Arizona DCS Reduces Number Of Congregate Care Contracts By 24%

On April 29, 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) awarded 52 new congregate care contracts, and 16 (24%) of the current 68 provider organizations were not selected for awards. DCS anticipates that going forward it will reduce its use of congregate care from the current 15% to less than 10% of children in out-of-home care. A key strategy is to increase the number of licensed kinship and community foster homes.

The non-selected organizations currently serve about 200 children. Over the next five months, these children will be moved to new settings. DCS will seek a . . .