State asks for $4 million supplemental in high‑profile child‑welfare lawsuit; outlines other judgments and statehood defense funding

Corey Mills, deputy attorney general for the civil division at the Alaska Department of Law, told the Senate Finance Committee the department is seeking a $4,000,000 supplemental appropriation to cover litigation costs in the case commonly referred to as Jeremiah M., or A Better Childhood (ABC), a nationwide nonprofit litigation strategy challenging state child‑welfare systems.

Mills said the lawsuit was filed in May 2022 on behalf of 14 children in custody of the Office of Children’s Services, and the plaintiffs have sought class certification that would potentially cover similarly situated foster children statewide. “The advice we got was don’t settle,” Mills said, summarizing other states’ experiences with long‑term court oversight and consent decrees.

Why it matters: Mills told senators that the plaintiffs seek structural and institutional reform rather than damages for individuals. He warned that settlement agreements in similar lawsuits often result in prolonged court supervision, the need to pay for court monitors, and court‑ordered spending priorities that can persist for years.

Details and budget history: Mills said the department originally sought $4,000,000 to fund the full cost of litigation through final appellate resolution — an amount intended to cover discovery, trial, and potential appeals. He said the Legislature previously provided $1,000,000 to the Department of Family and Community Services that flowed to the Department of Law and that discovery alone has already cost about $2,000,000. Trial previously scheduled for May was moved to August, he added.

Related judgments and settlements: Mills reviewed four items included in the current supplemental for judgments and settlements: - Sergeant v. Department of Labor and Workforce Development: settlement included $50,000 in attorney’s fees and structural notice changes to the unemployment system. - SEAC v. Department of Natural Resources: SEAC (identified by Mills as Southeast Alaska conservation interests) prevailed on a public‑notice issue related to a land conveyance to the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority; attorney’s fees were about $68,000. - Donkel v. Department of Natural Resources: court ordered disclosure of certain well log information; Rule 82 fees of about $12,000 are included now, though an appeal is pending over whether Donkel is a constitutional litigant and whether full fees apply. - Lane (constructive termination claim involving an Office of Children’s Services worker): Mills said the department mediated rather than re‑try the damages question that the Alaska Supreme Court remanded, and the settlement amount included interest back to 2020 so the figure in the bill is approximately $2,600,000.

Requests for oversight and data: Committee members asked how to evaluate the department’s performance. Mills said the Department of Law can pull case records from its database but does not have a ready filter by outcome (settlement vs. prevailing party) and will provide what aggregated information it can. The committee asked whether a baseline appropriation exists for judgments and settlements; Mills replied the department has no dedicated baseline in its operating budget and that settlements often get funded either from the agency that was billed for the underlying litigation or, when necessary, through the judgments and settlements appropriation.

Statehood defense funding: Mills summarized the department’s multi‑year statehood defense appropriations and spending. He said the department received a $4,000,000 appropriation in fiscal 2021 (now spent), a $2,000,000 amount that has been spent, and a fiscal‑year‑24–26 appropriation from which $1.7 million had been spent as of the January check, leaving roughly $3,000,000 remaining in that multi‑year bucket. He also noted a temporary increment the Legislature approved last year — reduced from the department’s original $2,000,000 annual request to $500,000 per year — and the department is again requesting the $500,000 this year. Mills said the department is handling about 80 cases involving federal authority or jurisdictional issues, up from about 40, and cautioned that the volume of federal litigation has increased the need for sustained funding.

Tribal relations and litigation: Mills said tribes are “sovereign” and that the department has an AG opinion on tribal sovereignty on its website. He said the department has recently added tribal liaisons in the civil and criminal divisions and is working to resolve boundary and jurisdictional issues more often outside court. He confirmed there is still litigation touching tribal land‑into‑trust matters and whether certain land constitutes Indian country (an issue with downstream implications such as whether tribal gaming rules apply).

Committee follow‑up: Senators requested additional data on civil cases, settlements, and judgments across recent years so the Legislature can better evaluate performance and costs. Mills agreed to provide aggregated information from the department’s case management system and said the office will work with the committee on data details.

Ending: Mills closed by asking for questions after the presentation; senators pressed for follow‑up on data requests, baseline funding, and the department’s plan to limit drawn‑out, costly litigation outcomes.