DCS; reporting; financial incentives; prohibition

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included claims that were either unsupported or needed to be narrowed based on the provided official source material.

DCS Reporting Rules

This bill stops the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) from paying health care institutions for reporting child abuse or neglect.

What This Bill Does

• Prohibits DCS from entering into agreements with health care institutions that require or allow payment in exchange for reports about child abuse or neglect.
• Defines 'health care institution' as any place providing medical, nursing, behavioral health, and other health-related services.

Who It Names or Affects

• Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS)
• Health care institutions in Arizona

Terms To Know

health care institution

A place that provides medical, nursing, behavioral health, and other health-related services.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what will happen to existing agreements between DCS and health care institutions.
• It is unclear how this change will affect the number of reports about child abuse or neglect.

Official Summary Text

HB2018 - 572R - House Bill Summary

ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

57th
Legislature, 2nd Regular Session

Majority Research Staff

HB
2018
: DCS; reporting; financial incentives; prohibition

Sponsor:
Representative Keshel, LD 17

Committee
on Government

Overview

Prevents
the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) from entering into an agreement
with a
health care institution
that allows or requires payment from DCS
to the
health care institution
in exchange for reports of child abuse or
neglect.

History

The Office of Child Welfare Investigations (OCWI), within
DCS, conducts investigations into allegations of criminal conduct, coordinates
with other parts of DCS and law enforcement and establishes task forces to
investigate criminal conduct. (A.R.S. �
8-471
).

A
health care institution
is
every place, institution,
building or agency that provides facilities with medical, nursing, behavioral
health, health screening, other health-related, supervisory care, personal care
or directed care services, including home health agencies, outdoor behavioral
health care programs and hospice service agencies, regardless of whether it is
for-profit or not (
A.R.S. � 36-401
).

Provisions

1.

Prohibits DCS
from entering into an agreement with a health care institution that requires or
allows payment to the health care institution, their employee or agent in exchange
for child abuse or negligence reports to DCS. (Sec. 1)

2.

Defines a
health
care institution.
(Sec. 1)

3.

4.

5.

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6.

Initials ML/MN�������������� HB
2018

7.

1/15/2026� Page 0 Government

8.

9.

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Current Bill Text

HB2018 - 572R - I Ver

PREFILED��� NOV 19 2025

REFERENCE TITLE:
DCS; reporting; financial incentives; prohibition

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2018

Introduced by

Representatives
Keshel: Fink

AN
ACT

amending title 8, chapter 4, article 1,
arizona revised statutes, by adding section 8-469.03; relating to the
department of child safety.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Title 8, chapter 4, article 1,
Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 8-469.03, to read:

START_STATUTE
8-469.03.

Abuse and neglect; reporting; financial incentives; definition

A. The department may not enter into
an agreement with any health care institution that would require or allow
payment from the department to the health care institution or an employee or
agent of the health care institution in exchange for reports to the department
of child abuse or negligence.�

B. For the purposes of this section,
"health care institution" has the same meaning prescribed in section
36-401.
END_STATUTE