Court order to remove child requires details

Before Arizona Department of Child Safety investigators can remove children from their homes, staffers must get permission from the Juvenile Court.

The new process, which began July 1, comes with new paperwork developed by the DCS and the courts.

The court-order form gives space for DCS investigators to list specific, immediate threats to children’s wellbeing.

It then gives prompts to guide investigators’ entries: “Enter safety threats, facts and reasons you want the judge to consider:

“Specific present danger condition(s) or impending danger threat(s) for each child listed on this application. Circumstances that require temporary custody including a detailed account of circumstances and supporting facts. Specific reasons why a less intrusive option is not feasible or sufficient to manage the safety of the child in the home and why remaining in the home is contrary to the child’s welfare.”

After the form is completed, a judge must tick off the reasons for granting the court order from a list of 10 criteria.

Alternatively, the judge can deny the removal order. Here’s the list:

“THE COURT FINDS that continuation of the child (ren) in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child(ren) due to one or more of the following reasons: (check all that apply)

“Risk of abuse or neglect of child(ren) “Failure to protect a child(ren) from abuse or neglect “Abandonment of child(ren)

“Unfit or unsafe home environment for child(ren) “Unwillingness or inability of parent to care for child (ren)

“Substance abuse issues

“Mental Health issues

“Incarceration of parent

“Domestic violence or violent behavior

“Other (specify): ______”