was devoted this past interim to studying the overlap
between child welfare and domestic violence.
The subcommittee notes the frequency with which CPS intervenes in households
afflicted by both domestic violence and child maltreatment, as documented by
several national studies.
In order to address the
needs of all family members coping with abuse, the subcommittee recommends that
CPS screen for domestic violence during the initial stage of child welfare
investigation and refer families to local domestic violence services when
applicable. Written protocols will
assist DES in reconciling various statutes relating to CPS and domestic
violence providers when sharing information between CPS, domestic violence
programs and the courts. Furthermore,
by assigning DES the task of developing interagency protocols for appropriate
agencies and organizations to educate professionals, proponents hope the bill
will increase the levels of awareness and sensitivity to domestic violence
issues for those who focus on child abuse.
The potential impact on the
state general fund is undetermined at this time.
1. Sets a deadline of March 31, 2003, on or before which DES must consult with domestic violence advocates, law enforcement, behavioral health professionals and others and develop procedures for screening for domestic violence within families who have come to the attention of CPS, referring families for available domestic violence services and communicating confidential information.
2. Requires DES to create written protocols for the local training of child welfare, domestic violence, law enforcement and other professionals.
3. Requires DES to revise the protocols and procedures as necessary.
4. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
· Removes "persons who are required by statute to report child abuse" from the list of persons for whom DPS must develop training protocols.
Senate Action
JUD 3/12/02 DPA 5-0-3-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
March 14, 2002