Lawmakers Wrestle with Proposals on Opening CPS Records

PHOENIX - In the wake of deaths of several children who'd come in contact with Child Protective Services, Arizona lawmakers are considering rival measures to require disclosure of CPS records in cases involving fatalities or near-deaths.

Key questions being debated include whether one bill's proposed new procedural roadmap for deciding access to records would provide government transparency and accountability or time-consuming and costly lawsuits that effectively delay access.

More broadly, the issue requires a balancing of government accountability, privacy rights and law enforcement, said a top CPS official involved with drafting a bill backed by Gov. Janet Napolitano's administration but opposed by news media lobbyists.

The House Human Services Committee on Thursday endorsed that bill (HB2765) sponsored by its chairman, Republican Rep. Pete Hershberger of Tucson, and other lawmakers.

Now, obtaining CPS records on cases involving deaths or near-deaths of children can require the news media or other interested parties to file lawsuits to force disclosure from CPS officials who contend their hands are tied current law.

Hershberger cited the extended legal wrangling that took place before media outlets could obtain CPS records from cases involving several Tucson children killed, allegedly by parents, after coming in contact with CPS.

"We need some clarity," Hershberger said.

Backed by CPS officials and a major child advocacy group, Hershberger's bill would set up timelines and processes under which there'd be a presumption for access but prosecutors or other officials could ask a court to block release under certain circumstances.

"It provides far greater access," said Ken Deibert, deputy director of the Department of Economic Security. The department is CPS' parent agency.

"What we've tried to build into the law is some very specific accountability that says these types of things have to happen by these dates," Deibert added.

Assistant Attorney General Gaylene Morgan said "the bill provides clear guidance for everybody involved in the process."

However, a rival bill's sponsor and lobbyists for news media organizations supporting it said Hershberger's bill would set the stage for protracted delays and court fights.

Rep. Jonathan Paton's bill (HB2454), which another House committee will consider Tuesday, would largely rely on the state's existing public records law and its requirement for "prompt" disclosure of public records.

"Anything that deviates from that raises concerns," said John Moody, a lobbyist for the Arizona Newspapers Association.

Hershberger's bill ``perhaps unintentionally promotes litigation, not cooperation and disclosure,'' said David Bodney, representing Phoenix Newspapers Inc., publisher of The Arizona Republic. ``It creates a bureaucratic maze that would hinder public access to CPS information.''