In the fall of 2024, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) mailed letters to parents who once had an open dependecy and/or severance case.
Did you receive a letter? Visit the DCS letter page for more information.
Do I have to be fingerprinted?
If you are a blood relative, you do not need to be fingerprinted. If you are not a blood relative of the minor, the Court will require you to provide a full set of fingerprints to the Court to have a criminal background check completed. For the purposes of guardianship, a blood relative is any of the following: birth parent, adoptive parent, sibling with at least one parent in common, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, uncle, or a first cousin.
If you are not a blood relative asking to be appointed as the guardian of a minor, you must ask for the fingerprint packet while you are at the Clerk's Office filing your Petition for Guardian of a minor.