Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard 2010 Annual Report

Child and Family Protection Division (continued)
of the Arizona Superior Court.
Each year trial lawyers in PSS
handle thousands of legal
actions generally referred to
as “dependency cases”. These
actions serve to protect abused
and neglected children when
they are removed from their
parents and placed in the legal
custody of CPS by the courts.
Protective and remedial social
services are instituted for
the family to help achieve
reunification. If attempts
to reunite families prove
unsuccessful, PSS attorneys
represent CPS in actions to
achieve permanent placement
of children through severance
of parental rights, guardianship
and adoption procedures.
Child Support Enforcement
The Child Support Enforcement (CSE) Section of the Child and Family
Protection Division seeks to ensure that children receive the financial
support from their parents to which they are entitled. The Section
provides legal advice and representation to ADES’ Division of Child
Support Enforcement (DCSE). CSE handles a high-volume litigation
caseload to establish paternity and to establish, modify and enforce
child support orders.
Because more than 44 percent of Arizona’s children are born to
unwed parents, establishing paternity is often the first step in the child
support process. After paternity has been established, CSE can take
legal action to pursue child support. DCSE currently has more than
210,000 open child support cases statewide. The litigation caseload
for the CSE Section is between 7,000 and 8,000 ongoing cases.
In FY2010, CSE helped Arizona children receive the support to
which they were entitled by:
• Establishing paternity for 2,249 children.
• Establishing new child support orders for 5,264 families.
• Obtaining child support judgments of over $31.1 million.
• Resolving 5,112 actions for modification of support.
• Representing the State in over 25,000 court appearances.
• Assisting DCSE to collect over $360.7 million in support.
• In bankruptcy cases, collecting $418,351 in support.
• In non-Family Court litigation relating to liens and foreclosures,
collecting $471,871.
Civil and Criminal Litigation and Advice
The Civil and Criminal Litigation and Advice (CLA) Section of the Child
and Family Protection Division is divided into two units: Civil and
Criminal. The CLA Civil Unit provides advice and representation for all
ADES programs, except Child Protective Services and Child Support
Enforcement.
Programs include: Adoption Subsidies, Developmental Disabilities,
Unemployment Insurance and Tax, Vocational Rehabilitation Services,
Food Stamps and Cash Assistance, Certification of Child Care and
Foster Care Providers, AHCCCS Long Term Care Services, Adult
Protective Services, Behavioral Health Services for dependent
children, and collection of public benefit-related debts owed to
ADES. CLA also advises and represents ADES regarding its business
operations, including hiring and discipline of employees; compliance
with laws governing workplace conduct and safety; contracts for
service providers, and facilities management.
The CLA Criminal Unit prosecutes individuals and contractors who
defraud the State through ADES programs, as well as parents who
willfully fail to provide support for their children or who escape from
the child support work furlough program.
In FY2010, the CLA Civil Unit:
• Opened, litigated and/or reviewed 681 administrative litigation and
civil cases.
• Opened and reviewed 243 contracts, leases and/or amendments.
• Obtained 241 civil judgments in civil collections cases totaling
$579,094.
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard • 2010 Annual Report
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