The impact of Arizona DCS' records glitch could be far deeper than we expect

The state Department of Child Safety’s request this week for judges across Arizona to “suspend any trials and severance proceedings” on the docket in the next two weeks because of computer glitches relating to documents is unsettling.

A review revealed that thousands of documents were not made discoverable in more than 3,800 cases, including about 140 adoptions that were finalized.

The problem apparently dates back to February 2021, when the state first implemented a database software program called Guardian.

That means the number of cases affected could be exponentially greater.

While I appreciate the transparency from the department and the immediate stay on pending proceedings, the ramifications of this lack of discoverable information — beyond the two-week shutdown — are unclear.

What is clear is that dependency proceedings, severance proceedings and adoption proceedings may have gone before a judge without complete disclosure.

DCS may not fix this in 2 weeks

As a former assistant attorney general for the Department of Child Safety and a current attorney representing parents in DCS proceedings, I recognize this issue might not be fixable in two weeks.

Furthermore, I have significant concerns about whether parents in these thousands of cases were afforded their full due process rights.

The letter from the state Attorney General’s Office notes that the database DCS uses to retain its records, Guardian, is to blame. The system is heavily reliant on human engagement.

For example, third-party providers such as psychologists who evaluate children and parents for the department have to submit their reports to Guardian. The assigned caseworker or another DCS employee then has to review the record before admitting it into the system, thereby making it discoverable information.

Such reports can be used in court, testified upon and weighed by a judge to determine whether a termination of parental rights is appropriate.

Other records that have to be “admitted” into the database include substance abuse records, visitation records and medical records. Similar to a report by a psychologist, if these records were never admitted, it could mean that parental rights were terminated by a court that had insufficient information.

How a lack of records could hurt parents

While the omission of documentary evidence is itself problematic, the potential impact goes beyond that.

The court’s ability to assess the credibility of witnesses could have been compromised by this data gap.

It’s worth noting that credibility findings are not reviewable on appeal and can influence the outcome of a case.

The lack of access to these records at trial could have affected the court’s credibility finding of parents.

For example, a parent could have testified he had been evaluated by a psychologist, but his testimony is not believed because the evaluation report was never part of the record.

Editorial: How deep does this child welfare records problem go?

It also could have affected the court’s determination of whether DCS caseworkers provided credible testimony. Most caseworkers rely on their notes and reports in the database to prepare for trials, which can take place months after they have worked on the case.

In addition, DCS has a relatively high turnover rate of employees, which means the caseworker who testifies at a trial may not have been the person initially assigned to investigate.

Transparency is critical to trust the system

That makes reliability of the Guardian system all the more critical.

Missing documentation can lead caseworkers to provide incomplete or inaccurate information to the court, producing a devastating and improper result.

The attorney general and Department of Child Safety did the right thing by flagging this issue and making details public.

Transparency is crucial in the days to come so that we, as advocates for families, can trust that we have all the information to which we are entitled to help ensure a fair process.

Deandra Arena is an attorney at Woodnick Law, PLLC. She previously served as an assistant Arizona attorney general for the Protective Services Section, representing the Department of Child Safety. Reach her at deandra@woodnicklaw.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona DCS may need much longer than 2 weeks to fix its records mess