Ventura County Human Services Agency v. Frank B.

Opinion

YEGAN, J.

The adverse consequences of alcoholism are well known. People have the power to become “alcoholics” and as long as they do not victimize others, the law, generally speaking, leaves them alone. As family members will attest, there are silent victims in the wake of alcoholism. Here, one of such victims is the five-year-old son of two such people. They are deeply entrenched in alcohol as a way of, and perhaps as an end to, life. The judiciary has been tasked by the Legislature to protect children. There are many adverse consequences to alcoholism. We add one more: loss of a child…