HB 2453 would open certain court proceedings previously closed to the public. HB 2454 would open up CPS records in cases involving the fatality or near fatality of a child unless prosecutors could establish that the release of such records would cause material harm to a criminal investigation, and HB 2159 would make state employees’ disciplinary records, including an employee’s responses, available to the public.
This legislation is the result of Arizona House Government Committee hearings to learn why three children died while under CPS supervision. CPS officials refused to acknowledge mistakes, so no one was held accountable.
|
|
Dave Wigton, a CPS employee for 30 years, was recently accused of molesting a 4-year-old girl. Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts wrote that Wigton has been “accused of turning a little girl into his own personal sex toy and sharing kiddie porn with a teenage boy.” Police reports indicate he shared adult and child pornography with other minors.
CPS officials feel the public shouldn’t be concerned because the victims were not clients, a claim they refuse to prove.
Roberts reported that Wigton became a supervisor after working directly with children for 16 years, which makes you wonder if more children might have been molested.
We’ll never know because this information cannot be released to the public.
Arizona Republic attorney David Bodney was quoted by Roberts as saying, “It’s a very good illustration of what’s wrong with the agency’s approach to the public records law. You’ve got a public official accused of criminal activity involving the well-being of children, and that employee works for a state agency. It’s difficult to imagine an overriding interest of secrecy.”
CPS hides behind secrecy laws because it is more interested in protecting its image than in being held accountable to the public. Children will continue to die until the agency’s dirty laundry is aired and we can get to the root of this dysfunctional state agency’s problems.

Comments
6 comment(s)Uuuhh... wrote on Jun 4, 2008 12:25 AM:
It was a debacle. Typical CPS. "
Louise wrote on Jun 1, 2008 12:46 AM:
Julie wrote on May 22, 2008 3:23 PM:
TS wrote on May 22, 2008 12:03 AM:
They admit they can't accurately predict the things they're trying to protect against, so they take anybody's kids for any reason in secret based on hearsay and preponderance of "evidence", i.e. some highly paid therapist's advice, who has every incentive to come up with ideas that are unquestioned as expert evidence, while himself enjoying immunity from all sorts of legal trouble he'd otherwise be in. How many billions of dollars is this exploitation industry worth? And it's all kept secret. (sort of) "
Dot Knightly wrote on May 20, 2008 4:07 PM:
Accountability wrote on May 18, 2008 11:42 PM: