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Arizona Dependency Process

The dependency process can be complicated to navigate. There are many types of hearings, held for a specific purpose, with unique timelines. The chart below shows the order in which these hearings occur, and timelines to achieve each type of hearing. On the next page a chart gives a brief description of the most common dependency hearing types.

The Arizona Court Improvement Program (CIP) is responsible for providing technical assistance and training to county courts as they revise local dependency practices, providing oversight of mandated introductory training for judicial officers new to the dependency bench, as well as ongoing dependency‐related training to all juvenile judicial officers to enhance their knowledge of the child welfare system and process. CIP also assists in developing and modifying the juvenile rules to reflect any changes to federal and/or state statutes regarding dependencies and implements the Operational Review process which evaluates the dependency process in each county and their compliance with governing statutes.