Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect Arizona

Statute: § 8-201(1),(2),(6), (8),(12),(13),(21)
Standard
nflicting or allowing

Exemption
Christian Science treatment
Unavailability of reasonable services

Categories of Maltreatment Defined in Statute
Physical abuse

Neglect

Sexual abuse

Sexual exploitation

Emotional/mental injury

Abandonment

Categories of Maltreatment Not Defined in Statute

DEFINITIONS

Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 8-201(1), (2), (6), (8), (12), (13)(a)(i)-(ii), (21) (West Supp. 1998)

'Abandoned' means the failure of the parent to provide reasonable support and to maintain regular contact with the child, including providing normal supervision. Abandoned includes a judicial finding that a parent has made only minimal efforts to support and communicate with the child. Failure to maintain a normal parental relationship with the child without just cause for a period of six months shall constitute prima facie evidence of abandonment.

'Abuse' means the infliction or allowing of physical injury, impairment of bodily function or disfigurement or the infliction of or allowing another person to cause serious emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal or untoward aggressive behavior and which emotional damage is diagnosed by a medical doctor or psychologist and which is caused by the acts or omissions of an individual having care, custody and control of a child. Abuse shall include:

Inflicting or allowing sexual abuse;

Sexual conduct with a minor;

Sexual assault;

Molestation of a child;

Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor;

Sexual exploitation of a minor;

Incest; or

Child prostitution.

'Child,' 'youth' or 'juvenile' means an individual who is under the age of 18 years.

'Custodian' means a person, other than a parent or legal guardian, who stands in loco parentis to the child or a person to whom legal custody of the child has been given by order of the juvenile court.

'Department' means the Department of Economic Security.

'Dependent child' means a child who is adjudicated to be:

In need of proper and effective parental care and control and who has no parent or guardian, or one who has no parent or guardian willing to exercise or capable of exercising such care and control.
Destitute or who is not provided with the necessities of life, including adequate food, clothing, shelter or medical care, or whose home is unfit by reason of abuse, neglect, cruelty or depravity by a parent, a guardian, or any other person having custody or care of the child.

'Neglect' or 'neglected' means the inability or unwillingness of a parent, guardian or custodian of a child to provide that child with supervision, food, clothing, shelter or medical care if that inability or unwillingness causes substantial risk of harm to the child's health or welfare.

EXCEPTIONS

A 'dependent child' does not include a child who in good faith is being furnished Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited practitioner if none of the circumstances described in the above paragraph exists.

A child is not considered neglected if the inability of a parent or guardian to provide services to meet the needs of a child with a disability or chronic illness is solely the result of the unavailability of reasonable services.