This report includes demographic information, the type of services provided to kinship caregivers, and recommendations for program improvement. For generations, extended families have played significant roles in the rearing of children when parents otherwise cannot. Kinship caregivers provide love and nurturance in a familiar setting as children remain connected to their families. These children live with people they know and trust, reinforcing the child’s sense of cultural identity and positive self-esteem. Children living with kinship caregivers make and sustain extended family connections and continue lifelong family traditions and memories. The extended family are provided opportunities to support the child in building healthy relationships within the family, provide for the child’s safety and well-being, and create a sense of stability in the life of a child.

Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T. (Families in Recovery Succeeding Together) was established in 2000 to address adverse conditions related to substance abuse among child welfare-involved families in which allegations of child maltreatment were determined to be associated with parental substance abuse. The program provides to these families a variety of treatment and supportive services, which are designed to reduce or eliminate abuse of and dependence on alcohol and other substances. Interventions are provided through the Department of Economic Security, Division of Children, Youth and Families contracted community providers in outpatient and residential settings, and/or through the Regional Behavioral Health Authority provider network under the supervision of the Department of Health Services, Division of Behavioral Health Services.

This report provides information relative to reports of child abuse and neglect, investigations, shelter and receiving home services, foster homes, length of care, and adoptions. We continue to work diligently to improve the quality of services for children and their families. Compiling this report provides us another opportunity to review our work and consider new ways to improve.

The passage of Senate Bill 1013 gave the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission the responsibility for distributing Fill the Gap funds to the county attorneys and indigent defense agencies throughout the state. The formula for distributing Fill the Gap funds to each county is based on the average number of cases filed over a three-year period and the population of each county. Along with the Commission’s fiduciary responsibilities, A.R.S. §41-2409 requires ACJC to report on an annual basis each agency’s progress toward improving criminal case processing.

In March 1971, the Arizona Bureau of Mines—predecessor of today’s Arizona Geological Survey—published the first issue of Fieldnotes. For nearly 40 years, Fieldnotes, and its successor, Arizona Geology, showcased all things geologic in Arizona. From the onset, the quarterly magazine printed topical pieces on Arizona’s mineral resources, energy potential, and environmental geology. In Fall 1988, Fieldnotes became Arizona Geology, and the newsletter was retailored to meet the needs of Arizona’s exploding population. There was increased focus on articles describing geologic phenomena—flash floods and regional floods, earthquakes, landslides, volcanism, swelling and shrinking soils, earth fissures, and more—with the most immediate and adverse impact on the lives and properties of our fellow Arizonans. But that was then and this is now! As print publication costs rise through the stratosphere, we simply can no longer afford to print and mail 4100 copies of Arizona Geology quarterly. Arizona Geology is going digital. We are suspending the print publication immediately and we are moving from a quarterly schedule to three times annually.

This report summarizes the results of the 2006 Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) Provider Survey of primary care physicians, specialists, office managers, and dental providers. The purpose of this survey is to determine what AHCCCS providers think about the AHCCCS program in general as well as what they think about the individual health plans with which they contract. Survey responses allow for comparison between AHCCCS-contracted health plans and assessment of the AHCCCS program in general.

The analysis of the value of higher education contained in this report represents an important dimension of the P3 research agenda since measuring the value of educated workers can provide empirical context for understanding the importance of an educated and skilled workforce in a modern economy. In this report, the increases in individual earnings realized from enhanced educational attainment are measured and the benefits to the economy and society in general that are provided by a highly educated workforce are examined.