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New Arizona Law Could Reduce DCS Child Removals

Mary Jo Pitzl
Sky Schaudt/KJZZ
Mary Jo Pitzl in KJZZ's studio in 2018.

In the fall of 2015, the number of Arizona children being removed from their homes by child-welfare workers to protect against abuse or neglect hit a high point. More than 6,800 of them were removed, and the number of children in the system neared 19,000.

In the six-month period that ended in March, 4,600 children were put into the foster care system, and, last Sunday, a new law took effect that could bring that number down even more.

Now, except in emergency situations, child welfare workers will no longer be able to remove a child from his or her home without first getting a court’s permission.

Mary Jo Pitzl is covering it all for the Arizona Republic, and she joined The Show to talk about it.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.