(The Center Square) — A new task force has been created by state Sen. Carine Werner, R-Scottsdale, to review Arizona’s child abuse reporting policies and laws.
The task force comes after the death of 10-year-old Rebekah Baptiste, whom her father and his girlfriend allegedly killed. Richard Baptiste and Anicia Woods are facing first-degree murder and child abuse charges, Fox 10 reported.
According to Arizona Family, Rebekah Baptiste died July 30. The outlet said the Arizona Department of Child Safety received at least 12 reports from Rebekah Baptiste’s school dealing with alleged abuse and neglect claims.
Werner told The Center Square Wednesday that this task force came about after she and Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell had a meeting with Kathryn Ptak, the director of DCS.
During the meeting, the state senator said they reviewed the DCS’ decision-making tools after it was revealed that only one of the school’s reports met the threshold for action.
Werner said the task force will have a “narrow scope” and will take a “deep dive into the [Rebekah] Baptiste case to see what went wrong.”
“Rebekah’s death is the most painful reminder that when red flags are raised, they must never be ignored,” Werner said. “If the laws and protocols are written to prevent authorities from acting when children are in clear danger, then those laws and protocols must change.”
“Our task force will work urgently to ensure Arizona’s laws and protocols are followed to protect children first, not bureaucracy,” she added.
A Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesperson told The Center Square that Mitchell is “proud to be involved in the task force.” The spokesperson added that the attorney said she thinks changes are “clearly needed and long overdue.”
Regarding the Rebekah Baptiste case, the state senator said she will have a “preliminary meeting” with DCS and Mitchell on Thursday to review it.
She described this meeting as being “confidential,” which she said will allow them to review what happened and determine what state protocols or laws need to change moving forward.
As a reminder, Werner said any changes to state protocols or laws will take time.
Pertaining to the task force’s makeup, an Arizona Senate Republican Caucus press release states it will consist of child welfare experts, law enforcement, prosecutors and state legislators.
Werner said the task force will be a “well-rounded group” to examine what happened to Rebekah Baptiste and suggest policy changes that could help children from being “abused, hurt or murdered.”
The state senator said one of the goals of the task force is to make changes to the DCS’ decision-making rules so it can capture what is “really happening with children when people are reporting” things to the agency.
Werner said she believed this task force’s work would inspire new amendments to current laws and a bill proposal in the next legislative session.
