ARIZONA, June 12 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 12, 2026

PHOENIX, ARIZONA—A child safety reform championed by Senator Carine Werner following her investigation into failures within Arizona's child welfare system will move forward through Department of Child Safety policy after an unexpected procedural dispute arose during the final stages of the legislative process.

SB 1175 passed the Arizona Legislature last week with bipartisan support. The legislation requires Department of Child Safety caseworkers to photograph children during abuse and neglect investigations and review those images when evaluating a child's safety and well-being. The goal is to help identify warning signs earlier, track changes over time, and ensure critical information is not overlooked when making decisions about a child's welfare. The bill was developed following months of oversight hearings led by Senator Werner examining cases in which vulnerable children known to the system suffered tragic outcomes. The legislation was one of several reforms advanced this session to strengthen investigations, improve information sharing, and better protect children at risk.

During the final review process, the Governor's Office determined SB 1175 should be treated as a bill requiring an appropriation. Senator Werner and legislative staff disagree with that assessment. Any potential implementation costs are estimated at approximately $50,000 and can be absorbed within the agency's existing budget without the need for a legislative appropriation. As a result, the House will recall the bill while DCS implements the policy administratively.

"Ensuring that each child in the care of the Department has a current photograph in our system is a commonsense solution to keeping children in our custody safe and accounted for," said Director Ptak. "I will be issuing a directive to our staff to guarantee each child in our care has an updated photograph to help us maintain accurate records and respond quickly in any situation where a child's safety or whereabouts need to be confirmed, while continuing conversations around this topic. We are grateful to Senator Werner for her partnership in advancing bills that help keep children safe, while also balancing the privacy needs of families."

"Government cannot prevent every tragedy, but it has a responsibility to learn from them. The cases we examined exposed gaps in documentation and oversight that should never have existed," said Senator Werner. "One of the most frustrating lessons from our investigation was realizing that critical pieces of information weren't always being connected in a way that prompted action. Children cannot afford for warning signs to be missed. If something as simple as maintaining and reviewing photographs helps a caseworker recognize a child is deteriorating and intervene sooner, then it is absolutely worth doing. I'm grateful to Director Ptak and the Department for their partnership in moving these reforms forward right away through administrative action. This ensures Arizona's most vulnerable children benefit from improved documentation and earlier recognition of warning signs without delay."

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For more information, contact:

Kim Quintero

Director of Communications | Arizona State Senate Republican Caucus

kquintero@azleg.gov

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