Who is DCS?

Leaders in Child Protection | Partners in Child Well-Being

The Arizona Department of Child Safety is charged with child protection, but we also serve as a visionary leader in primary prevention, partnering with other family-serving agencies and community organizations to improve community health and strengthen families.

We call our employees "compassioneers" because everything they do is done with a compassionate heart. We work tirelessly to protect children, reunify families, ensure safe living environments and prevent unnecessary trauma. As an agency, we are proud to be a pillar of strength for our communities, and proud to do work each day that makes an impact on the world around us every day.

About DCS

"We go the extra mile to help. Through empathy and understanding we can reach down to someone in need and help them stand back up."

- Jay, DCS Compassioneer

Our Values Drive Our Actions

We are guided by our values in every decision that we make, service we provide, and relationship in which we participate.

Safety

Accountability

Change

Family

Engagement

Compassion

Teaming

Advocacy

Equity

Our Principles Guide our Practice

We believe that the defining principles of our agency set us apart and build true connections with the community we serve.

  • Parents, children, and kin are the experts on their own families, have the potential to change, and are engaged to find the solutions within themselves
  • Children should remain at home whenever safe to do so
  • When out-of-home care is necessary, length of stay should be as short as possible
  • Children live in the least restrictive and most family-like living arrangement that meets their needs
  • Children in out-of-home care should reside in familiar environments, with familiar people – their home neighborhoods, with relatives, with siblings
  • Caregivers and parents share the blessing and responsibility of caring for the child
  • Child’s important connections must be maintained – to family, tribe, culture, faith, community
  • Caregivers and services aid children to reach their peak of physical, social, and emotional well-being
  • Every child receives educational services to achieve their academic potential, graduate from high school, and make college possible
  • Young people in foster care have connected adults and encouragement to successfully transition to adulthood

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