FAMILY LAW
Supreme Court of Alaska (2024)
Grace Koh
In Native Village of Kwinhagak v. Department of Health & Social Services, Office of Children’s Services, 542 P.3d 1099 (Alaska 2024), the supreme court held that while the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had statutory authority to place a child in need of aid (CINA) in an inpatient psychiatric care hospital without petitioning under civil commitment statutes, the OCS’s (1) failure to promptly notify parties to the CINA proceedings about the child’s admission to the hospital; and (2) a 46-day delay between the child’s admission to hospital and a hearing justifying the hospitalization violated procedural due process. (Id.). The statutes governing CINA proceedings give OCS the duty and authority to seek emergency medical care for the children in its custody, though statute AS 47.10.087 requires judicial review when OCS seeks to place a child at a secure residential psychiatric care facility. (Id. at 1106). In late 2019, Mira J., a 14-year-old member of the Native Village of Kwinhagak (the Tribe), was adjudicated a CINA and was placed in foster care by OCS. (Id.). The Tribe was a party to the CINA proceeding. (Id.). In December 2021, Mira’s foster parent brought her to Sitka Community Hospital (Sitka) after she consumed alcohol and her foster parent’s prescription medication. (Id.). Over ten days later, OCS issued a “delayed notice of change of placement” to the Tribe. (Id.). During her stay at Sitka, Mira experienced worsened mental health symptoms. (Id.). A clinician at Sitka recommended “acute residential treatment,” and OCS transferred Mira to North Star Hospital (North Star), a psychiatric hospital in Anchorage. (Id.). OCS notified the Tribe one or two days after the move, and only after the Tribe requested an update on Mira’s status. (Id.). Additionally, the superior court did not hold a hearing justifying her continued hospitalization until her 46th day at North Star. (Id. at 1124). Here, while the Tribe argued that OCS’s authority to admit Mira to an inpatient psychiatric hospital should have been governed by civil commitment statutes (requiring OCS to petition for Mira’s hospitalization when it took her to Sitka and requiring the superior court to hold a hearing to justify her hospitalization within a few days), the supreme court agreed with the superior court that OCS has the authority and responsibility to make decisions about the child’s welfare without petitioning under civil commitment statutes. (Id. at 1111). That said, the supreme court noted that OCS’s failure to timely notify the parties of Mira’s admission to the hospital worsened the deprivation of her rights, such as delays in the appointment of counsel, the hearing, and a search for less restrictive treatment alternatives. (Id. at 1124). The supreme court held that the untimely notice to parties to the CINA proceedings, failure to immediately notify the parties that it had decided to admit her to North Star, and a 46-day wait for a hearing violated Mira’s right to due process. (Id.).
