Arizona Department of Child Safety—Administrative Staffing Level—Department’s administrative staffing level appears reasonable compared to other agencies reviewed, and it has implemented a reasonable process for estimating administrative staffing needs

The Office of the Auditor General has completed a special report of the Arizona Department of Child Safety’s (Department) administrative staffing level pursuant to Laws 2016, Ch. 123, §7. As of October 2016, 431 of the Department’s 2,728 filled staff positions, or 16 percent, were in its Central Administration, which includes various administrative divisions that provide support, management, or oversight to the Department. We found that the Department’s administrative staffing level appears reasonable. Specifically, we compared the staffing within the Department’s Central Administration to the staffing in other agencies’ central administrations. Although differences in the organization, staffing, and scope of functions within each of these agencies’ central administrations limit the usefulness of such a comparison, the percentage of total agency staff within the Department’s Central Administration is similar to that of the other agencies reviewed. Further, auditors reviewed the Department’s staffing analysis process for estimating staffing needs within its Central Administration, which it implemented in fiscal year 2016, and found this process to be reasonable. Specifically, the method the Department uses to estimate staffing needs is logical and consistent with a recommended workload estimate process. We make no recommendations in the report.