State of Alaska, Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children's Services v. Karlie T. and Gino H.

Summary

The court held that “substantial risk” under the relevant child-in-need-of-aid provisions requires an actual and significant threat of substantial physical harm or mental injury that is more than a mere possibility, but need not be probable or imminent. It further held that the domestic-violence provision requires the child to have actually been exposed to felony-level domestic violence, and that the evidence nevertheless established probable cause under the physical-harm and pattern-of-conduct provisions. The court therefore affirmed in part and reversed in part the superior court’s dismissal of the CINA case.