Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson

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PHOENIX — Closed-door legislative hearings on Child Protective Services are shaping up to be a partisan showdown over whether the agency mishandled two Tucson cases in which children died, or is being made a political scapegoat to embarrass the governor.

After announcing earlier this year that the House Government Committee would investigate two cases, the committee has finally set a date of Aug. 28.

In addition the panel will discuss an incident in which a Tucson caseworker began dating a man whose case she handled.

Another big topic: Whether the agency should be required to make full case files public. So far, it has only released summaries of the two Tucson cases.

State Rep. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican who called for the hearings, says he intends to introduce legislation next year based on the committee findings.

But Democratic Rep. Steve Farley, also a Tucsonan, is skeptical. In an e-mail blast to supporters this week, Farley said he plans to defend CPS caseworkers during the hearings.

Employees "cannot talk about their successes, and they cannot defend themselves against attacks in the media, because the safety of the children they serve depends on their public silence," Farley said in the e-mail.

On March 21, Brandon Williams, 5, died of what an autopsy said was blunt-force trauma. His mother gave him a lethal dose of Tylenol PM pills and other medication.

Earlier that month, Ariana Payne, 4, was found dead in a storage locker. Her brother, 5-year-old Tyler, remains missing. Their father has been charged with killing both children.

In both cases, CPS had been involved in monitoring the families.

More recently, it was learned that CPS supervisor Amy Gile engaged in a romantic relationship with an abusive father of three who had been one of her clients. In June, CPS said Gile no longer worked for the agency.

Farley said in an interview he worries the hearings are being organized to "embarrass the governor," who has authority over CPS.

"My best hope is that the people who are calling these hearings are sincere about wanting to help kids," said Farley, who has done a ride-along with CPS caseworkers and called on Paton to do the same.

Paton said he doesn't disagree entirely with Farley.

"I know there are a lot of CPS workers who are upset with how things are going, and they feel that in many cases that there need to be changes in the law and in the administration of that agency," he said.

Paton said he would like to make the findings of the committee public, as he seeks to force the agency to be more transparent.

"It's a closed form of government," he said. "I believe these hearings need to be opened up, but I can't do that."

Paton added that "confidentiality should end with the death of children. When the children are dead, who are we protecting at this point?"

Farley said any potential problems with the agency are "not something that's going to be solved by revealing everybody publicly." Farley stressed the need for more CPS funding to raise salaries and hire additional staffers.

Napolitano, too, says transparency needs to be balanced with other issues, including federal law.

"Whenever a child dies and there's CPS involvement, we go back and say, 'Is there something CPS could have done or should have done that would have prevented a death?' " she said Wednesday.

But Napolitano said criminal prosecutions should take precedence over cases being made public. So should protecting the privacy of other children in the cases, she said.

"The more we can be transparent, the more I like it, but we don't have carte blanche here," she said.