Monday, May 20, 2013
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Child Services Procedures Scrutinized Amid Abuse Allegations of Adopted ChildrenWednesday, an Anchorage woman was arrested on several counts of child abuse. Several neighbors say they alerted authorities, but nothing happened.
The Alaska Office of Children’s Services receives thousands of complaints every year regarding potential child abuse in the community, and say the alleged abuse involving Anya Ardin James, 51, was not overlooked contrary to what neighbors believe.
Several neighbors who live near the Anchorage hillside home where the alleged abuse of six adopted children took place said they filed numerous complaints to OCS over the last two years, but say nothing was done. OCS Director Christy Lawton said the case was investigated. “Every single time we're doing an investigation or an assessment for safety it requires that we're in the home and that we're interviewing the children separately,” she said. “Away from their caregiver, so their not being influenced by their caretaker." Officials say when they respond to complaints they make unannounced visits to a family, which can sometimes seem normal at the time. “We’re getting just a little tiny snapshot window picture when we're there on that day, things might be great, things might look different than if we’re there a week later,” said Lawton. “We can’t predict human behavior and can’t control evil the world,” she said, and agree say it's tough for them to predict what the intentions are of foster parents. However, the agency does acknowledge that it needs to do more to prevent tragic events like this from happening. “We’re looking at what happened and what could we have done better or what could we have done differently,” said Lawton. |
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BenL said on Sunday, May 22 at 6:16 PM
I worked for OCS for some time, I noted several failing areas and several very good things. I slo adopted children through OCS. The background investigation was more intense that the one I went trough to be hired. At the same time, There were no home visits made by staff of OCS during the long fostering period. I was only visited on a few occasions one of which was the adoption home study, which was quite extensive. While working for them I always questioned how a case worker could do there job while sitting at a desk. I was always away checking on families, always in court, or in meetings with my foster parents. I just couldn't see how you could be tied to the desk and meet all the requirements of the job; problem here was then I was never around to keep up with the amount of work that is done on the computer system. It quickly became apparent to me that the system was more bout numbers, ie; federal funding than it was bout realistically protecting children. Much more...
67527318Anon said on Saturday, May 21 at 9:37 PM
In other articles someone who knows Anya said she is friends with someone at OCS so they looked the other way. No surprise. This happens almost everywhere, not just in Alaska. The whole system needs to be overhauled.
67494719Juna said on Saturday, May 21 at 3:55 PM
It's "they're" not "their" in the sentence ". . .so their not being influenced by their caregiver." Please! This is journalism!
67484812SC said on Saturday, May 21 at 3:24 PM
OCS won't answer NUMEROUS complaints from multiple neighbors... yeah, well when the local crack heads call with false allegations, you can't get OCS out of your life for 6 months. Nothing surprising in this story at all.
67483917Once A Welfare Child said on Saturday, May 21 at 9:44 AM
I agree with the comments. I have had the most unpleasurable experience of working, or trying to work with OCS. First of all I was made to feel like a criminal wanting to become a foster parent for my granddaughter, nothing about becoming a foster parent was pleasant at all. As a foster child, I was abused, forced to scrub wooden floors on my hands and knees, be a slave for the people I lived with, doing what slaves did. Whipped everyday, foster parents drinking every weekend, getting pulled out of bed by my hair. I totally understand what the foster children feel how helpless. I can relate to the children of this story. I have a daughter whos children were taken away by OCS and she didn't treat her children that bad but yet she was made to feel a incompetent parent, a single parent at that. OCS needs to have limits like everyone else, they seem to have no limits as to what they can do, except for the law.
67471612thinice said on Saturday, May 21 at 8:48 AM
I have adopted two kids from this system and to me it was almost too intrusive they seemed overly thourough, so
67469529Anonymous said on Friday, May 20 at 8:58 PM
I think that their own employees should be investigated and find out how much experience/education they each have and if they can deal with such family matters/cases. And, those who become foster parents should be investigated thoroughly besides just doing a basic background check on each person. You can't trust anyone anymore.
67448813Bert Hoak said on Friday, May 20 at 8:54 PM
It wasn't that many years ago that the entire department of what was then DFYS was revamped and re-named. Same old same old. I'd venture to say that 30% of the department does 70% of the work and the rest skate. Time to revamp the entire hiring process. How was it that an employee of this same department stole 3/4 of a Million Dollars and wasn't caught for years. Affirmative action and cronyism will doom this state!
67448686SageML said on Friday, May 20 at 8:54 PM
I am not surprised about hearing or reading about the Social Services up here in Anchorage. I was up here in Anchorage about ten years ago at a BIA gathering and I had heard some stories about the social services up here in Anchorage that were not good at all. That they can't follow up on their cases or that they won't listen. I wish the social service s
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