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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.

DCS Letter Information

Mental disorder

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Glossaries

Term Main definition
Mental disorder

A substantial disorder of the emotional processes of a person, thought, cognition or memory. Mental disorder is distinguished from:

  • Conditions that are primarily those of drug abuse, alcoholism or intellectual disability, unless, in addition to one or more of these conditions, the person has a mental disorder.
  • The declining mental abilities that directly accompany impending death.
  • Character and personality disorders characterized by lifelong and deeply ingrained antisocial behavior patterns, including sexual behaviors that are abnormal and prohibited by statute unless the behavior results from a mental disorder.

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