McKenna Ahrenholz used to hate going home to her father’s house.

While there, McKenna said, she and her four siblings slept on beds without sheets, ate food they had to steal from the pantry, and wore clothes covered in dog feces. McKenna said her father punched her, and her siblings were abused as well. They begged to be placed in foster houses, but were repeatedly sent back home.

Years passed before McKenna learned she and her brother and sisters had a right to an attorney. Finally with legal help, the children made their voices heard. Now they live with loving relatives.

McKenna has since helped pass a Minnesota law that ensures children in child-protection cases are told that they, too, have a right to an attorney.

McKenna’s Law went into effect earlier this month. But she and other advocates are not resting on any laurels. They are raising concerns that the bill didn’t come with any funding to add lawyers, which they expect the law will create a demand for.

She is 13 years old.

IN THE SYSTEM

Related Articles Man pleads guilty to poaching black bear on northern Minnesota reservation

Minnesota leaders reflect on the life and legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Trump and Biden hit the now battleground state of Minnesota

Authorities urge caution during Fall Flood Run along Mississippi, St. Croix river valleys Saturday

Psychological exam ordered for Pakistani doctor/ex-Mayo researcher in terrorism case McKenna has spent a good portion of her life in the foster system. The second oldest of five, she tried to take charge of caring for her younger siblings. Her sister Riley was just one year old when the process began.

The five children were typically split into two foster homes, and McKenna always went with her youngest two sisters. She said she worried about the other two while they were away, but they kept in touch with daily phone calls.

And when they were sent back to their father Jesse Ahrenholz’s house, they struggled to get by. McKenna said she used to try to cook green beans and corn in the sun for dinner. She put ketchup and water in the window sill to make tomato soup. She and her siblings used a hose for water when they were locked out of the house.

Neighbors and teachers helped out when possible. There were 17 open-work cases on the family since 2006, 11 in a four-year span in Swift County.

Neither Jesse Ahrenholz nor his attorney could be reached for comment by the Pioneer Press. He earlier told KSTP-TV that he never physically abused the children, but acknowledged he wasn’t always able to provide basic needs.

“Everybody has weak moments in their lives. There was usually a week at the end of the month where we were hungry,” the father told the television station. “I’m admitting that we needed help. My family needed help and we didn’t get the help we needed.”

MEETING THE GRANDPARENTS

In April 2014, the Ahrenholz children met their paternal grandparents for the first time.

As a teenager, Todd Thimmesch had given his son Jesse up for adoption. He didn’t know he had grandchildren until he found Jesse Ahrenholz on a Minnesota adoption search site.

“There was no doubt that they were all really cute kids, poking their heads out of the van,” said Thimmesch’s fiancee, Kathy Burland — whom the children call Grandma. “But we knew by meeting Jesse there was a problem right away. They were dirty, they were filthy, their hair was a rat’s nest, they were malnutritioned, and you could see it.”

The children went to Burland and Thimmesch’s house and ate spaghetti for dinner. Burland still remembers the four “big, hungry-man heaping helpings” McKenna ate — the most McKenna said she’s ever eaten in her life.

In the months that followed, the children began to form relationships with their grandparents, despite Jesse Ahrenholz’s attempts to stop their communication, Burland said.

“I think they realized that we were definitely their advocates. We were there to protect them, to save them, to help them, to love them, to care about them, and I think they just knew that,” Burland said.

‘PEOPLE STARTED LISTENING TO US’

At the suggestion of a social worker, all five Ahrenholz children wrote letters to a judge assigned to their case. They outlined their frustrations about constantly being sent back to their father’s house, and begged to put together somewhere else.

“All of the sudden, it just seemed like people started listening to us,” Burland said.

They got another court hearing. This time, the two oldest siblings, Jacob and McKenna, were assigned an attorney.

McKenna said she had no idea at the time that she was entitled to a lawyer. Perhaps their situation could have been better earlier had they known. The time wasted stuck with McKenna, later prompting her to action.

Burland and Thimmesch eventually were awarded custody. And on March 26, 2015, Burland and Thimmesch were able to tell their grandchildren they could all go home together. The family celebrates the anniversary each year.

The actual transfer of custody officially happened that fall.

‘THE LAWS NEED TO CHANGE’

The siblings finally had a home, but McKenna still wanted to do something to help others in her situation.

In February of 2016, she testified in front of a Minnesota legal task force on the protection of children. McKenna said she was nervous; Burland said it was impossible to tell.

“She made almost everyone in that room cry,” said Children’s Law Center of Minnesota Executive Director Lilia Panteleeva.

Panteleeva introduced herself to McKenna and then helped her navigate Minnesota’s legislative process as she testified before various committees at the Capitol.

“The people that make the laws like yourselves need to hear us children who are the ones going through such a crazy life,” McKenna said in her testimony. “The laws need to change so that nobody like us have to go home to an abusive and neglective life.”

McKenna’s Law passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate.

“There was just not enough attention drawn to the idea that children 10 years plus … can participate and have important input in their cases,” said Sen. Jerry Relph, R-St. Cloud, one of the bill’s sponsors.

The law, which went into effect Aug. 1, requires social services agency to inform the children involved in child-protection cases of their right to a lawyer. Before children can waive the right, they must consult with an attorney.

FUNDING BOOST DENIED

Anticipating the law would increase the calls for legal help, additional funding was requested for lawyers. It was denied. Lawmakers said it was impossible to speculate on the number of children who would seek legal help, and thus the number of lawyers needed.

“If we’re going to tell people they’re entitled to a lawyer, there actually have to be lawyers available,” said Rep. Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center.

Panteleeva said it can be assumed that once children know they have a right to a lawyer, they will more likely want one.

“It’s almost worse that we will be telling them they have a right to an attorney and not being able to provide one,” Panteleeva said.

Because children were already entitled to lawyers, however, the Public Defense Board indicated they would be able to handle the additional work.

“If the kid wants a lawyer, we’re there. We are at the proceedings. I have many lawyers who represent children throughout the state,” State Public Defender William Ward said.

Statistics, though, show that most Minnesota public defenders already handle nearly 50 percent more than they’re supposed to, he added.

‘HERO FOR CHILDREN’

McKenna will receive the Children’s Law Center’s Hero for Children award, given annually to those who have made a significant difference to improve the lives of Minnesota children. She’s the first child to ever receive the award.

“McKenna deserves this. She stood there in front of hundreds of people … being very vulnerable, telling everyone her story of abuse, neglect, of the system failure,” Panteleeva said.

McKenna said she hopes to continue helping other children in the system as an adult: She plans to be a pediatric registered nurse and a foster parent.