Governor Jan Brewer unveiled her fiscal 2015 Executive Budget on Friday. Her proposed budget includes $25 million to transition CPS into an independent agency and another $21.5 million for staffing.
On Monday, Governor Brewer re-organized via Executive Order a new cabinet-level Division of Child Safety and Family Services (DCSFS), with the ultimate mission of making the Division a permanent agency, autonomous from the Department of Economic Security (DES).
The Governor says that for this new Division – and eventually, the new statutorily-created agency – to be successful, the FY ’15 Budget must increase the personnel dedicated to the mission of child safety by including funding for 68 additional Office of Child Welfare investigators, 212 additional case-carrying workers, and 120 additional staff, including supervisors, assistant program managers, case aids and support staff. The Governor’s budget also calls for $25 million in one-time spending to cover capital, technology and other costs associated with creating a new, separate agency.
The Governor employs a revenue picture model, which shows a positive balance of $236 million in FY16 and $421 million in FY17. However, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee is predicting a deficit in FY16 that will rapidly grow to $593 million in FY17.
To view the Governor’s Budget Summary, click here. (FY 2014-2015)