Openness must be goal of CPS records change

As the Arizona Legislature debates allowing access to some Child Protective Services records, one thing is clear and that is the decision should fall on the side of openness.

At issue are two rival bills, one supported by the Gov. Janet Napolitano administration and the other supported by Arizona media representatives wanting to make it easier to get information about cases involving children who are seriously injured or killed.

In essence, one bill appears to be a wolf in sheep's clothing - claiming to make records more accessible but possibly increasing delay and making access more difficult and costly. This House bill (HB2765), supported by state officials, would set up expectations for release of information, including timelines.

That sounds like an improvement over the present state of affairs where it is often necessary to sue CPS to get information on serious abuse cases. The state agency says privacy laws and other requirements prevent it from releasing information - even though the information should be a matter of public record.

Ken Deibert, deputy director of the Department of Economic Security, which has authority over CPS, told the Associated Press that HB2765 provides "far greater access" while at the same time providing "very specific accountability" about procedures and timelines for release of information.

However, it also provides for the ability of prosecutors or other officials to ask a court to block release if they choose. In other words, it opens the door for the continued need to litigate to get information on these cases - hardly an improvement over the present situation.

The rival bill uses already established means to obtain the needed public records, which is the requirement under the state public records law to provide them "promptly."

The unfortunate reality is the child protection agencies - as we have seen repeatedly in stories across the nation - often seek to prevent disclosure in an effort to hide failures on their part. The only way to stop that is to have an expectation of full disclosure in cases involving death of near death of children.

Providing for disclosure is in the public interest because it ensures that children are being properly protected and that public agencies are doing the job that is expected of them.

Any law that does not provide for full disclosure of these CPS records without delay would be a disservice.