Opinion ID: 2375328
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: OCS Provides Assistance To Lucy In Parenting Jack: October 2004 February 2005.

Text: On October 15, 2004, OCS met with Lucy, representatives from the Temporary Assistance for Native Families program, and representatives from the Central Council Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Central Council) to discuss Lucy's case plan. The case plan recommended that Lucy undergo a substance abuse assessment at SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (Health Consortium) and referred Lucy to a Central Council therapist named Amalia Monreal for assistance in developing healthy family and parenting choices. The guardian ad litem (GAL), Janine Reep, also added a provision to the case plan asking that OCS provide Lucy with assistance in scheduling appointments, obtaining new housing, and securing a bus pass. Lucy submitted to a substance abuse assessment provided by Health Consortium counselor Albert Nells in mid-November. Lucy admitted that she had four minor consuming charges and a larceny charge on her record, that there was domestic violence in her relationship with Rick, that she had checked herself into the hospital when she was suffering from depression, that she was consuming ten beers per night and had engaged in binge drinking with binges lasting as long as two weeks, and that she had been dishonorably discharged from the National Guard. Nells issued his assessment report on December 8, 2004, diagnosing Lucy with alcohol dependence and recommending residential services in a therapeutic community, counseling for abuse issues, and additional evaluations for depression and traumatic brain injuries. The OCS caseworker who took over Lucy's case, Stephanie Day, met with Lucy in late November 2004. At the time Lucy was using a number of services, including Temporary Assistance for Native Families, food stamps, parenting and anger management classes, and childcare assistance. Lucy communicated with Day frequently through at least 2005. Lucy also had a family caseworker from the Central Council, Larry Jackson, who was in regular communication with Day and Reep. In January 2005 Lucy stipulated that Jack was a child in need of aid as a result of neglect under AS 47.10.011(9). The trial court then issued an Order for Adjudication and Disposition Based on Stipulation that adjudicated Jack as a child in need of aid and released him into Lucy's custody, subject to supervision by OCS. Lucy completed inpatient treatment for substance abuse in Sitka during January and February 2005. Her aftercare recommendations included receiving intensive outpatient substance abuse and mental health treatment, following through with OCS and her parenting plan, finding a sponsor and attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and following the care plan that she developed while in treatment. Lucy also continued to have access to other services through OCS, including Catholic Community Services' Healthy Change Program, group and individual services with Monreal (the Central Council therapist), and a home-visiting pre-preschool program for Jack. Although the GAL recommended that Lucy receive assistance in obtaining housing, Lucy had secured housing where she wished to remain.