The number of U.S. children in foster care is climbing after a sustained decline, but just five states account for nearly two-thirds of the recent increase. Reasons range from creation of a new child-abuse hotline to widespread outrage over the deaths of children who'd been repeatedly abused. Addictions among parents are another major factor.

An Arizona court has overturned a judge's decision to sever a father's parental rights for his young daughter, saying the judge went too far by basing his decision on a single incident involving lack of supervision.

The chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court is openly worrying that a new ruling will let police charge parents with child molesting for changing a baby’s diaper.

A national organization filed suit Wednesday against an Arizona charter school with ties to a member of the state Board of Education, accusing it of using state funds to illegally teach religious doctrine.

School books may be closed for the summer but laptops are open. As children spend more time on the Internet, police and parents are working harder to protect them from online predators.

Arizona has a real problem with uninsured kids. But we also have a time-tested solution that now has no cost to the state budget: KidsCare.

Foster parents worry that new rules drafted by Arizona’s child safety agency could create a harmful environment for foster children and parents alike.

A decade ago, a team of auditors embedded themselves in the agency charged with protecting Arizona’s children and found that some reports of child abuse or neglect weren’t properly investigated. Other cases lacked the relevant information necessary to ensure children’s safety. Ten years, hundreds of millions of dollars and a new agency later, the problems that plague the Department of Child Safety echo those that caseworkers faced a decade ago.

The head of the state's child welfare agency said Thursday he will slash the backlog of inactive cases by cutting down the number investigated on the front end.

Despite making progress in most areas, Arizona remained mired at 46th among states for overall child well-being in the 2015 KidsCount report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.