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Arizona Attorney General Wants $10M For Child Welfare Cases

The Arizona Attorney General's Office is requesting $1 million to help pay for a surge in child welfare cases as well as an additional $9 million for fiscal year 2017.

Ryan Anderson, a spokesman for Attorney General Mark Brnovich, tells the Arizona Capitol Times that attorneys in the Child and Family Protection Division are leaving, citing factors such as poor wages and extreme caseloads.

The attorneys represent the state Department of Child Safety whenever the agency removes a child from a home.

Anderson says each attorney oversees an average of 146 cases, more than double what the American Bar Association recommends for child welfare attorneys.

Brnovich made the request as part of an effort to carve out a budget for 2017.

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