Foster Care Settlement Information
NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND HEARING IN CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT INVOLVING CHILDREN IN THE CUSTODY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILD SAFETY AND THE PROVISION OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, PHYSICAL AND DENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, THE PLACEMENT ARRAY, AND CASE MANAGER WORKLOAD.
Tinsley, et al. v. Faust, et al., Case No. CV-15-00185-PHX-ROS
United States District Court for the District of Arizona
The proposed settlement would resolve a 2015 class action lawsuit filed in 2015 on behalf of children in DCS care by Children’s Rights, Inc. and the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest against the Directors of DCS and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. All children in DCS out-of-home care are members of the plaintiff class.
The court has scheduled a hearing (the Fairness Hearing) for February 12, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. in Courtroom 605, at the Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse, 401 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003. The purpose of the Fairness Hearing is to determine whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. For more information regarding the terms of the proposed settlement, the Fairness Hearing, and how to submit comments to the court and/or attend the Fairness Hearing, please see the documents available at the links below.
The parties to the lawsuit submitted their settlement agreement to the court on August 31, 2020. A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available here:
The court issued an order on October 13, 2020 (the Order) granting preliminary approval of the settlement agreement. The Order allows class members, their legal representatives, and interested persons to submit written comments to the court. The Order also allows class members or their legal representatives to attend or be heard at the Fairness Hearing by telephone. A copy of the Order is available here:
PLEASE NOTE that January 11, 2021 is the deadline for submitting written comments, and for class members and their legal representatives to notify the court that they wish to participate in the hearing either personally or by telephone. A Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement, which contains instructions for how to do so, is available here:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON HOW TO ATTEND THE FEBRUARY 12, 2021 FAIRNESS HEARING
The settlement approval hearing in the Tinsley v. Faust case will take place on February 12, beginning at 2 p.m. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court has asked that persons wishing to participate in the hearing do so remotely via Zoom or telephone. Participation in person will still be permitted if you are unable to participate remotely, but under current Court rules, only ten individuals are allowed in the courtroom gallery at a time.
At the hearing, the Court will limit each person’s comments on the settlement to three minutes. Commenters will be heard in alphabetical order by last name. If you prefer to submit an additional written statement rather than speak for three minutes on the record, you may do so by sending your additional statement to ACLPI before noon on Monday, February 8. We will then submit that statement to the Court. The Court has already received the written statements sent to us earlier. If you no longer wish to speak at the hearing at all, you of course don’t have to. Please just let us know and we will take you off the list.
Due to technological restraints the Court has moved the physical location of the hearing to Courtroom 604, of the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse, 401 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003.
Telephonic participants or those that are experiencing issues with internet/computer audio can call into any of the lines noted under “Dial by your location” (see below) and then follow the prompts to enter the conference ID, participant number (# if not connected by video) and passcode. The waiting room feature has been enabled, so each participant will be placed into the waiting room until admitted by a host or co-host.
Participants can test their internet connection, webcam video, microphone and speakers by joining a Test Meeting at https://zoomgov.com/test If any participant has not used Zoom or is not comfortable with Zoom or its features, they can schedule a pretest and training session by contacting AV Support at av_support@azd.uscourts.gov or at 602-322-7160.
Instructions for participating in the hearing via Zoom are below. On Zoom, you must display your full name as your name on Zoom. You may test your connection in advance by going to https://zoomgov.com/test.
Topic: Silver – Settlement Approving Hearing – 2:15-cv-00185-PHX-ROS (Tinsley v. Flanagan)
Time: Feb 12, 2021 02:00 PM Arizona
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Meeting ID: 161 241 1504
Passcode: 824696
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Meeting ID: 161 241 1504
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The Court’s order detailing all of this information can be found here.
Class members are represented in the lawsuit by Children’s Rights, Inc., Perkins Coie LLP, and by the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest. Contact information for class counsel is:
ARIZONA CENTER FOR LAW IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST
Attention: Anne C. Ronan
352 E. Camelback Road, Suite 200
Phoenix, Arizona 85012
aronan@aclpi.org
CHILDREN’S RIGHTS, INC.
Attention: Harry Frischer
88 Pine Street, Suite 800
New York, New York 10005
hfrischer@childrensrights.org
