Opinion ID: 2639287
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DFYS Involvement

Text: Ten reports of suspected child abuse were made to DFYS starting in 1987. On June 5, 1997, the first substantiated report to DFYS was made based on an incident in which R.H. assaulted J.F., T.H., and S.H. while he was intoxicated. According to DFYS's petition, [o]fficers reportedly had to draw their weapons on [R.H.] to get him to remove a meat cleaver. Less than three weeks later, DFYS received the report regarding suspected sexual abuse of V.H. and assault of T.H. by a man S.H. met on a dating chat line. It was also reported that S.H. had been verbally and physically abusive to the children. After this incident, S.H. complied with DFYS instructions to refrain from associating with the man from the chat line and his wife, and S.H. called Southcentral Foundation to become involved in a parent support group and to start V.H. in therapy. However, within several weeks S.H. began missing appointments. In the summer of 1997 DFYS referred the family to the Anchorage Center for Families for counseling. During T.H.'s hospitalization in June 1998, home-based services were arranged for the family with the Anchorage Center for Families. S.H. and R.H. agreed to participate in mental health assessments, substance abuse evaluations, parenting classes, random urinalysis tests, and three Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous (AA/NA) meetings per week. S.H. and R.H. were warned that they were at high risk for DFYS involvement if they did not work on their case plan. In July 1998 DFYS received a report that S.H. and R.H. were participating only marginally in T.H.'s treatment at Charter and that they had threatened to abandon T.H. if he did not behave as they wished. A fourth substance abuse evaluation was scheduled, but in October 1998 the Anchorage Center for Families decided to discontinue services to the family due to chronic noncompliance. Between October 1998 and August 1999, DFYS developed three case plans to address the needs of the children and to assist R.H. and S.H. in meeting those needs.