For the 2008 AARIN study, 2,105 Maricopa County (AZ) arrestees volunteered to complete the survey instrument and to provide a valid urine specimen for testing. In addition, the arrestees responded to a series of questions related to methamphetamine use, including patterns of use, treatment, drug transactions, sales and manufacturing, and awareness of the Arizona Meth Project. Among those participants, 435 (20.7%) admitted to having used methamphetamine in the 30 days prior to arrest.

The purpose of this report is to examine methamphetamine use among adult arrestees and juvenile detainees in Maricopa County, Arizona. We relied on data from the Arizona Arrestee Reporting Information Network (AARIN) to address the following five questions:
1. What percent of adult arrestees are methamphetamine users and what are their social characteristics?
2. What is the relationship between methamphetamine use and arresting offense?
3. What is the relationship between methamphetamine use by parents and the presence of children in the household?
4. What percent of methamphetamine users are receiving treatment for their drug use?
5. What percent of juvenile detainees are methamphetamine users and what are their social and legal characteristics?

In fiscal year 2013, the Department paid at least $14.6 million for transportation services for child protective services clients. However, the Department does not use performance measurement to manage and evaluate these services, including overseeing contracted transportation providers. The Department should develop and implement a performance measurement system to evaluate these services and ensure that this system provides the necessary data to evaluate the appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of contracting for these services. In addition, although the Department has implemented some procedures to help ensure proper payments to transportation providers for these services, additional steps would help address internal control deficiencies.

The best setting for abused or neglected children who are removed from their homes is a family-based setting, such as with a relative or in licensed foster care. Because it is not family-based, congregate care, such as emergency shelters, group homes, and residential treatment centers, is the least preferred placement option. However, the number of Arizona children and the length of time they are in congregate care has increased and as a result, the costs for this placement type nearly doubled between fiscal years 2009 and 2013. Contributing to the increase in congregate care use is an inadequate supply of foster care homes; various state practices, including some related to permanency goals and activities; and inadequate access to behavioral health services. Although the Arizona Department of Child Safety has taken some steps to reduce the use of congregate care, it should consider other states’ experiences to identify multiple strategies for reducing its use.

In fiscal year 2012, Scottsdale Unified School District’s student achievement was similar to peer districts’, on average, but it compared less favorably in operational efficiencies. The District’s food service program operated efficiently with a cost per meal that was lower than the peer district average. However, the District’s administrative costs were higher than peer districts’, primarily because it employed more administrative staff. In addition, the District inaccurately reported its costs on its Annual Financial Report and it lacked sufficient computer controls. The District’s plant operations cost per pupil was higher than peer districts’, on average, because the District maintained more square footage per student than the peer districts’ and many of its schools operated far below their designed capacities. Further, the District’s transportation cost per mile was much higher than the peer districts’ average, in part, because of inefficient bus routes.

The Arizona Drug Endangered Children Program (formerly referred to as the Meth and Kids Initiative) was established in 2000 to address problems associated with methamphetamine production in homes with children present. For the past three years the DEC Program has focused primarily on Maricopa County cases and Task Force members have provided training and technical assistance to agencies throughout the state. Representatives from the DEC Task Force worked together to formalize the multidisciplinary protocol to address the needs of children and ensure the safety of children who are present at an investigation of a methamphetamine laboratory.