Domestic violence against kids remains in the shadows

Alaska politicians and editorial writers are always quick to call for an end to domestic violence, even when they offer nothing but empty slogans.

“Choose Respect” comes to mind.

In a press release last month, Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell said, “To fully address domestic violence, we must drag it from the shadows and into the daylight.”

It’s a good sentiment, but he provided no plan to make that happen.

We could start by introducing Alaskans to the specifics, which means abandoning the politically safe generalities that keep the scourge hidden from public view.

The neglect and abuse of children by their parents is one element of domestic violence that remains in the shadows.

Every year the state files 800 to 900 cases to terminate parental rights, a step that is taken after the parents abandon or neglect their children, fail to correct unsafe conditions or continue to expose their kids to harm.

A small number of the termination cases end up with appeals to the Alaska Supreme Court by parents who claim they deserve another chance.

Because termination of parental rights is a serious matter, when the court decides on these appeals, it always provides details of cruelty and abuse inflicted on the children.

These decisions are powerful documents that reveal the depth of violence and neglect suffered by some children.

Alaska news organizations almost never cover these cases, a long-standing failure that is impossible to justify.

To protect the individuals, the Supreme Court uses pseudonyms. That is one reason why Alaska news organizations refuse to cover these cases, but it’s not a legitimate excuse. By not covering them, the legacy of secrecy and neglect continues.

In November alone, the court decided these cases that you didn’t read or hear about in the news.

Last week, the court dealt with a 3-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl who deserved a much better start in life than their parents gave them.

The Office of Children’s Services got involved when it received a report that the boy, at 6 months, had been left alone with two other children, about 6 and 7 years old.

OCS had him placed under the care of his father. Ten days later the mother sought a domestic violence restraining order against the father. Both were abusing drugs. OCS took custody of the boy in October 2018.

A month later the mother called a doctor’s office to help with withdrawal symptoms. She was 26 weeks pregnant, but refused to go to an emergency room or speak with a doctor. She gave birth to her daughter in February 2019 and tested positive for opiates. OCS took custody of the second child.

The mother has three other children who are not part of the case.

The mother had not followed any of the recommendations made to her by OCS after the infant boy had been removed from her custody and she failed to follow through in the months that followed by seeking treatment or education. She often did not show up for visits scheduled with her two toddlers.

The mother and the father did not attend the two-day Kenai Superior Court trial in late 2020 to terminate their parental rights. The mother appealed the ruling and claimed the state did not make enough of an effort to get the family back together.

The Supreme Court upheld the termination of parental rights.

On Nov. 19, the Supreme Court wrote about a 6-year-old and his grandmother, who was his guardian. The child was with his grandmother because his mother, who has a history of substance abuse, had moved away and was prohibited from seeing the child as a condition of a criminal case.

The grandmother also has a history of substance abuse. In 2019, OCS took emergency custody of the boy, who had been exposed to violence and drug abuse. He and his grandmother both tested positive for meth.

The Supreme Court upheld a Superior Court ruling terminating the grandmother’s guardianship.

On Nov. 17, the court wrote about five children left in “deplorable” conditions by their parents.

OCS got involved in March 2019 when the mother ended up in an emergency room with multiple stab wounds and bruises. She told the hospital staff she was using meth.

The school-age children, who often missed school, said that their father hit them with a metal rod and wires and a cane, while their mother spanked them with a wooden broom handle. They said they often had no food at home and one of them said there were rats and “large black insects” in their home.

The kids “smelled as if they had not bathed in several days,” said the OCS caseworker who interviewed them. The worker smelled a “foul odor” at the door of the home, where police arrested the father on an outstanding warrant.

There were dirty diapers, dirty clothes and garbage throughout the home. Feces were smeared on the walls and the two youngest children “had a foul odor.” There were no clean clothes in the home and no food.

All five of the kids tested positive for methamphetamines and two tested positive for amphetamines.

The father, who was in and out of jail, appealed the Superior Court termination of his parental rights, claiming that OCS did not make a reasonable effort to unify the family. The mother could often not be located.

The parents did not testify or call any witnesses at the Superior Court trial revoking their parental rights.

The Supreme Court upheld the termination of parental rights.

On Nov. 10, the court wrote about a 4-year-old boy and his 2-year-old brother.

The 4-year-old had been taken into state custody at 9 months of age after OCS verified reports of neglect and drug abuse. Two years later, the state moved to terminate parental rights because of ongoing risks to the boy.

At a termination trial in November 2019, the mother relinquished her rights voluntarily. The mother had another child in May 2019. The state took custody of that infant after both the mother and the father tested positive for meth.

A year later, she had a daughter. The mother said she had put her life back on track. She regained custody of her second son and asked the court to reverse the voluntary termination of parental rights to her older boy.

The mother did not attend the court hearing at which she sought to regain parental rights. An OCS caseworker testified about the lack of stability in her life and mentioned an incident in which she had been incommunicado for 24 hours. The state worker also said that she had been inconsistent in showing up every month to visit her son.

The Supreme Court upheld the lower court ruling and she did not regain parental rights.

All of these cases are from the last month. Next month and the months after that will bring more of the same.

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