PHOENIX — Lawmakers, tribal leaders, law enforcement, and more met for a second time behind closed doors Thursday amid an ongoing probe into the Arizona Department of Child Safety.
This all comes after the high-profile murders of Emily Pike, Rebekah Baptiste, and Zariah Dodd. All three girls are known to the state’s child welfare system.
“I don’t think that we can fix everything in one session,” said State Senator Carine Werner just minutes after the stakeholder meeting.
Senator Werner, who is the Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, said in the meeting that they went over possible legislation and received input from those who attended.
The Founder of Empower College Prep, Brian Holman, was also at the meeting. Rebekah Baptiste and her two siblings attended the Valley school before her dad moved the family to rural Apache County in July.
Holman said after the meeting that he was still processing all the information provided. He told ABC15 there was a wide variety of topics that were covered, including group homes and Rebekah’s case.
“I think all of us are trying to move from those feelings to think very intentionally about what we need to do differently to keep this from happening in the future,” said Holman.
Rebekah’s dad and his girlfriend are now charged in the 10-year-old’s murder.
The DCS hotline has become a focus after Empower said they called repeatedly to report concerns about the Baptiste family.
“One of the bills is that a mandated reporter, so whether it’s a school or hospital, the person that is interacting with the child has to make the phone call,” said Senator Werner.
Other potential legislation includes triggers when multiple calls are received. Senator Werner said they were looking at a range of three to six.
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“If it’s not meeting that level of threshold the first time and we’re seeing multiple calls, that it is getting elevated to the OCWI (Office of Child Welfare Investigations) or that somebody else is getting a look at these cases,” said Senator Werner.
She said the group is also looking at requirements surrounding the timing of forensic interviews and the process when DCS needs to obtain information from schools.
There are also other potential changes that could be addressed without legislation.
“Additionally, what DCS has changed in their rule book is they are no longer referring to runaways or AWOL,” said Senator Werner. “Now it’s just missing children, and that’s also a big step in the right direction.
Thursday’s meeting, attendees felt, is just one step forward.
“We have made progress, and it’s taken everyone,” said Senator Werner.
“I feel like we’re moving in the right direction,” said Holman. “I think there is a lot of intentionality and there are many people working to try and get there.”
Senator Werner believes stakeholder meetings will go into 2026 and the push for change will stretch beyond even the next session.
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