When former foster youth Matthew Vandenberg took the stand in a downtown courtroom on the first day of a federal trial, he told the judge about a foster placement he and other foster youth called the “ramen house.” He recounted his testimony in an interview.
“The people there were to give you two ramen packs a day, and if you ate them, say, in the morning, because you were hungry, you would have to wait until you'd have to wait until the next day to eat again.” Vandenberg said. “I lost over 30 pounds being at that foster home.”
Alaska’s Office of Children’s Services is defending their practices in a federal court case that began Aug. 25 in Anchorage. A national organization, A Better Childhood, brought the class-action lawsuit hoping to force court-mandated reforms to a system they say is failing Alaska kids. It’s a strategy they say has worked in other states.
Vandenberg testified that he moved foster placements about 13 times over four years. He also testified that at one placement he missed school because he was forced to clean the home’s cul-de-sac instead, and at another he was denied medical treatment for a broken finger. The Office of Children’s Services is supposed to visit kids in their care monthly, partly to make sure kids aren’t mistreated.
But Marcia Lowry said those monthly visits in Alaska just aren’t happening, putting kids like Vandenberg at risk. Lowry is an attorney and director of A Better Childhood, the organization suing Alaska. The nonprofit is based in New York and brings lawsuits against states across the country to push for foster care reforms.
“How else can you know whether a child is safe when you put a child in a foster home? How can you know when it's time to move a child to get freed for adoption?” Lowry said. “The visits with both children and with parents are very, very low.”
Lowry said that on many federal measures, Alaska’s foster care system ranks among the worst in the country. Alaska has fewer caseworkers visiting children, longer child protection response times, shorter average placements, and more children maltreated while in state custody, according to data submitted as evidence in the case. And Lowry said the state has not taken the necessary steps to correct problems in the system.
“Alaska is one of the few places that I know of that hires workers who don't have college degrees,” Lowry said. “Nice, well-intentioned people can't just do this job. They need an education.”
Lowry said lawsuits like this can be an effective way to force system reforms. She said her organization has sued 11 other states in the last decade to improve foster care systems and they’ve won four and eight are ongoing. She said when they sued New Jersey in 1999 their system was one of the worst in the country and now it’s one of the best.
“There was a court order entered, and there was monitoring provided, and New Jersey, over a period of time, reformed its system and had to go into court periodically and report on whether or not it was doing that, and that helped with the legislature,” she said. “The legislature then was required to appropriate more money.”
Alaska’s foster care system has long been plagued with serious problems. Caseloads for caseworkers are often several times the expert-recommended maximum and the state reports high turnover, which experts say creates worse outcomes for kids. In 2018, a law required reforms meant to reduce caseloads and staff turnover, with mandatory audits to check on progress. The final audit released this year showed that by most measures, OCS hasn’t made meaningful progress, but those involved in bringing this class-action lawsuit to trial hope that if they win, it could actually force change.
Alicia Groh, a national expert in child welfare systems, testified in the federal trial. She said a wide variety of things can bring about change in a child welfare system and she agrees lawsuits can be effective.
“In some states, it is a lawsuit, or the beginnings of a lawsuit, that prompts a state to say, ‘We need to look at this differently. We need to take a very significant action to address these concerns,’” Groh said.
But she said strong leadership is also an important piece of the puzzle.
The Office of Children’s Services declined an interview for this story while the trial is taking place. But in her testimony, OCS director Kim Guay consistently pointed out that her office is just one piece of Alaska’s child welfare system. She acknowledged case loads can be high, but said the state can’t implement caseload caps because her office can’t turn away kids or families who need help.
Margaret Paton-Walsh, assistant attorney general who is defending the state in the trial, said one of the main problems is that Alaska has a serious caseworker shortage.
“Our perspective is child welfare work is really hard,” Paton-Walsh said. “It's especially hard in Alaska because of the size and the remoteness of so many of the communities, and we are doing the best that we can to manage the challenges that we have.”
The federal trial is slated to wrap up Sept. 11. There’s no timeline for when the judge will issue her decision.
RELATED: Alaska has failed to implement foster care reforms mandated in 2018 law, audit finds
