Legislature(2019 - 2020)CAPITOL 106
03/26/2019 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB22 | |
| HB29 | |
| HB97 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 22 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 29 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 86 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| *+ | HB 97 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 22-EXTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL
3:05:48 PM
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the first order of business
would be HOUSE BILL NO. 22, "An Act extending the termination
date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing
for an effective date."
3:06:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR introduced HB 22, as the sponsor of the
bill, and stated that the proposed bill was more than simply an
extension for the termination date of the Statewide Suicide
Prevention Council. She pointed to the recent 2019 Alaska
statistics for suicide prevention which indicated that one
person died by suicide every 44 hours. She reported that this
was the fifth leading cause of death in Alaska, while being the
leading cause of death in ages 15 - 24. She added that Alaska
was second in the nation with suicide deaths per capita. She
pointed to an increase in the recent rate of suicide, declaring
that this was an impact upon too many Alaskans. She emphasized
the need for a Suicide Prevention Council, and that even more
needed to be done. She pointed to the 20,976 calls during 2018
to the CARE line, an annual increase of almost 30 percent. She
reported that the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council was
comprised of 14 individuals, which included 4 legislators, as
non-voting members.
3:10:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR paraphrased from the sponsor statement
[Included in members' packets][original punctuation provided],
which read:
House Bill 22 would extend the termination date of the
Statewide Suicide Prevention Council to 2027, ensuring
another eight years of support for suicide prevention
efforts in Alaska. The Council would otherwise be
terminated on June 30, 2019. According to the Alaska
Department of Health and Social Services Section of
Epidemiology, the suicide rate in Alaska increased by
13 percent between 2012 and 2017, making suicide the
leading cause of death for Alaskans between the ages
of 10 and 64. As a matter of public health, the state
has a responsibility to address this disturbing trend
and must actively continue to pursue strategies to
prevent suicide in Alaska. The Statewide Suicide
Prevention Council was created in 2001 and consists of
14 public and private members, including four state
legislators. Under AS 44.39.350, the Council is
statutorily responsible for: ? Advising legislators
and the Governor on ways to improve Alaskans' health
and wellness by reducing suicide; ? Improving public
awareness of suicide and risk factors; ? Enhancing
suicide prevention efforts; ? Working with partners
and faith-based organizations to develop healthier
communities; ? Creating a statewide suicide prevention
plan and putting it in action; and ? Building and
strengthening partnerships to prevent suicide. The
Council holds public meetings, publishes a 5-Year
State Suicide Prevention Plan, and works with schools
and community groups to provide resources that educate
Alaskans on how to prevent suicide. Last year, the
Council partnered with the Alaska Community Foundation
and Alaska Children's Trust to continue the GCI
Suicide Prevention Grant Program. Nine grants were
funded in 2017 across the state, totaling $100,000.
The Council also helped secure funding for a 5-year
grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to
create the Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for
Resilience Research, which will help Alaska Native
communities share knowledge, guide research, and
identify culturally-relevant suicide prevention
strategies in rural Alaska. Terminating the Statewide
Suicide Prevention Council would jeopardize the
state's efforts at addressing this heartbreaking, but
preventable, issue. I respectfully ask for your
support of HB 22 this year.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR pointed out that there was a recommendation
by the Legislative Audit Division to extend the council for
eight years. She directed attention to the fiscal note, labeled
OMB Component Number 2651 [Included in members' packets] and
explained that this included not only the expenditures for
staffing, but the bulk was directed for grants to the Department
of Education and Early Development. She concluded and pointed
to the checklists [Included in members' packets] for families,
communities, and individuals which offered ways to make a
difference for Alaskans impacted by suicide.
3:15:16 PM
REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON asked if the $648,000 requested on the
fiscal note was an annual request.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR replied, "that's true, yes." She directed
attention to the grants and benefits line, noting that this was
the bulk of the requested funding and that it was for "really,
really important work in the schools."
REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON expressed her concern that this money be
directed toward education, but instead be directed toward mental
services. She offered her belief that investment through the
schools may not be the best place to funnel the money as it may
be the "last place young people want to talk about it because
they will feel ridicule." She declared the need to shift the
perspective as the suicide numbers were not coming down. She
stated her support for the proposed bill and added that she
would be a member of the council.
3:18:32 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said that she would follow up with her and
explained that there was now an understanding for "the trauma
informed approach" to be effective. She noted that some of the
materials had been developed for educators. She acknowledged
that although the program infrastructure appeared to be the
same, the actual work completed through these grants was now
very relevant and based on what was currently understood as the
best practices. She expressed her hope that this was the best
and most effective use of the dollars.
REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON replied that she would wait to hear from
the various organizations.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered that there could be responses from
the testifiers directed toward her concerns.
3:20:28 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared his agreement with the expansion to
an eight-year renewal, noting that there was a cost to the
shorter time frames.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR replied that the issues facing the council
were very challenging and took time and generational change.
3:21:41 PM
LINDA DAY, Audit Manager, Legislative Audit Division,
Legislative Agencies and Offices, directed attention to the
sunset audit of the Suicide Prevention Council [Included in
members' packets] dated August 3, 2018. She explained that the
purpose of a sunset audit was to determine whether a board or
commission was serving the public interest and whether it should
be extended. She declared that the Statewide Suicide Prevention
Council was authorized by statute to serve in an advisor
capacity to the Alaska State Legislature and the governor
regarding suicide awareness and prevention. She reported that
it had been found that overall the council operated in the
public's interest by actively broadening the public's awareness
of suicide prevention and coordinating the efforts of other
suicide prevention entities which included state agencies,
regional groups, coalitions, and local communities. She added
that the council had fulfilled its statutory duty by issuing the
2018 - 2022 Suicide Prevention plan while working closely with
the stakeholders to add and refine the plan's strategies,
resources, and indicators. She directed attention to page 4 of
the audit which listed the schedule of expenditures and funding
sources. She noted that the council was funded by general fund
appropriations for about $650,000 in FY18, with the majority of
its expenditures for suicide awareness prevention programs with
the Department of Education and Early Development. She pointed
to pages 9 - 10 of the audit which listed a detailed list of the
council activities, and she shared two administrative
recommendations. On page 12, it was recommended that the
executive director develop and implement procedures to ensure
that public notice for the meetings was published accurately and
in a timely manner. Also, on page 12, it was recommended that
the chair of the council develop and implement written
procedures to ensure performance evaluations were completed
annually for the executive director, as this was required in
statute. She concluded by stating that the division recommended
an extension for the council termination date of eight years.
3:25:50 PM
BEVERLY SCHOONOVER, Acting Executive Director, Statewide Suicide
Prevention Council, Division of Behavioral Health, Department of
Health and Social Services, reported that she had only been
acting executive director for two months.
3:26:50 PM
BARBARA FRANKS, Chairperson, Statewide Suicide Prevention
Council, shared her personal story as a mother of a child who
died by suicide. She noted that she had travelled more than
700,000 miles in Alaska for trainings to teach the signs for how
to help someone. She reported that there had been 2,224,408
calls to the national helpline in 2018.
3:31:09 PM
CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ thanked Ms. Franks for sharing her personal
experience, stating how important this was, and she shared her
own personal experiences with suicide. She pointed out the
difficulty for knowing what to say to someone impacted by a
suicide and the need for honest, transparent conversations about
suicide as the way to address the issue over the long term.
3:32:55 PM
NICOLE BORROMEO, Executive Vice President and General Council,
Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), stated the support of AFN
for three main reasons: Alaska Natives and American Indians are
the only ethnic populations specifically listed as at-risk for
suicide by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. Since suicide disproportionately affects Alaska
Natives and American Indians, the suicide prevention council
connects the public to state government resources, raises
awareness, increases outreach, and helps secure funding for
projects and programs that help our communities develop
community and culturally relevant programs to build our
collective resilience. She stated support of continuation of
the council and support to the Alaska Native Health Board's
efforts to expand the membership of the council to include a
subject matter expert in prevention who has experience working
in the tribal health care system. Finally, AFN was supportive
of HB 22 because the council promoted community wellness and
used the most current data and research to inform its upstream
approach. She stated that there had been too many instances
where suicide had reached epidemic levels throughout Alaska and
that all Alaskans needed to know that suicide was preventable.
3:35:12 PM
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened public testimony.
3:35:40 PM
BRENDA MOORE, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, reported
that she was the representative to the council from the Alaska
Mental Health Board. She stated that prevention was primarily
about reducing risk and building resilience and that the council
worked to coordinate, advocate, and educate. She relayed that
the grants were for primary prevention and had touched the lives
of more than 200,000 people. These learning modules allowed the
public to understand the signs and symptoms of suicide, and the
impacts of toxic stress and trauma that create a greater risk
for suicide. She explained that a key role for the council was
to coordinate among the various local groups. She cautioned
that there were other chronic illnesses that also needed
prevention. She declared that it was necessary to develop
resiliency and deal with trauma and toxic stress, hence the need
to start with youth. She emphasized that the work with
Department of Education and Early Development was key to
addressing primary prevention.
3:41:10 PM
SAM TRIVETTE, Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition, said that
there had been a suicide death in Juneau today and shared a
personal experience with suicide. He stated his support for HB
22. He said that there had been progress made in many areas
around the state, pointing out that, as the CARE line calls had
dramatically increased, people were willing to call and connect
with experts. He offered his belief that the programs in the
schools had "opened up kids, they understand the signs of
suicide" and that there were programs that dealt with sources of
strength and resilience. He reported that several hospitals and
clinics were screening for suicide prevention. He added that
the council was developing new programs that were extremely
effective and would become best practices.
3:46:01 PM
MONIQUE ANDREWS, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, stated
that she was a member of the Alaska Army National Guard and she
shared how the suicide prevention efforts were working in the
military. She reported that the increase of suicides in Alaska
was on par with the national and the military increase. She
said that although there were a multitude of variables
contributing to the increase, the efforts for prevention
intervention were not in vain. She pointed out that most
military recruiters were working with 15 - 24-year olds, which
was the most vulnerable group as they were still physically and
emotionally developing. This was also the highest group for
suicide. She stated that the Suicide Prevention Council worked
in the schools with this age group to teach skills of resiliency
and effective communication, and that these skills were taken
with them into the military. She pointed out how stressful it
was for these young people in the military and the need for
these skills. She spoke about the perceptions of prevention, as
many people thought that prevention was solely intervention.
She declared that prevention happened even before a crisis,
while there were still other options and resources available,
and that the council provided an avenue to connect with these
resources.
3:52:25 PM
KRISTINA JAGER shared her personal story as a survivor of
suicide and that she had worked in the mental health field with
individuals in crisis for the past seven years. She relayed
that the council gave hope and provided a consolidated,
concerted, strategic plan to "recast the net upstream" as
primary prevention was the key. She stated the importance of
getting to youth before the at-risk period of their lives so
they would have the necessary coping and resilience skills. She
declared that it was crucial to continue to provide the grant
funding to the Department of Education and Early Development for
primary prevention. She stated support for HB 22.
3:55:31 PM
PATTY OWEN, Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA), stated
support for extension of the council until 2027 and she read
from a prepared statement [original punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA) is a non-
profit membership organization with over 150 health
members dedicated to improving the health and well-
being for all Alaskans. ALPHA is also the state
affiliate of the American Public Health Association.
ALPHA strongly supports HB 22, to extend Alaska's
Statewide Suicide Prevention Council to June 30, 2027.
As outlined in Alaska Statute 44.29.350, the functions
of the Council are necessary to improve health and
wellness throughout the state by reducing suicide and
its effects on individuals, families and communities.
The Statewide Suicide Council has done a remarkable
job of raising awareness; coordinating and improving
statewide prevention programs and resources;
collaborating with national, state and local
stakeholders and resources; and developing, updating,
and implementing statewide prevention plans.
Reducing suicide rates in Alaska has been one of the
goals of the State's Healthy Alaskans 2020 and is also
a priority of ALPHA. Unfortunately, despite best
efforts, suicide rates in Alaska remain high and still
much higher than the national average.
It is crucial that the Statewide Suicide Council
continue its work and remain the primary entity in
Alaska for Alaska's collective approach to preventing
suicide.
3:57:31 PM
CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY closed public testimony.
[HB 22 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB022 Supporting Document-Letter of Support from American Foundation for Suicide Prevention - Alaska Chapter 03.07.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB022 Supporting Document-Letter of Support from Suicide Prevention Council 2.25.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB022 Fiscal Note DHSS-SPC-3.22.2019.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB022 Supporting Document-Letter of Support from NAMI Alaska 3.6.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB022 Sponsor Statement 03.15.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB022 Supporting Document Legislative Audit of Suicide Prevention Council 3.6.2019.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 22 |
| HB029 Sectional Analysis ver A 2.25.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB029 Sponsor Statement 2.25.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM SHSS 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB029 Supporting Document-Letter of Support 2.25.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM SHSS 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB029 Fiscal Note DCCED-DOI 3.22.2019.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM SHSS 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB029 Letter of Support Moda Health 03.25.2019.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM SHSS 2/19/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB029 Presentation 03.25.2019.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM SHSS 2/14/2020 1:30:00 PM |
HB 29 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document AK State Medical Bd Roster.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document AAPA general overview.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document AK State Medical Bd PA scope of practice.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document DEA Drug Schedules.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document HRSA -HPSA Underserved Primary Care Areas.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document Medically Underserved Areas HRSA.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document PA guidelines AK State Medical Bd.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Supporting Document PA Prescriptive Authority (AAC).pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB097 Draft Proposed Blank CS ver M 3.21.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB097 Fiscal Note DCCED-CBPL-3.22.19.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB097 Supporting Document Letters of Support for companion legislation SB44.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM HL&C 4/15/2019 3:15:00 PM SFIN 4/9/2019 9:00:00 AM |
HB 97 SB 44 |
| HB0097 Sectional.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |
| HB0097 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
HHSS 3/26/2019 3:00:00 PM HHSS 3/28/2019 3:00:00 PM |
HB 97 |