PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Child Safety has discriminated against parents and children with disabilities by not providing accommodations that could help them communicate with DCS staff, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Following an investigation into complaints made by several deaf parents, the DOJ has recently concluded Arizona's agency for child welfare did not use sign language interpreters to communicate with parents during home visits and meetings.
In two specific cases reviewed by the federal agency, DCS allegedly did not provide interpreters while children were being removed from the home.
VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: El Departamento de Seguridad Infantil de Arizona 'discrimina' a los padres con discapacidades, afirma el Departamento de Justicia
"Because no ASL interpreter was present, one mother did not know that the people trying to talk to her were DCS investigators," the DOJ wrote in a letter to DCS. "And that mother did not know who was taking her children or where they were being taken."
The DOJ investigation additionally found instances of DCS reportedly not providing aids and services to parents with other types of disabilities.
"DCS never gave a mother the large print written materials that she needed due to a vision disability, so important documents like her case plan were not in a format accessible or understandable to her," the DOJ letter stated.
In its letter to DCS, the DOJ provided a list of actions the state needs to complete in order to protect the rights of parents. One of those actions includes paying damages to complainants for injuries DCS caused by violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The DOJ warned DCS the federal agency may have to take legal action if the state does not resolve the issues identified by DOJ.
