Department of Economic Security - Division of Children, Youth and Families - Child Protective Services - Client Characteristics Information Brief

Arizona’s Child Protective Services (CPS) program, administered by the Department of Economic Security’s Division of Children, Youth and Families (Division), serves a diverse population of clients. To provide a broad overview of CPS client characteristics, auditors analyzed selected demographic, risk, and public assistance data for a sample of CPS clients. The analyses found that the distribution of CPS clients was generally comparable demographically to the State’s overall population, with a few exceptions. Further, children in only a small percentage of reports alleging abuse or neglect were in impending danger of serious or severe harm because of a specific behavior, such as substance abuse, by their parents/guardians. Moreover, almost one-half of the children had been alleged child victims in multiple, separate CPS reports during their lifetimes. Finally, many of the CPS clients received public assistance.