CSSB 76(HES): "An Act establishing a higher education savings program for eligible children who were placed in out-of-home care by the state; and providing for confidentiality of identifying information of a beneficiary under the program."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 76(HES) 01 "An Act establishing a higher education savings program for eligible children who were 02 placed in out-of-home care by the state; and providing for confidentiality of identifying 03 information of a beneficiary under the program." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 47.05 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Article 4. Alaska Higher Education Savings Program for Children. 07 Sec. 47.05.400. Higher education savings program. (a) The department shall 08 administer a program to encourage investment by a person or entity in the higher 09 education of eligible children in the state. The program must include 10 (1) a central office, dedicated to faith-based and community services, 11 for development and marketing of the program; 12 (2) a mechanism for the department to establish and maintain a 13 University of Alaska college savings plan under AS 14.40.802 - 14.40.817 for an 14 eligible child who is a beneficiary of the program;
01 (3) a process for identifying donors and eligible beneficiaries; 02 (4) a process for distributing nonidentifying information about an 03 eligible beneficiary to a potential donor, including the age, sex, and general location of 04 the beneficiary, unless the information readily leads to the identification of the eligible 05 beneficiary; 06 (5) terms and conditions for participation in the program that are 07 consistent with the University of Alaska college savings plan restrictions and with 08 federal law pertaining to higher education savings accounts; and 09 (6) a procedure for monitoring success of the program, for record 10 keeping, and for maintaining confidentiality of records as required by federal and state 11 law. 12 (b) A person is eligible for participation in the higher education savings 13 program for children as a beneficiary if the person was ordered committed to the 14 custody of the department under AS 47.10.080(c) or AS 47.12.120(b)(1) or (3), was 15 placed in out-of-home care for not less than two years, and is a resident of the state. 16 (c) The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may name a new 17 beneficiary to an existing college savings plan established under (a) of this section if 18 the new designation is not prohibited under federal law or under the University of 19 Alaska college savings plan and if the named beneficiary dies, fails to enroll in an 20 eligible program before the beneficiary becomes 30 years of age, or fails to meet 21 conditions established in regulations adopted by the commissioner. 22 (d) Identifying information of a beneficiary contained in records related to the 23 program is confidential. 24 (e) In this section, 25 (1) "beneficiary" has the meaning given in AS 14.40.802; 26 (2) "college savings plan" means a post secondary education savings 27 program or advanced college savings tuition savings contract established under 28 AS 14.40.802 - 14.40.817; 29 (3) "donor" means the person or entity who contributes to the higher 30 education savings program for children for the purpose of establishing or contributing 31 to a college savings account established for a child under this section;
01 (4) "out-of-home care" means care at the residence or facility at which 02 a child is placed by the state, and does not include care at the residence from which the 03 child was removed. 04 * Sec. 2. AS 47.10.093(b) is amended to read: 05 (b) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose appropriate 06 confidential information regarding a case to 07 (1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 08 (2) a person or an agency requested by the department or the child's 09 legal custodian to provide consultation or services for a child who is subject to the 10 jurisdiction of the court under AS 47.10.010 as necessary to enable the provision of 11 the consultation or services; 12 (3) an out-of-home care provider as necessary to enable the out-of- 13 home care provider to provide appropriate care to the child, to protect the safety of the 14 child, and to protect the safety and property of family members and visitors of the out- 15 of-home care provider; 16 (4) a school official as necessary to enable the school to provide 17 appropriate counseling and support services to a child who is the subject of the case, to 18 protect the safety of the child, and to protect the safety of school students and staff; 19 (5) a governmental agency as necessary to obtain that agency's 20 assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 21 child; 22 (6) a law enforcement agency of this state or another jurisdiction as 23 necessary for the protection of any child or for actions by that agency to protect the 24 public safety; 25 (7) a member of a multidisciplinary child protection team created 26 under AS 47.14.300 as necessary for the performance of the member's duties; 27 (8) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 as necessary for the 28 performance of the duties of the state medical examiner; 29 (9) a person who has made a report of harm as required by 30 AS 47.17.020 to inform the person that the investigation was completed and of action 31 taken to protect the child who was the subject of the report;
01 (10) the child support services agency established in AS 25.27.010 as 02 necessary to establish and collect child support for a child who is a child in need of aid 03 under this chapter; 04 (11) a parent, guardian, or caregiver of a child or an entity responsible 05 for ensuring the safety of children as necessary to protect the safety of a child; [AND] 06 (12) a review panel established by the department for the purpose of 07 reviewing the actions taken by the department in a specific case; and 08 (13) the University of Alaska under the Alaska higher education 09 savings program for children established under AS 47.05.400, but only to the 10 extent that the information is necessary to support the program and only if the 11 information released is maintained as a confidential record by the University of 12 Alaska. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 47.12.310(b) is amended to read: 14 (b) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose 15 (1) information regarding a case to a federal, state, or municipal law 16 enforcement agency for a specific investigation being conducted by that agency; 17 [AND] 18 (2) appropriate information regarding a case to 19 (A) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 20 (B) a person or an agency requested by the department or the 21 minor's legal custodian to provide consultation or services for a minor who is 22 subject to the jurisdiction of the court under this chapter as necessary to enable 23 the provision of the consultation or services; 24 (C) school officials as may be necessary to protect the safety of 25 the minor who is the subject of the case and the safety of school students and 26 staff or to enable the school to provide appropriate counseling and supportive 27 services to meet the needs of a minor about whom information is disclosed; 28 (D) a governmental agency as may be necessary to obtain that 29 agency's assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical 30 custody of a minor; 31 (E) a law enforcement agency of this state or another
01 jurisdiction as may be necessary for the protection, rehabilitation, or 02 supervision of any minor or for actions by that agency to protect the public 03 safety; 04 (F) a victim or to the victim's insurance company as may be 05 necessary to inform the victim or the insurance company about the arrest of the 06 minor, including the minor's name and the names of the minor's parents, copies 07 of reports, or the disposition or resolution of a case involving a minor; 08 (G) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 as may be 09 necessary to perform the duties of the state medical examiner; 10 (H) foster parents or relatives with whom the child is placed by 11 the department as may be necessary to enable the foster parents or relatives to 12 provide appropriate care for the child who is the subject of the case, to protect 13 the safety of the child who is the subject of the case, and to protect the safety 14 and property of family members and visitors of the foster parents or relatives; 15 (I) the Department of Law or its agent for use and subsequent 16 release if necessary for collection of an order of restitution on behalf of the 17 recipient; 18 (J) the Violent Crimes Compensation Board established in 19 AS 18.67.020 for use in awarding compensation under AS 18.67.080; and 20 (K) a state, municipal, or federal agency of this state or another 21 jurisdiction that has the authority to license adult or children's facilities and 22 services; and 23 (3) to the University of Alaska under the Alaska higher education 24 savings program for children established under AS 47.05.400, information that is 25 necessary to support the program, but only if the information released is 26 maintained as a confidential record by the University of Alaska.