Alaska Supreme Court sets interpreter standard for OCS parental cases

The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Office of Children's Services must make reasonable accommodations to ensure effective communication with parents whose first language is not English, and that failure to do so can preclude a finding of reasonable efforts in parental-rights termination proceedings.

The court cited census data showing 15.1 percent of Alaskans speak a language other than English at home, and noted that Alaska has at least 20 Native languages across four language families. The decision clarifies what the state must do before it can move to terminate parental rights when a parent has limited English proficiency.

The opinion, written by Justice Pate, came in Hamza B. v. State of Alaska, Department of Family and Community Services, Office of Children's Services. The court affirmed the termination of Hamza B.'s parental rights, finding OCS met the standard in this case.

OCS took custody of Aden, Hamza B.'s son, in 2022 after reports of physical abuse. Aden, who was 13 at the time, told a caseworker he had been abused throughout his life, describing beatings that included being struck with a golf club and hit with a closed fist hard enough to loosen a tooth. A forensic medical examination identified bruising consistent with some of the injuries he described. OCS filed an emergency petition alleging Aden was a child in need of aid based on physical harm, substantial risk of mental injury, and neglect.

Hamza B. argued OCS failed to provide an Arabic interpreter for caseworker communications. The court rejected that argument. At hearings in 2022 and 2023 he chose to testify largely in English, and his caseworker testified that Hamza B. communicated with him "just fine in English." The court found he had not identified any instance in which the lack of an interpreter hampered his ability to effectively communicate with the agency. The court also noted that when Hamza B. expressed difficulty communicating, OCS accommodated his request by corresponding with him primarily through text messages, and that this accommodation was part of the court's reasoning.

The court separately addressed OCS's mental health efforts. OCS included a mental health assessment in Hamza B.'s case plan and identified a provider, but Hamza B. refused to engage, stating he did not believe he had any mental health problems. He subsequently left Alaska and was later found incarcerated in Florida on charges of felony arson. A Florida court found him incompetent to stand trial, and he was transferred to a mental health facility before later being found competent. The Alaska Supreme Court held that any flaws in OCS's mental health efforts did not defeat a finding of reasonable efforts, given Hamza B.'s unwillingness to participate, his departure, and his incarceration.

Interpreter Standard and the Waiver Question