V.D. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services

OPINION

BRYNER, Justice.

I. INTRODUCTION

V.D. appeals an order adjudicating her six boys as children in need of aid under former AS 47.10.010(a)(6). The superior court determined that the children were in need of aid because V.D. left them with Mends who, after three months, could no longer afford to care for them. V.D. also claims that she was denied her right to counsel and that the state failed to make active efforts to prevent the breakup of her Indian family. We reverse because we conclude that the state failed to prove that V.D.’s children were in need of aid at the time of the…