Enrolled HB 151: Relating to a special audit; relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Social Services; relating to training and workload standards for employees of the Department of Health and Social Services and providing immunity from damages related to those standards; relating to foster care home licensing; relating to civil and criminal history background checks for foster care licensing and payments; relating to placement of a child in need of aid; relating to the rights and responsibilities of foster parents; relating to completed investigations of reports of harm to a child; requiring the Department of Health and Social Services to provide information to a child or person released from the department's custody; and providing for an effective date.
00Enrolled HB 151 01 Relating to a special audit; relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Social 02 Services; relating to training and workload standards for employees of the Department of 03 Health and Social Services and providing immunity from damages related to those standards; 04 relating to foster care home licensing; relating to civil and criminal history background checks 05 for foster care licensing and payments; relating to placement of a child in need of aid; relating 06 to the rights and responsibilities of foster parents; relating to completed investigations of 07 reports of harm to a child; requiring the Department of Health and Social Services to provide 08 information to a child or person released from the department's custody; and providing for an 09 effective date. 10 _______________ 11 * Section 1. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section 12 to read:
01 SHORT TITLE. This Act may be known as the Children Deserve a Loving Home Act. 02 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 03 read: 04 LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that the division of the 05 Department of Health and Social Services with responsibility over the custody of children, in 06 accepting the additional resources made available to the division under this Act, be subject to 07 and agree to cooperate with a special audit conducted under AS 24.20.281, as approved by the 08 Legislative Budget and Audit Committee, to begin within one year after the effective date of 09 secs. 1 - 22 and 24 of this Act. 10 * Sec. 3. AS 47.05.065 is amended to read: 11 Sec. 47.05.065. Legislative findings related to children. The legislature finds 12 that 13 (1) parents have the following rights and responsibilities relating to the 14 care and control of their child while the child is a minor: 15 (A) the responsibility to provide the child with food, clothing, 16 shelter, education, and medical care; 17 (B) the right and responsibility to protect, nurture, train, and 18 discipline the child, including the right to direct the child's medical care and 19 the right to exercise reasonable corporal discipline; 20 (C) the right to determine where and with whom the child shall 21 live; 22 (D) the right and responsibility to make decisions of legal or 23 financial significance concerning the child; 24 (E) the right to obtain representation for the child in legal 25 actions; and 26 (F) the responsibility to provide special safeguards and care, 27 including appropriate prenatal and postnatal protection for the child; 28 (2) it is the policy of the state to strengthen families and to protect 29 children from child abuse and neglect; the state recognizes that, in some cases, 30 protection of a child may require removal of the child from the child's home; however, 31 (A) except in those cases involving serious risk to a child's
01 health or safety, the Department of Health and Social Services should provide 02 time-limited family support services to the child and the child's family in order 03 to offer parents the opportunity to remedy parental conduct or conditions in the 04 home that placed the child at risk of harm so that a child may return home 05 safely and permanently; and 06 (B) the state also recognizes that when a child is removed from 07 the home, visitation between the child and the child's parents or guardian and 08 family members reduces the trauma for the child and enhances the likelihood 09 that the child will be able to return home; therefore, whenever a child is 10 removed from the parental home, the Department of Health and Social 11 Services should encourage frequent, regular, and reasonable visitation of the 12 child with the child's parent or guardian and family members; 13 (3) it is the policy of the state to recognize that, when a child is a ward 14 of the state, the child is entitled to reasonable safety, adequate care, and adequate 15 treatment and that the Department of Health and Social Services as legal custodian and 16 the child's guardian ad litem as guardian of the child's best interests and their agents 17 and assignees, each should make reasonable efforts to ensure that the child is provided 18 with reasonable safety, adequate care, and adequate treatment for the duration of time 19 that the child is a ward of the state; 20 (4) it is in the best interests of a child who has been removed from the 21 child's own home for the state to apply the following principles in resolving the 22 situation: 23 (A) the child should be placed in a safe, secure, and stable 24 environment; 25 (B) the child should not be moved unnecessarily; 26 (C) a planning process should be followed to lead to permanent 27 placement of the child; 28 (D) every effort should be made to encourage psychological 29 attachment between the adult caregiver and the child; 30 (E) frequent, regular, and reasonable visitation with the parent 31 or guardian and family members should be encouraged; [AND]
01 (F) parents and guardians must actively participate in family 02 support services so as to facilitate the child's being able to remain in the home; 03 when children are removed from the home, the parents and guardians must 04 actively participate in family support services to make return of their children 05 to the home possible; and 06 (G) to the extent practicable, the Department of Health and 07 Social Services should enable a child's contact with previous out-of-home 08 caregivers when appropriate and in the best interests of the child; 09 (5) numerous studies establish that 10 (A) children undergo a critical attachment process before the 11 time they reach six years of age; 12 (B) a child who has not attached with an adult caregiver during 13 this critical stage will suffer significant emotional damage that frequently leads 14 to chronic psychological problems and antisocial behavior when the child 15 reaches adolescence and adulthood; and 16 (C) it is important to provide for an expedited placement 17 procedure to ensure that all children, especially those under the age of six 18 years, who have been removed from their homes are placed in permanent 19 homes expeditiously. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 47.05.310(c) is amended to read: 21 (c) Except as provided in (l) of this section, the [THE] department may not 22 issue or renew a license or certification for an entity if an individual is applying for a 23 license, license renewal, certification, or certification renewal for the entity and that 24 (1) individual has been found by a court or agency of this or another 25 jurisdiction to have neglected, abused, or exploited a child or vulnerable adult under 26 AS 47.10, AS 47.24, or AS 47.62 or a substantially similar provision in another 27 jurisdiction, or to have committed medical assistance fraud under AS 47.05.210 or a 28 substantially similar provision in another jurisdiction; or 29 (2) individual's name appears on the centralized registry established 30 under AS 47.05.330 or a similar registry of this state or another jurisdiction. 31 * Sec. 5. AS 47.05.310(i) is amended to read:
01 (i) Except as provided in (l) of this section, for [FOR] purposes of (b) and 02 (c) of this section, in place of nonissuance or nonrenewal of a license or certification, 03 an entity or individual service provider that is not required to be licensed or certified 04 by the department or a person wishing to become an entity or individual service 05 provider that is not required to be licensed or certified by the department is instead 06 ineligible to receive a payment, in whole or in part, from the department to provide for 07 the health, safety, and welfare of persons who are served by the programs 08 administered by the department if the entity, individual service provider, or person 09 (1) is in violation of (a) of this section or would be in violation based 10 on information received by the department as part of an application, approval, or 11 selection process; 12 (2) has been found by a court or agency of this or another jurisdiction 13 to have neglected, abused, or exploited a child or vulnerable adult under AS 47.10, 14 AS 47.24, or AS 47.62 or a substantially similar provision in another jurisdiction, or to 15 have committed medical assistance fraud under AS 47.05.210 or a substantially 16 similar provision in another jurisdiction; or 17 (3) appears on the centralized registry established under AS 47.05.330 18 or a similar registry of this state or another jurisdiction. 19 * Sec. 6. AS 47.05.310(k) is amended by adding new paragraphs to read: 20 (4) "adult family member" has the meaning given in AS 47.10.990; 21 (5) "foster home" has the meaning given in AS 47.32.900. 22 * Sec. 7. AS 47.05.310 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (l) The department may issue or renew a foster home license under AS 47.32 24 or provide payments under AS 47.14.100(b) or (d) to an entity, individual service 25 provider, or person if the applicant or a person who resides in the home is barred from 26 licensure or payment under (c), (i)(2), or (i)(3) of this section and 27 (1) a person in the home is an adult family member or family friend of 28 a child in the custody or supervision of the state under AS 47.10; 29 (2) the department finds that placing the child with the entity, 30 individual service provider, or person is in the best interests of the child; and 31 (3) the conduct that is the basis of the finding under (c), (i)(2), or (i)(3)
01 of this section occurred at least 10 years before the date the department receives the 02 application for licensure or renewal or makes a payment to the entity, individual 03 service provider, or person. 04 * Sec. 8. AS 47.10.080(s) is amended to read: 05 (s) The department may transfer a child, in the child's best interests, from one 06 placement setting to another, and the child, the child's parents or guardian, the child's 07 foster parents or out-of-home caregiver, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's 08 attorney, and the child's tribe are entitled to advance notice of a nonemergency 09 transfer. A party opposed to the proposed transfer may request a hearing and must 10 prove by clear and convincing evidence that the transfer would be contrary to the best 11 interests of the child for the court to deny the transfer. A foster parent or out-of-home 12 caregiver who requests a nonemergency change in placement of the child shall provide 13 the department with reasonable advance notice of the requested change. When the 14 department transfers a child from one out-of-home placement to another, the 15 department shall search for an appropriate placement with an adult family member or 16 a family friend who meets the foster care licensing requirements established by the 17 department. A supervisor at the department shall certify in writing in the case file 18 whether the department has searched for an appropriate placement with an 19 adult family member or family friend. If the department has not complied with 20 the search requirements under this subsection, the supervisor shall work to 21 ensure that the department completes the search in the shortest time feasible. 22 * Sec. 9. AS 47.10.084 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 23 (d) When the child is placed in foster care, the foster parent has the right and 24 responsibility to use a reasonable and prudent parent standard to make decisions 25 relating to the child. The foster parent may make decisions under (a) or (b) of this 26 section that include decisions relating to the child's participation in age-appropriate or 27 developmentally appropriate activities, including travel, sports, field trips, overnight 28 activities, and extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities. The 29 department shall provide foster parents with training regarding the reasonable and 30 prudent parent standard. In this subsection, "reasonable and prudent parent standard" 31 means a standard characterized by careful and sensible decisions to maintain the
01 health, safety, and best interests of the child while encouraging the emotional and 02 developmental growth of the child. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 47.10.086 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 04 (h) The department shall engage a child who is 14 years of age or older in the 05 development or revision of a case plan, permanency goal, or alternative permanency 06 plan for the child. The department shall also allow the child to select not more than 07 two adults to participate in the development or revision of the plan in addition to the 08 child's foster parents or department employees who are supervising the care of the 09 child. The department may reject an adult selected by the child if the department has 10 good cause to believe that the adult will not act in the best interests of the child. If the 11 department rejects an adult, the child may select another adult. The child may 12 designate one of the adults to be the child's advisor, and the advisor may advocate for 13 the child. 14 * Sec. 11. AS 47.10.093(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) Except as permitted in AS 47.10.092, [AND IN] (b) - (g) and (i) - (l) of 16 this section, and AS 47.17.030(g), all information and social records pertaining to a 17 child who is subject to this chapter or AS 47.17 prepared by or in the possession of a 18 federal, state, or municipal agency or employee in the discharge of the agency's or 19 employee's official duty are privileged and may not be disclosed directly or indirectly 20 to anyone without a court order. 21 * Sec. 12. AS 47.10.093(b) is amended to read: 22 (b) A state or municipal agency or employee shall disclose appropriate 23 confidential information regarding a case to 24 (1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 25 (2) a person or an agency requested by the department or the child's 26 legal custodian to provide consultation or services for a child who is subject to the 27 jurisdiction of the court under AS 47.10.010 as necessary to enable the provision of 28 the consultation or services; 29 (3) an out-of-home care provider as necessary to enable the out-of- 30 home care provider to provide appropriate care to the child, to protect the safety of the 31 child, and to protect the safety and property of family members and visitors of the out-
01 of-home care provider; 02 (4) a school official as necessary to enable the school to provide 03 appropriate counseling and support services to a child who is the subject of the case, to 04 protect the safety of the child, and to protect the safety of school students and staff; 05 (5) a governmental agency as necessary to obtain that agency's 06 assistance for the department in its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 07 child; 08 (6) a law enforcement agency of this state or another jurisdiction as 09 necessary for the protection of any child or for actions by that agency to protect the 10 public safety; 11 (7) a member of a multidisciplinary child protection team created 12 under AS 47.14.300 as necessary for the performance of the member's duties; 13 (8) the state medical examiner under AS 12.65 as necessary for the 14 performance of the duties of the state medical examiner; 15 (9) a person who has made a report of harm as required by 16 AS 47.17.020 to inform the person that the investigation was completed and of action 17 taken to protect the child who was the subject of the report; 18 (10) the child support services agency established in AS 25.27.010 as 19 necessary to establish and collect child support for a child who is a child in need of aid 20 under this chapter; 21 (11) a parent, guardian, or caregiver of a child or an entity responsible 22 for ensuring the safety of children as necessary to protect the safety of a child; 23 (12) a review panel established by the department for the purpose of 24 reviewing the actions taken by the department in a specific case; 25 (13) the University of Alaska under the Alaska higher education 26 savings program for children established under AS 47.14.400, but only to the extent 27 that the information is necessary to support the program and only if the information 28 released is maintained as a confidential record by the University of Alaska; 29 (14) a child placement agency licensed under AS 47.32 as necessary to 30 provide services for a child who is the subject of the case; [AND] 31 (15) a state or municipal agency of this state or another jurisdiction
01 that is responsible for delinquent minors, as may be necessary for the administration of 02 services, protection, rehabilitation, or supervision of a child or for actions by the 03 agency to protect the public safety; however, a court may review an objection made to 04 a disclosure under this paragraph; the person objecting to the disclosure bears the 05 burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that disclosure is not in the 06 child's best interest; and 07 (16) a sibling of a child who is the subject of the case to allow the 08 siblings to contact each other if it is in the best interests of the child to maintain 09 contact; in this paragraph, "sibling" means an adult or minor who is related to 10 the child who is the subject of the case by blood, adoption, or marriage as a child 11 of one or both of the parents of the child who is the subject of the case; a sibling 12 who is adopted by a person other than the parent of the child who is the subject 13 of the case remains a sibling of the child. 14 * Sec. 13. AS 47.10.142(i) is amended to read: 15 (i) When the department takes emergency custody of a child under this section 16 or a court orders a child committed to the department for temporary placement under 17 this section, the department shall, to the extent feasible and consistent with the best 18 interests of the child, place the child according to the criteria specified under 19 AS 47.14.100(e). A supervisor at the department shall certify in writing in the 20 case file whether the department has searched for an appropriate placement with 21 an adult family member or family friend. If the department has not complied 22 with the search requirements under this subsection, the supervisor shall work to 23 ensure that the department completes the search in the shortest time feasible if it 24 is consistent with the best interests of the child. 25 * Sec. 14. AS 47.14.100(e) is amended to read: 26 (e) When a child is removed from a parent's home, the department shall 27 search for an appropriate placement with an adult family member or family 28 friend. A supervisor at the department shall certify in writing in the case file 29 whether the department has searched for an appropriate placement with an 30 adult family member or family friend. If the department has not complied with 31 the search requirements under this subsection, the supervisor shall work to
01 ensure that the department completes the search in the shortest time feasible. The 02 department shall place the child, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence of 03 good cause to the contrary, 04 (1) in the least restrictive setting that most closely approximates a 05 family and that meets the child's special needs, if any; 06 (2) within reasonable proximity to the child's home, taking into 07 account any special needs of the child and the preferences of the child or parent; 08 (3) with, in the following order of preference, 09 (A) an adult family member; 10 (B) a family friend who meets the foster care licensing 11 requirements established by the department; 12 (C) a licensed foster home that is not an adult family member 13 or family friend; 14 (D) an institution for children that has a program suitable to 15 meet the child's needs. 16 * Sec. 15. AS 47.14.100(i) is amended to read: 17 (i) A child may not be placed with an out-of-home care provider if the 18 department determines that the child can remain safely at home with an adult family 19 member [ONE PARENT] or guardian who lives with the child. In this subsection, 20 "out-of-home care provider" means an agency or person, other than the child's legal 21 parents, with whom a child who is in the custody of the state under 22 AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (3), 47.10.142, or (c) of this section is currently placed; "agency 23 or person" includes a foster parent, a relative other than a parent, a person who has 24 petitioned for adoption of the child, and a residential child care facility. 25 * Sec. 16. AS 47.14.100(r) is amended to read: 26 (r) The department shall make reasonable efforts to place siblings in the same 27 placement if the siblings are residing in the same home when taken into the custody of 28 the department. If siblings are not placed together after reasonable efforts have been 29 made, the case supervisor for the division with responsibility over the custody of 30 children shall document in the file the efforts that were made and the reason separating 31 the siblings for placement purposes is in the best interest of the children. If it is in the
01 best interests of the children to maintain contact, the department shall provide 02 each sibling with contact information for the other sibling and encourage the 03 children's caregivers to provide opportunities for contact between the siblings. In 04 this subsection, "sibling" means two or more persons who are related by blood, 05 adoption, or marriage as a child of one or both parents. 06 * Sec. 17. AS 47.14 is amended by adding a new section to read: 07 Sec. 47.14.112. Training and workload standards; reports to legislature. 08 (a) The department shall implement workload standards and a training program for 09 employees who supervise the care of children committed to the supervision or custody 10 of the department under AS 47.10, work with families to prevent the removal of a 11 child from the child's home under AS 47.10, or investigate reports of harm under 12 AS 47.17. The department shall prepare a staffing report under (b) of this section if the 13 department is unable 14 (1) to employ the number of qualified employees necessary to ensure 15 that 16 (A) the department reasonably and safely minimizes the time a 17 child is not in a permanent living arrangement or under a permanent 18 guardianship; 19 (B) a child is not removed from the child's home when it is 20 possible and in the child's best interest for the department to work with the 21 child's family to prevent the removal of the child from the child's home; 22 (C) each child is placed in a permanent home not more than 24 23 months after the date the child is first removed from the child's home; 24 (2) to meet best practices standards set by the department requiring the 25 employment of mentors for employees who supervise the care of children committed 26 to the supervision or custody of the department under AS 47.10, work with families to 27 prevent the removal of a child from the child's home under AS 47.10, or investigate 28 reports of harm under AS 47.17; 29 (3) for a new employee who supervises the care of a child committed 30 to the supervision or custody of the department under AS 47.10, works with families 31 to prevent the removal of a child from the child's home under AS 47.10, or
01 investigates reports of harm under AS 47.17, to 02 (A) provide a minimum of six weeks of training unless the 03 department finds that the new employee has sufficient experience to justify a 04 shorter training period; 05 (B) limit the employee's workload as follows: 06 (i) before the beginning of an employee's fourth month 07 of work with the department, the employee may supervise not more 08 than six families; 09 (ii) after the beginning of the employee's fourth month 10 of work but before the end of the employee's sixth month of work with 11 the department, the employee may supervise not more than 12 families; 12 (iii) when an employee supervises families in a region 13 where travel distances negatively affect the employee's ability to 14 supervise families and the employee has worked for the department for 15 less than 12 months, the employee may not supervise the maximum 16 number of families provided under (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph; and 17 (4) for an employee, other than a new employee, who supervises the 18 care of children committed to the supervision or custody of the department under 19 AS 47.10, works with families to prevent the removal of a child from the child's home 20 under AS 47.10, or investigates reports of harm under AS 47.17, to ensure that the 21 average statewide caseload is not more than 13 families for each worker. 22 (b) A staffing report prepared as a result of the department's inability to meet 23 the training and workload standards in (a) of this section must be included in the 24 department's annual report to the legislature required under AS 18.05.020. The 25 department shall explain in the staffing report the reasons the department has not been 26 able to meet the standards and provide the following information: 27 (1) the number of employees who vacated positions during the 28 reporting period; 29 (2) the number of funded positions that are vacant; 30 (3) a description of efforts made to recruit and retain employees; 31 (4) if the department determines additional employee positions are
01 necessary to meet the standards, the number and cost of the additional positions; 02 (5) if the department determines additional funding is necessary to 03 meet the standards, the amount and purpose of the additional funding; and 04 (6) the effects on a child and the child's family of the department's 05 inability to meet the standards. 06 (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the department is 07 immune from suit under this section if the department was unable to meet the 08 workload standards and adjusted workload standards because of a lack of sufficient 09 appropriations or because the department's efforts to recruit or retain employees did 10 not result in an adequate number of qualified applicants to meet the workload 11 standards, as outlined in the staffing report. 12 (d) The division of the department with responsibility over the custody of 13 children shall prepare and make available to the legislature an annual report on 14 employee recruitment and retention, including a five-year plan, for the division. Not 15 later than November 15 of each year, the department shall deliver the report to the 16 senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the 17 legislature that the report is available. The report prepared under this subsection is 18 separate from the annual report to the legislature required under AS 18.05.020 and 19 must include, for the previous 12 months, 20 (1) the number of frontline social workers employed by the division, 21 the annual average turnover rate of the workers, and the average caseload of the 22 workers on January 1 and July 1 of that year; 23 (2) the number of children removed from their homes; 24 (3) the achievement of success measured by the following: 25 (A) rate of family reunification; 26 (B) average length of time children spent in custody of the 27 department; 28 (C) rate of placement with an adult family member or family 29 friend; 30 (D) number of children placed in a permanent living 31 arrangement with a guardian or biological or adoptive parent;
01 (E) number of children released from the custody of the 02 department; 03 (4) if the department has met or exceeded the caseload standards under 04 this chapter and, if the standards were exceeded, the number of caseworker positions 05 in the division that could be eliminated and the amount of funding that could be 06 reduced while continuing to meet but not routinely exceed the caseload standards; 07 (5) the performance of the department on federal benchmarks focused 08 on the safety, well-being, and permanent placements of foster children compared with 09 the previous five years. 10 * Sec. 18. AS 47.14.115 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 11 (b) If the department determines that it is in the best interests of a child in the 12 custody of the department to place the child with an adult family member who does 13 not have a foster care home license under AS 47.32, the department shall assist the 14 adult family member in obtaining a license, including assisting the adult family 15 member with obtaining any variances necessary to obtain the license, so that the 16 family member is eligible for payments under AS 47.14.100(b) and (d). 17 * Sec. 19. AS 47.17.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 18 (g) When the department or a local government health or social services 19 agency (1) completes an investigation of a report of harm concerning a child, (2) 20 determines, based on the investigation findings, that department or local agency 21 services to protect the child are not required, and (3) identifies an appropriate 22 community organization that will actively reach out to families to provide needed 23 support services, the department or local government health or social services agency 24 shall seek the written consent of the child's parent or guardian to refer the family to the 25 community organization. If the parent or guardian consents to the referral, the 26 department or local government health or social services agency shall refer the parent 27 or guardian to the community organization identified by the department. If the child 28 has more than one parent or guardian and only one parent or guardian consents to the 29 referral, the department or local government health or social services agency shall 30 refer the parent or guardian who consents to the community organization but may not 31 provide information to the community organization concerning the parent or guardian
01 who does not consent to the referral. A community organization that receives 02 information from the department or a local government health or social services 03 agency under this subsection may not disclose the information to a person who is not 04 authorized by law to receive it. 05 * Sec. 20. AS 47.18.320 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 06 (d) When an individual 16 years of age or older who has been in state custody 07 under AS 47.10 for at least six months is released from state custody, the department 08 shall, in addition to any training, services, and assistance provided under (a) - (c) of 09 this section, provide the individual with or assist the individual with obtaining the 10 individual's 11 (1) birth certificate; the birth certificate may be an official or certified 12 copy; 13 (2) social security card; 14 (3) health insurance information; 15 (4) medical records; 16 (5) driver's license or identification card; and 17 (6) certificate of degree of Indian or Alaska Native blood, if 18 applicable. 19 * Sec. 21. AS 47.32.032 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 20 (c) To the extent feasible, the department shall approve or deny a foster care 21 home license, including a request for a variance under this section, not more than 45 22 days after the date the department receives the application for a foster care home 23 license. If it is not feasible to approve or deny a foster care home license not more than 24 45 days after receiving the application, a supervisory-level employee may authorize a 25 longer period of time for the decision, but the period must be the shortest period 26 feasible. 27 * Sec. 22. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 28 read: 29 APPLICABILITY. (a) Sections 3, 8 - 10, 12 - 16, 18, and 20 of this Act apply to a 30 child in the custody or under the supervision of the Department of Health and Social Services 31 under AS 47.10 on or after the effective date of secs. 3, 8 - 10, 12 - 16, 18, and 20 of this Act.
01 (b) Sections 4 - 7 and 21 of this Act apply to applications for a license, license 02 renewal, certification, certification renewal, or payment received by the Department of Health 03 and Social Services on or after the effective date of secs. 4 - 7 and 21 of this Act. 04 * Sec. 23. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 05 read: 06 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The Department of Health and Social Services may 07 adopt regulations necessary to implement the changes made by this Act. The regulations take 08 effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the effective date of the 09 law implemented by the regulation. 10 * Sec. 24. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 11 read: 12 TRANSITION: IMPLEMENTATION. The Department of Health and Social Services 13 shall implement all of the provisions of this Act as expeditiously as possible. Notwithstanding 14 this requirement, the Department of Health and Social Services shall, not later than 15 (1) 90 days after the effective date of secs. 8 - 10 and 13 - 15 of this Act, 16 implement the changes made by AS 47.10.080(s), as amended by sec. 8 of this Act, 17 AS 47.10.084(d), enacted by sec. 9 of this Act, AS 47.10.086(h), enacted by sec. 10 of this 18 Act, AS 47.10.142(i), as amended by sec. 13 of this Act, AS 47.14.100(e), as amended by sec. 19 14 of this Act, and AS 47.14.100(i), as amended by sec. 15 of this Act; 20 (2) one year after the effective date of secs. 3 - 7, 12, 16 - 18, 20, and 21 of 21 this Act, implement the changes made by AS 47.05.065, as amended by sec. 3 of this Act, 22 AS 47.05.310(c), as amended by sec. 4 of this Act, AS 47.05.310(i), as amended by sec. 5 of 23 this Act, AS 47.05.310(k), as amended by sec. 6 of this Act, AS 47.05.310(l), enacted by sec. 24 7 of this Act, AS 47.10.093(b), as amended by sec. 12 of this Act, AS 47.14.100(r), as 25 amended by sec. 16 of this Act, AS 47.14.112(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3)(A), and (b), enacted by sec. 26 17 of this Act, AS 47.14.115(b), enacted by sec. 18 of this Act, AS 47.18.320(d), enacted by 27 sec. 20 of this Act, and AS 47.32.032(c), enacted by sec. 21 of this Act; 28 (3) two years after the effective date of sec. 17 of this Act, implement the 29 changes made by AS 47.14.112(a)(3)(B) and (a)(4), enacted by sec. 17 of this Act. 30 * Sec. 25. Section 23 of this Act takes effect immediately under AS 01.10.070(c).