Maricopa County is reversing a five-year policy rooted in opposition to adoptions by same-sex couples.
Parents in so-called uncontested adoptions are entitled to free legal representation, but Maricopa County has for years used an outside legal firm to handle those services. The Arizona Republic reports County Attorney Allister Adel said last week she plans to bring that legal work back to her office. The move is an about-face from the practice former County Attorney Bill Montgomery instituted in 2015, in the wake of a state law that legalized same-sex marriage. Montgomery contended that LGBTQ parents were not eligible for the free legal services his office was required to provide by state statute.
