Arizona SB 1069 Summary

• Allows invited guests of adoptive families to attend adoption hearings, and restricts disclosure of hearing testimony content while preserving communication between juvenile and family courts.

• Modifies attorney appointment requirements in delinquency proceedings to apply to cases that commence with a petition or may involve detention, and changes permanency language from "dismissal" to apply through case completion.

• Expands hearsay exception for minors' statements regarding abuse or neglect to include guardianship proceedings in addition to adoption and termination of parental rights cases.

• Clarifies court authority to close proceedings related to child fatalities or near fatalities and establishes procedures for requesting reopening of closed proceedings or obtaining transcripts with appropriate redactions.

• Modifies permanent guardianship procedures to require notification to the Department of Child Services within 14 court days when a guardianship motion is filed in a dependency petition not filed by the department, and allows the department to object and conduct investigations.