One year after Attorney General Kris Mayes awarded a Sober Living Home Support Program grant to Defenders of Children, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office today announced significant results: the establishment of Arizona’s first statewide civil legal services program dedicated to Tribal members — a direct response to the AHCCCS sober living home fraud scandal that harmed some of the state’s most vulnerable Native communities.

Funded through the Anti-Racketeering Revolving Fund, the grant was designed to support Tribal members across Arizona whose communities were disproportionately impacted by one of the largest Medicaid fraud schemes in state history, including women and children who were trafficked from rural Arizona to Metro Phoenix.

“This grant program was always intended to help the communities harmed by the sober living home fraud scandal," said Attorney General Kris Mayes. "Defenders of Children has created a program that addresses a critical need for Tribal communities. I want to thank them for their hard work and their commitment to the people they serve. I call on the Arizona Legislature to recognize the value of innovative, community-driven approaches like this one and to provide additional funding so that this critical work can continue and expand." – AG Mayes