The Arizona Department of Child Safety has temporarily shut down We Care Homes LLC, a foster group home provider, removing all children from its facilities.
The DCS decision to issue its stop work order came just days after the ABC15 Investigators, after hearing from whistleblowers, asked the agency for records of complaints regarding the treatment of the children in these homes.
Jada Green is one of five whistleblowers who spoke with ABC15 about the group home provider.
Green said she knows We Care Homes CEO Veronica Johnson, and Green expressed relief about the kids being removed.
“[Johnson] was telling me all these things that she does for the community, for these children, but it wasn’t what I seen,” Green said.
While Johnson said Green never worked for her, Green said she did some unpaid work inside the foster group homes earlier this year. She provided a text from a We Care Homes manager, asking her to check on a dishwasher, other emails discussing We Care Homes’ business, and photos showing the condition inside the homes.
“Holes in the wall, the house wasn’t clean,” Green said. “Some of the blades off the ceiling fans wasn’t there.”
Jowharah Hall, another whistleblower, said she was brought in as a consultant to address staffing shortages and compliance with DCS regulations.
According to DCS, We Care Homes was operating four residences in Phoenix with a total of 18 foster children. The stop work order was issued on May 8.
In a separate letter, DCS asked for We Care Homes to provide a corrective action plan to address issues dating back as far as August 2024. DCS noted reports of children being left “unsupervised,” children forced to prepare their own meals or receiving “no dinner,” children who were taken to school late or missed multiple therapy sessions. DCS also noted one of the group homes was in foreclosure.
The most serious allegation from the DCS letter involved a staff member, under investigation for alleged abuse or neglect of a child, who “continued to work overnights in the home and stopped by the homes to say hello to the placements.”
Johnson initially agreed to do an on-camera interview with ABC15 on May 19, but she later canceled the meeting.
In a phone call last week, Johnson told ABC15, “We’re not perpetrators here. You understand? I went back into the community to be a part of the solution, not a part of a problem.”
She blames “angry” employees for complaints that prompted the DCS investigation.
“When you’re employed by me, I expect you to give quality care to every one of my kids,” Johnson said.
Hall, who runs Beacon Compliance and Consulting Corp, said she filed a complaint because she’s a mandated reporter.
“I had to report anything that I felt was unsafe for the children; that’s my number one priority,” Hall added.
DCS confirmed that We Care Homes submitted a corrective action plan. That plan is under review. A DCS spokesperson told ABC15 the stop work order is still in place.
Green urged DCS “to take these allegations seriously, take action, protect our children.”
The kids who lived in the group homes were moved to other foster care providers.
Johnson texted ABC15 Tuesday to say “many vendors” have stop work orders while DCS investigates allegations. She added that her company has addressed all issues and staffing allegations in a corrective action plan. She said she looks forward to sharing the findings with ABC15 after the DCS investigation concludes.
For tips regarding foster care and group home conditions, contact Melissa Blasius by email at [email protected] or call 602-803-2506. Follow her on X @MelissaBlasius or Facebook.
