Arizona has delayed issuing the payments it provides to support more than 6,000 foster children, leaving some families still waiting for hundreds or thousands of dollars they should have been paid weeks ago, with no end to the delay in sight.
The Arizona Department of Child Safety had launched a new computer system, called Guardian, Feb. 1. But in an attempt to alleviate start-up traffic, it turned off the part of the system that caregivers use to file for their monthly payments while it focused on bringing its staff and contractors up to speed on the new system, the agency said in a statement to The Arizona Republic.