In re A.S. CA2/8

discussion. A.S. said he did not want to go to his father’s and that he was “unsafe because my dad choked me the last time I saw him.” After observing A.S.’s level of anxiety, the social worker told the father A.S. did not feel safe to visit that day. A.S.’s therapist told the social worker A.S. had clearly and consistently described to her how his father choked him. A.S.’s stimming behaviors had also increased over the past few weeks. The therapist did not believe A.S. was physically or emotionally safe in the father’s home. The Department had received previous referrals involving the family. These referrals involved domestic abuse between the parents in front of A.S., an altercation between the father and maternal grandparents during a pickup from a visit, and an incident in which the father pushed a dog crate into the mother. All were closed as inconclusive or unfounded. The father agreed to a detention and was willing to participate in services. After a hearing, the juvenile court denied the Department’s request to detain A.S. from the father, finding A.S.’s account “difficult to believe” because of A.S.’s age and diagnosis. The Department filed a petition for an extraordinary…