Opinion ID: 2590276
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Failure To Obtain Paternity Test Results in a Timely Manner in the Early Stages of the Case Was Attributable to OCS, Inadequately Explained, and Harmful.

Text: One factor the court cites in support of its conclusion that OCS made active efforts is that the caseworker arranged for paternity testing. [11] But the testing did not help Melissa achieve permanency; testing results were needed. Jon needed the test results to qualify for the financial assistance that could have better positioned him to find housing and employment earlier in the case. This assistance could have permitted OCS to determine, at an earlier point, whether he was likely to be able to successfully parent Melissa. Jon submitted to a paternity test by fall 2005, [12] but OCS did not receive the results until sometime between December 2005 and March 2006. The results were not obtained earlier because the OCS caseworker did not know how to obtain them. The caseworker testified she called the Bureau of Vital Statistics five or six times and left a message, and that it was not until she called OCS Anchorage in December 2005 or January 2006 that she learned that LabCorp does the testing. She then called LabCorp and received the results within two weeks. Arranging for paternity testing, without knowing how to get paternity test results, is inconsistent with active efforts. Although OCS asked that Jon and Melissa receive priority consideration for financial assistance in light of the delayed paternity results, this assistance was denied. By March 2006, Jon still had not been approved for financial assistance. OCS's failure to obtain the test results promptly contributed to delays in achieving permanency for Melissa and in reducing the likelihood of successful reunification; this failure was attributable to OCS, not adequately explained, and harmful to Melissa.