Investigations into reports of child neglect have dropped 8 percent over the last year, even as the number of calls continue to pour into Arizona's child-abuse hotline at a steady rate.
The Arizona Republic reports the Department of Child Safety attributes the decline to changes made in the last year in how the hotline is operated.
The agency says it has taken steps to weed out reports that do not need state intervention.
The agency says all reports of abuse are still checked out, and the changes free up its investigators to focus on only the credible reports of the less-dire allegation known as neglect.
But some worry the state might be missing a chance to do early intervention that could prevent a family situation from becoming more severe.
