PHOENIX β Child welfare workers can interview children without the consent of their parents, Attorney General Mark Brnovich concluded Monday.
In a 10-page formal opinion, Brnovich said a contrary finding by the Arizona Obudsman office is legally wrong. In fact, the attorney general suggested that opinion was based on βhypertechnical textual analysis.β
Mondayβs opinion is a victory for Greg McKay, director of the state Department of Child Safety. He has consistently insisted that interviews without parental consent have been agency practice for some time.
And McKay said he could find no court rulings to the contrary.
Brnovich agreed.
An attorney generalβs opinion does not carry the same weight as a published appellate court ruling. But it can be cited by attorneys in a legal battle.
Potentially more significant, state agencies are entitled to rely on that opinion.
The legal dispute came after a mother complained in 2014 that DCS staffers took her children out of school. The issue in that case was a report of neglect involving her brotherβs children.
According to reports, her children were living in the same home as the brother.
The case was classified not as abuse but the lesser offense of neglect. Based on that, the ombudsman said state law required DCS to get the motherβs permission to conduct interviews.
Brnovich disagreed, saying there are provisions in state law creating exceptions. And he said one of those exceptions is when there is an investigation that DCS is statutorily authorized to do.
Senate President Andy Biggs, who has been critical of some of the procedures used by DCS, said he was concerned the new opinion gives too much authority to the agency.
