Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard 2006 Annual Report
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard 2006 Annual Report
Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard 2006 Annual Report
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Child and Family Protection Division (continued)<br />
currently has more than 250,000<br />
open child support cases.<br />
In FY06, CSE helped <strong>Arizona</strong><br />
children receive the support to<br />
which they were entitled by:<br />
• Establishing paternity for 4,178<br />
children.<br />
• Establishing new support orders<br />
for 5,974 families.<br />
• Obtaining child support<br />
judgments of over $70 million.<br />
• Resolving 2,470 actions for<br />
modification of support.<br />
Protective Services<br />
Section<br />
The Protective Services Section<br />
(PSS) provides comprehensive<br />
legal representation to DES and<br />
the Child Protective Services (CPS)<br />
branch of DES. PSS shares the<br />
same goal as CPS: to protect<br />
children, preserve families and<br />
achieve permanency for <strong>Arizona</strong>’s<br />
children. The attorneys and staff<br />
of PSS provide legal representation<br />
to CPS throughout <strong>Arizona</strong>’s 15<br />
counties. PSS maintains offices in<br />
Court of Appeals. Trial lawyers in<br />
PSS handle thousands of legal<br />
actions each year generally<br />
referred to as “dependency<br />
cases”: actions brought to protect<br />
abused and neglected children,<br />
either by removing children and<br />
placing them in the legal custody<br />
of CPS, or by establishing<br />
protective measures where social<br />
services are provided in the<br />
family’s home.<br />
Appellate lawyers in PSS appear<br />
before the <strong>Arizona</strong> Court of<br />
Appeals to defend successful trial<br />
court judgments. PSS lawyers<br />
also advise DES on legal issues<br />
arising from federal and state<br />
statutes, regulations and court<br />
decisions, and provide training<br />
and support to CPS caseworkers,<br />
supervisors and members of the<br />
judiciary.<br />
• Making over 25,000 court<br />
appearances.<br />
• Assisting DCSE to collect over<br />
Flagstaff, Kingman, Mesa,<br />
Phoenix, Prescott, Sierra Vista,<br />
Tucson and Yuma.<br />
$307 million in support in FY06,<br />
$16 million more than in FY05.<br />
PSS attorneys engage in an<br />
intensive, litigation-focused<br />
• In bankruptcy cases, collecting<br />
$390,663 in support in Chapter<br />
13 cases and $64,479 in<br />
arrearage payoffs in Chapter 7<br />
practice that takes place within the<br />
juvenile division of the <strong>Arizona</strong><br />
Superior Courts, with appellate<br />
review conducted by the <strong>Arizona</strong><br />
cases.<br />
• In litigation relating to liens<br />
and foreclosures, collecting<br />
$121,638.<br />
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br />
Prescott CFP staff with Yavapai County Superior<br />
Court Judge Robert Brutinel<br />
21
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