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HB4042 - 572R - H Ver
House Engrossed
termination;
parent-child relationship; service
State of Arizona
House of Representatives
Fifty-seventh Legislature
Second Regular Session
2026
HOUSE BILL 4042
AN
ACT
amending sections 8-533 AND 8-535,
arizona revised statutes; relating to termination of the parent-child
relationship.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it
enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 8-533, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
8-533.
Petition; who may file; grounds
A. Any person or agency that has a legitimate
interest in the welfare of a child, including a relative, a foster parent, a
physician, the department or a private licensed child welfare agency, may file
a petition for the termination of the parent-child relationship alleging
grounds contained in subsection B of this section.
B. Evidence sufficient to justify the termination of
the parent-child relationship shall include any one of the following, and
in considering any of the following grounds, the court shall also consider the
best interests of the child:
1. That the parent has abandoned the child.
2. That the parent has neglected or wilfully abused
a child.� This abuse includes serious physical or emotional injury or
situations in which the parent knew or reasonably should have known that a
person was abusing or neglecting a child.
3. That the parent is unable to discharge parental
responsibilities because of mental illness, mental deficiency or a history of
chronic abuse of dangerous drugs, controlled substances or alcohol and there
are reasonable grounds to believe that the condition will continue for a
prolonged indeterminate period.
4. That the parent is deprived of civil liberties
due to the conviction of a felony if the felony of which that parent was
convicted is of such nature as to prove the unfitness of that parent to have
future custody and control of the child, including murder of another child of
the parent, manslaughter of another child of the parent or aiding or abetting
or attempting, conspiring or soliciting to commit murder or manslaughter of
another child of the parent, or if the sentence of that parent is of such length
that the child will be deprived of a normal home for a period of years.
5. That the potential father failed to file a
paternity action
and to serve the mother with a copy of the
filed paternity action
within thirty days
of
after
completion of service of notice as prescribed in section
8-106, subsection G.
6. That the putative father failed to file a notice
of claim of paternity as prescribed in section 8-106.01.
7. That the parents have relinquished their rights
to a child to an agency or have consented to the adoption.
8. That the child is being cared for in an out-of-home
placement under the supervision of the juvenile court, the division or a
licensed child welfare agency, that the agency responsible for the care of the
child has made a diligent effort to provide appropriate reunification services
and that one of the following circumstances exists:
(a) The child has been in an out-of-home
placement for a cumulative total period of nine months or longer pursuant to
court order or voluntary placement pursuant to section 8-806 and the
parent has substantially neglected or wilfully refused to remedy the
circumstances that cause the child to be in an out-of-home
placement.
(b) The child who is under three years of age has
been in an out-of-home placement for a cumulative total period of
six months or longer pursuant to court order and the parent has substantially
neglected or wilfully refused to remedy the circumstances that cause the child
to be in an out-of-home placement, including refusal to participate in
reunification services offered by the department.
(c) The child has been in an out-of-home
placement for a cumulative total period of fifteen months or longer pursuant to
court order or voluntary placement pursuant to section 8-806, the parent
has been unable to remedy the circumstances that cause the child to be in an
out-of-home placement and there is a substantial likelihood that
the parent will not be capable of exercising proper and effective parental care
and control in the near future.
9. That the identity of the parent is unknown and
continues to be unknown following three months of diligent efforts to identify
and locate the parent.
10. That the parent has had parental rights to
another child terminated within the preceding two years for the same cause and
is currently unable to discharge parental responsibilities due to the same
cause.
11. That all of the following are true:
(a) The child was cared for in an out-of-home
placement pursuant to court order.
(b) The agency responsible for the care of the child
made diligent efforts to provide appropriate reunification services.
(c) The child, pursuant to court order, was returned
to the legal custody of the parent from whom the child had been removed.
(d) Within eighteen months after the child was
returned, pursuant to court order, the child was removed from that parent's
legal custody, the child is being cared for in an out-of-home
placement under the supervision of the juvenile court, the division or a
licensed child welfare agency and the parent is currently unable to discharge
parental responsibilities.
12. Clear and convincing evidence that the parent
committed a sexual assault against the petitioning parent and the child was
conceived as a result of the sexual assault.� If the parent who is the subject
of the petition pleads guilty to or is convicted of a violation of section 13-1406
or a violation of an offense in another jurisdiction that if committed in this
state would be a violation of section 13-1406, the court may accept the
guilty plea or conviction as evidence that the child was conceived as a result
of a sexual assault by that parent.� For the purposes of this paragraph:
(a) "Oral sexual contact" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 13-1401.
(b) "Sexual assault" means intentionally
or knowingly engaging in sexual intercourse or oral sexual contact with a
person without the consent of that person.
(c) "Sexual intercourse" has the same
meaning prescribed in section 13-1401.
C. Evidence considered by the court pursuant to
subsection B of this section shall include any substantiated allegations of
abuse or neglect committed in another jurisdiction.
D. In considering the grounds for termination
prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 8 or 11 of this section, the court shall
consider the availability of reunification services to the parent and the
participation of the parent in these services.
E. In considering the grounds for termination
prescribed in subsection B, paragraph 8 of this section, the court shall not
consider the first sixty days of the initial out-of-home placement
pursuant to section 8-806 in the cumulative total period.
F. The failure of an alleged parent who is not the
child's legal parent to take a test requested by the department or ordered by
the court to determine if the person is the child's natural parent is prima
facie evidence of abandonment unless good cause is shown by the alleged parent
for that failure.
END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Section 8-535, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:
START_STATUTE
8-535.
Notice of initial hearing; waiver; guardian ad litem
A. After the petition has been filed, the clerk of
the superior court shall set a time and place for the initial
hearing. Notice of the initial hearing and a copy of the petition
shall be given to the parents of the child, the guardian of the person of the
child, the person having legal custody of the child, any individual standing in
loco parentis to the child, the tribe of any Indian child as defined by the
federal Indian child welfare act of 1978 (25 United States Code section 1903)
and the guardian ad litem of any party as provided for service of process
in civil actions. In addition to the service of process requirements
in civil actions, any parent, any Indian custodian and the tribe of an Indian
child shall be notified of the initial hearing by certified or registered mail,
return receipt requested, as required by the federal Indian child welfare act
of 1978 (25 United States Code section 1912). The notice required by
this subsection shall include the following statement:
You have a right to appear as
a party in this proceeding. The failure of a parent to appear at the
initial hearing, the pretrial conference, the status conference or the
termination adjudication hearing may result in an adjudication terminating the
parent-child relationship of that parent.
B. The initial hearing shall take place not sooner
than ten days after the completion of service of notice.
C. Notice and appearance may be waived by a parent
before the court or in writing and attested to by two or more credible
witnesses who are eighteen or more years of age subscribing their names thereto
in the presence of the person executing the waiver or shall be duly
acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgements by the
person signing the waiver of notice and appearance. The face of the
waiver shall contain language explaining the meaning and consequences of the
waiver and the termination of parental rights. The parent who has
executed such a waiver shall not be required to appear.
D. If a parent does not appear at the initial
hearing, the court, after determining that the parent has been served with
proper legal notice, may find that the parent has waived the parent's legal
rights and is deemed to have admitted the allegations of the petition by the
failure to appear. The court may terminate the parent-child
relationship as to a parent who does not appear based on the record and
evidence presented as provided in rules prescribed by the supreme court.
E. At the initial hearing, the court shall:
1. Schedule a pretrial conference or status
conference.
2. Schedule the termination adjudication hearing.
3. Instruct the parent that the failure to appear at
the pretrial conference, status conference or termination adjudication hearing
may result in an adjudication terminating the parent-child relationship
as to a parent who does not appear.
F. On the motion of any party or on its own motion,
the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem if it determines that there
are reasonable grounds to believe that a party to the proceeding is mentally
incompetent or is otherwise in need of a guardian ad litem.
G. The county attorney, on the request of the court
or a governmental agency or on the county attorney's own motion, may intervene
in any proceedings under this article to represent the interest of the child.
H. A potential father who fails to file a paternity
action
and to serve the mother with a copy of the filed
paternity action
within thirty days after completion of service of the
notice prescribed in section 8-106, subsection G waives his right to be
notified regarding the termination of parental rights and his consent to the
termination of parental rights is not required.
END_STATUTE