(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - Representative Tammie Wilson is calling on Governor Bill Walker to take action on what Wilson says is the broken system at the Alaska Office of Children Services.

Rep. Wilson (R-North Pole) said she has done everything within her powers to draw attention to the major issues going on within the Office of Childrens' Services which include children taken from homes without good reason. This fall Wilson called for a grand jury investigation of the office of Children’s services.

On January 18, 2017, the Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District unsealed the recommendations of the grand jury relating to the request to investigate OCS. The documents unsealed by Presiding Judge Morse showed that the Department of Law presented the request to the grand jury on December 22, 2016. The grand jury issued two separate recommendations signed by the grand jury foreman.

In the first recommendation, the grand jury “determined that the Alaska Ombudsman, pursuant to Alaska Statute 24.55.010 - .340, is statutorily authorized to address the concerns.”

In the second recommendation, the grand jury “determined that the Alaska Citizen Review Panel, pursuant to Alaska Statute 47.14.205 et. seq., is statutorily required to address the concerns.”

Based upon the recommendations of the grand jury, the Alaska Department of Law has forwarded the necessary information to the Ombudsman and the Citizen Review Panel.

“More action needs to be taken than just two reviews,” said Rep. Wilson. “Children are suffering and families are being torn apart.”

People impacted by Office of Children Services actions had a chance to voice their concerns. Rep. Wilson held 6 public testimony opportunities in Mat-Su, Anchorage, Juneau, Bethel, Kenai and Fairbanks plus took phone calls from throughout the state. She heard almost 30 hours of stories from community leaders, business people, parents, grandparents and others affected by this agency. Testimony has been consistent with people saying their biggest issues are OCS lies and manipulates situations.

“It’s been appalling to hear what Alaskan’s have gone through,” says Rep. Wilson. “How many more families will have to be destroyed to get the attention of the administration?”

Rep. Wilson is calling on the Governor to take similar action as he did with the National Guard and the Department of Corrections. Both investigations led to reorganization and leadership changes.

“We just declared an emergency because of the opioid epidemic so what will it take for the same attention to be given to Alaskan families,” says Rep. Wilson. “Alaska has an enormous problem and to ignore it is not an option."

Related news:

GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION OF ALASKA OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES REQUESTED - Representative Tammie Wilson (R-North Pole) has requested that a Grand Jury conduct an investigation into how the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Office of Children Services (OCS) are complying with statutory duties. - More...
SitNews - September 08, 2016

WILSON CALLS FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY REGARDING ALASKA OFFICE OF CHILDREN’S SERVICES - The availability of statewide public testimony opportunities for Alaskans not satisfied with the current state of the Office of Children’s Services was announced by Rep. Tammie Wilson. - More...
SitNews - January 16, 2017

Judge Releases Grand Jury Recommendations on Request for Investigation of Office of Childrens Services - On January 18, 2017, the Presiding Judge of the Third Judicial District unsealed the recommendations of the grand jury relating to the request to investigate OCS. The documents unsealed by Presiding Judge Morse show that the Department of Law presented the request to the grand jury on December 22, 2016. The grand jury issued two separate recommendations signed by the grand jury foreman. - More...
SitNews - January 23, 2017

Read the Judge’s order - PDF(88KB)
http://www.sitnews.us/0117News/012317/170118-OCS-Order.pdf

Read the Grand jury’s recommendations - PDF(190KB)
http://www.sitnews.us/0117News/012317/170118-GrandJury_OCS.pdf

Editing by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News:

Alaska House Republicans
www.akleg.gov

 

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