Opinion ID: 2382556
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Alaska Statute 47.10.011(10) substance abuse

Text: The superior court found that OCS met its burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that both children were in need of aid based on substance abuse by Barbara and Leo. Under AS 47.10.011(10), a court may find a child in need of aid where the parent's ability to parent has been substantially impaired by the addictive or habitual use of an intoxicant, and the addictive or habitual use of the intoxicant has resulted in a substantial risk of harm to the child. In finding Michael to be a child in need of aid, the superior court referenced the stipulation of the parties in Michael's adjudication and noted that Leo had conceded in his pleadings for the termination proceeding that Michael was a child in need of aid under this subsection. The court found Gary to be a child in need of aid based on Leo's continuing drug addiction, dismissing Leo's testimony that the only drug he currently uses is marijuana. Leo does not challenge this ruling on appeal. [31] Leo's concession with respect to Michael and his failure to challenge the superior court's holding with respect to Gary are, by themselves, sufficient for us to affirm the ruling that Michael and Gary are children in need of aid for purposes of the termination of both Leo's and Barbara's parental rights. [32] The superior court also reviewed Barbara's substantial history of drug use, including marijuana, opiates, cocaine, and methamphetamine, through at least October 2007. Barbara used marijuana, methadone, and Percocet, either while pregnant with Michael or around the time he was born. She used cocaine during periods when she was caring for Michael. She repeatedly entered and failed to complete substance abuse treatment. These facts, together with the parties' stipulation, gave the superior court ample grounds to find that Michael was a child in need of aid based on Barbara's substance abuse. With respect to Gary, the superior court credited Barbara's testimony that she had not used drugs since Gary's birth and commended her for completing her substance abuse treatment. But the court did not believe that Barbara had truly addressed her drug addiction because she had failed to undertake any follow-up activities after the completion of her program, she still regarded the harm to her children from drug use solely in terms of immediate danger that such usage might cause rather than its long-term effect on her parenting, and she continued to deny or minimize her past drug use. As a result, the court found that OCS had proven that Gary was a child in need of aid as a result of Barbara's still untreated drug addiction. Barbara does not deny that she used drugs up until the time Gary was born and while Michael was in her care, but she argues that drug use alone is not sufficient for a finding under this subsection of the CINA statute. She contends that OCS failed to satisfy the additional requirements of proving that her drug use impaired her ability to parent or that it posed a substantial risk of harm to her children. Barbara testified that she took precautions to avoid exposing Michael to her drug use, such as leaving the home when she used drugs and not returning until she was sober, and avoiding skin-to-skin contact after drug use. Although OCS did not present evidence that Barbara used drugs in Michael's presence, the statute does not require that a child be present when the drug use occurred. [33] The superior court heard evidence that Barbara used marijuana, methadone, and Percocet while pregnant with Michael or shortly after his birth and that she used cocaine during periods when she was caring for Michael. Evidence was presented that Michael was taken into OCS custody, and Barbara was required to leave a shelter after she tested positive for use of cocaine and a white powder was discovered in her room at the shelter. Evidence was presented that Barbara was in and out of substance abuse programs. Such conduct adequately demonstrates an impairment of parenting and a risk of harm to or neglect of Michael. Together with Barbara's stipulation that Michael was a child in need of aid under this subsection, the conduct supports the superior court's finding that Michael was in need of aid. OCS was not obligated to leave Michael with or return him to Barbara and wait to accumulate evidence of parenting problems based on her admitted drug use, thereby risking actual harm to the child, before requesting a finding that Michael is a child in need of aid. [34] Barbara further argues that the superior court's finding regarding drug abuse was erroneous because she had been sober for over a year before the termination trial began. The CINA statute requires that a parent's ability to parent has been impaired by drug use and drug use has resulted in risk to the child at some time prior to the adjudication. [35] Because Barbara used drugs while she was caring for Michael, her new sobriety is not determinative of whether he was a child in need of aid, but only relevant to whether she remedied her conduct, which we discuss below. On the other hand, Barbara's sobriety since Gary's birth is relevant to whether the superior court properly found that Gary was a child in need of aid based on her drug use. The superior court found that Gary was a child in need of aid not because of Barbara's current drug use, but because Barbara failed to fully understand[ ] the depth of her problems with drugs, leaving her addiction still untreated. The CINA statute speaks only in terms of use of an intoxicant, not potential for future use. [36] But Barbara's drug use during her pregnancy is sufficient to find Gary to be a child in need of aidBarbara admitted to using drugs during her pregnancy with Gary, and Gary's meconium tested positive for cocaine. We have referenced neonatal drug use in affirming CINA findings in unreported cases, but always where it was accompanied by drug use following birth. [37] Exposing a child to cocaine in utero, even without drug use following birth, can also be sufficient to find the child to be in need of aid under AS 47.10.011(10). Therefore, the superior court did not err in finding that Gary was a child in need of aid based on Barbara's substance abuse.