In the fall of 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) mailed letters to parents who once had an open dependency and/or severance case.
Did you receive a letter? Visit the DCS letter page for more information.
What is the procedure for getting a legal decision making order?
The court may grant a legal decision making order only in certain kinds of cases. Most often, legal decision making is determined when the parents are seeking a legal separation or divorce, or when parents are asking the court to change (or modify) a legal decision making order made in an earlier separation or divorce case. Legal decision making also may be ordered when one parent starts a court case to decide paternity (or maternity) of a child. When a parent starts a court case for legal separation or dissolution of marriage and the parents cannot agree about legal decision making with regard to the child, it automatically becomes an issue for the court to decide. These court decisions are made in temporary order hearings and in final trial if the parents are unable to reach an agreement. After a decree of legal separation or divorce has been granted, the court still has authority to change (or modify) an earlier legal decision making order.