Legislature(2021 - 2022)BUTROVICH 205
03/09/2021 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing (s) | |
| SB91 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 91 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 91-DETENTION OF MINORS
1:51:06 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SENATE BILL NO. 91, "An Act relating to the
duties of the commissioner of corrections; relating to the
detention of minors; relating to minors subject to adult courts;
relating to the placement of minors in adult correctional
facilities; and providing for an effective date." He stated his
intent to hear an overview of the bill and hear public
testimony. He invited Director Dompeling to introduce the bill.
1:51:57 PM
TRACY DOMPELING, Director, Division of Juvenile Justice,
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), Juneau, Alaska,
said that SB 91 will bring Alaska into compliance with recent
changes to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
(JJDPA). The JJDPA was first enacted in 1974 and recently
reauthorized in 2018. The JJDPA is the primary piece of federal
legislation that guides juvenile justice practices around the
country. Alaska's Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) lack of
compliance with the JJDPA will lead to grant penalties with the
division's major federal grants.
MS. DOMPELING said that SB 91 makes two changes in statute that
will help bring the state into compliance. First, it will
require that minors who have been waived into the adult criminal
justice system be held in juvenile facilities until they reach
the age of 18. Currently minors who are subject to autowaivers
or discretionary waivers statutes are held in adult jails and
correctional facilities in the state of Alaska. Second, the bill
expands the court findings that are necessary for a
nondelinquent minor to be held temporarily in a secure juvenile
facility. The bill is limited in scope and intentionally has no
impact on the crimes or sentences of minors who are subject to
waiver into the adult justice system, nor will the bill have any
net fiscal impact.
MS. DOMPELING said if implemented, the bill will improve the
conditions of confinement for minors who are currently held in
adult facilities. Minors who are being held in Department of
Corrections (DOC) facilities are usually difficult to manage
there and are often held in segregation units. The bill will
require the Department of Corrections and the Department of
Health and Social Services (DHSS) to develop agreements about
how to hold minors in DOC custody in juvenile facilities. Data
provided last year by DOC identified six youth total in DOC
facilities under the age of 18, so it is a small number of
youth.
1:54:22 PM
MS. DOMPELING said the second change in the bill deals with
limited circumstances under which nondelinquent minors may be
held temporarily in secure juvenile justice facilities pending
another placement. These situations are very rare. They
generally involve minors in the custody of the Office of
Children's Services (OCS) who are chronic runaways from
placement and put themselves in dangerous situations. In those
circumstances the state seeks a court finding under the existing
statute, AS 47.10.141, that allows these youth to be held
securely for a short period of time, pending placement in
another, nonsecure setting. The new federal JJDPA expands the
court findings necessary to hold those minors and further limits
the duration of a secure hold. These are very rare cases. During
the last three fiscal years, there were three youth held in DJJ
facilities under these types of circumstances each year. DJJ
appreciates the governor's support on this important legislation
and the cooperation of the Department of Corrections, Department
of Public Safety, and Department of Law with the development of
this proposal. Since the introduction, the division has received
good feedback from the court system and other stakeholders that
the division hopes to address during the process.
1:56:01 PM
MATT DAVIDSON, Social Services Program Officer, Division of
Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Social Services
(DHSS), Juneau, Alaska, said that SB 91 is a tightly tailored
bill. The three major elements are a minor amendment to DOC
statute, and two sections that address child protection statute,
and then the rest of the bill is mostly conforming changes to
delinquency statutes to allow the division to handle minors who
aren't generally delinquents but are considered to be part of
the adult court system, not the delinquency system. He presented
the sectional analysis:
Section 1: Amends AS 33.30.011(a) Duties of
commissioner to expand the duties of the Commissioner
of the Department of Corrections to enter into
agreements with the Department of Health and Social
Services for the detention and care of minors who are
waived into the adult criminal justice system.
MR. DAVIDSON said Sections 2 and 3 deal with nondelinquent
minors and expands the court findings limits on when
nondelinquents can be held in secure juvenile facilities.
Section 2: Amends AS 47.10.141(c) Runaway and missing
minors to reference a new subsection that adds new
requirements for court findings related to holding
non-delinquent minors in secure juvenile facilities.
Section 3: Amends AS 47.10.141 Runaway and missing
minors to add a new subsection to include expanded
requirements for court findings before a non-
delinquent minor can be held in a secure juvenile
facility.
Section 4: Amends AS 47.12.020 Jurisdiction to add a
new subsection related to the jurisdiction of the
Division of Juvenile Justice to detain and care for
minors under Department of Corrections custody.
Section 5: Amends AS 47.12.022 Applicability;
inclusion of certain persons as minors to make
conforming amendments to include minors subject to the
adult court processes in the definition of "minor" in
delinquency statute.
Section 6: Amends AS 47.12.030(a) Provisions
inapplicable to add a reference to the "autowaiver"
statute the new practice of holding minors subject to
adult court proceedings in secure juvenile facilities.
The section also includes the term "transported" to
the adult processes that apply to waived minors to
reflect current practices.
Section 7: Amends AS 47.12.100(a) Waiver of
jurisdiction to add a reference to the "discretionary
waiver" statute the new practice of holding of minor
offenders subject to adult court proceedings in secure
juvenile facilities. The section also includes the
list of adult court practices that apply to these
offenders.
1:58:35 PM
MR. DAVIDSON said the meat of the bill and what receives the
most attention is Section 8, which deals with minors who have
been waived to adult court and the duty to hold them in juvenile
facilities until age 18. The section also includes the limited
circumstances and processes under which the department would
seek a waiver from rule. These cases will be rare. The division
believes it can handle most of these minors in its facilities
until they are 18. The exceptions to the rule were allowed under
the federal act and included in this bill.
Section 8: Adds a new section 47.12.105 Minor
offenders subject to adult court to describe the
process, requirement, and exceptions for holding minor
offenders in the custody of the Department of
Corrections in secure Division of Juvenile Justice
facilities until age 18. This section also describes
the court process and findings that may allow for
minors to be held in adult facilities in certain
circumstances.
Section 9: Amends AS 47.12.150(a) Legal custody,
guardianship, and residual parental rights and
responsibilities to make conforming changes to clarify
that minors in the custody of the Department of
Corrections detained in Division of Juvenile Justice
facilities are subject to the same residual parental
rights as other minor offenders.
Section 10: Amends AS 47.12.160(e) Retention of
jurisdiction over minor to make conforming changes to
the dual sentencing provisions.
Section 11: Amends AS 47.12.240(a) Detention of minors
to make conforming changes.
1:59:44 PM
MR. DAVIDSON said that most of 47.12 deals with delinquent
minors. These minors are not considered delinquent. They are
subject to adult court processes, and they will be temporarily
held in DJJ facilities until their 18th birthday. The division
felt it was important to recognize that throughout the
delinquency statute. This is a special class of minors that
hasn't been considered except for in the waiver statute.
Sections 12-13: Amends AS 47.12.250(a) Temporary
Detention and Detention Hearing to make conforming
changes.
Section 14: Amends AS 47.12.310(a) Agency Records to
apply the same confidentiality requirements for
information about waived minors as other minors served
by the Division of Juvenile Justice, unless otherwise
allowed by statute.
MR. DAVIDSON said information will be shared with DOC because
the minors will be turned over to DOC custody after they turn
18.
Section 15: Amends AS 47.12.310(b) Agency Records to
specifically allow information sharing between the
Division of Juvenile Justice and the Department of
Corrections about former juvenile offenders and minors
in DOC custody held in secure juvenile facilities
until age 18.
Section 16: Repeals sections for conforming purposes.
Section 17: Applicability clause applies to minors in
Department of Corrections custody on or after the
effective date.
Section 18: Revisor's instructions.
Section 19: Special effective date clause. This Act
takes effect on July 1, 2021.
MR. DAVIDSON said the effective data of July 1, 2021, will help
the division be in compliance with federal law.
2:02:09 PM
CHAIR WILSON clarified that regarding Section 3 and runaway and
missing minors, Mr. Davidson said that applies to a low number
of minors. Chair Wilson asked if that is because of DJJ
nonsecure, 24-hour holds in various communities.
MS. DOMPELING replied that the division has those options for
secure holds, but these are special, high-needs youth in OCS.
OCS can place them in a nonsecure setting anyway with or without
the nonattendant shelter bed. These are kids who will not remain
in a placement. This gives OCS a limited time to keep them in a
safe place until OCS finds a new option for them.
CHAIR WILSON asked how many children this would apply to. He
asked about the possibility of getting a five-to-ten year
lookback at how many children went through the autowaiver and
discretionary waiver.
MS. DOMPELING said she will try to give him some good numbers.
DOC would provide the best numbers about how many people were
held. The issue with being able to provide numbers of total
youth charged as adults is that it is not necessarily in DJJ's
management information system. In the past, when DJJ was looking
at this issue, it was a combination of court records, juvenile
justice records, and some coordination with DOC.
CHAIR WILSON said he wanted the best guesstimate about how many
youth might be in these circumstances. That information could be
helpful to the committee.
2:04:51 PM
SENATOR REINBOLD noted that the bill was introduced on February
22 and the fiscal notes were ready. She has not seen that in
recent days. She liked that the bill is trying to honor and
respect parental rights. If she understands this bill correctly,
the division basically wants youth in youth facilities. One
facility is unfinished at this time. She asked if that is an
issue or is the bill just about conforming to a law at the
federal level.
MS. DOMPELING replied that it is just about conforming at the
federal level.
SENATOR REINBOLD said that the division had said something about
protecting the privacy of patients, the juveniles. She asked if
the division has to comply with HIPAA (Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act) or do the minors lose those
rights in these facilities.
MS. DOMPELING answered the division does have to comply with
HIPAA.
SENATOR REINBOLD asked what type of federal grants would be lost
without the changes in the bill.
MS. DOMPELING replied that it specifically impacts the
division's Title II grant. In federal FY20, that grant was
$424,752. When a state is not in compliances with one of the
core mandates from JJDPA, the state receives a penalty of
$20,000 off the top. For Alaska, that is about $85,000. The
state is required to use 50 percent of the remaining grant award
to get into compliance with that particular core mandate, so the
state would then be required to use $170,000 to get in
compliance. One of the concerns about the grant is that the
division is very general fund heavy. This is a small portion of
the division's grant funds, but what the division can do with
the grant funds is what it cannot do with other funds, which is
prevention activities to hopefully keep kids out of detention
units. The grant also supports nonattendant care shelter bed
grants for placement of youth who may have committed a crime
that don't necessarily meet the statutory requirement to be in
detention. It keeps those lower-risk youth out of detention
facilities with less restrictive alternatives. The concern is
that the little bit the division can do for prevention
activities will impact the state if the division cannot do that.
2:09:02 PM
SENATOR REINBOLD said she wants to make sure that this has
nothing to do with the executive branch mandates regarding
COVID. She needs to make sure of that because she wants to
protect constitutional liberties, even among detained youth.
Those detained now should have the ability to see their
families. She noted that the the sectional analysis was well
done.
CHAIR WILSON said he also appreciates people who do not just
read the sectional analysis.
MS. DOMPELING replied that there is no involvement with COVID.
The reauthorization occurred in December of 2018. The division
knew this change would need to be made.
2:10:31 PM
SENATOR HUGHES shared that this is a new area for her. She
understands the main idea is to get into compliance with the
federal requirements. She asked if there is anything in the bill
that is not related to compliance with the federal law.
MR. DAVIDSON answered that DJJ has another bill that is the
omnibus, fix-the-statute bill. That is SB 99. The Senate has two
juvenile justice bills this year. This bill is closely tailored
just to bring DJJ into compliance. The reason for the number of
sections is just to fix delinquency statutes to allow for the
holding of nondelinquents in DJJ facilities and allow the
division to manage them appropriately.
SENATOR HUGHES said that Ms. Dompeling mentioned that the bill
will limit the temporary holding of nondelinquents, the
runaways, to up to seven days. She asked what the hold times
have been in the past for nondelinquent youth.
MS. DOMPELING answered that in federal FY20, with the three
instances of youth being held, one was 25 hours, another was 50
hours, and another was 40. In federal FY19, one was 24, a second
24, and another was 40. In federal FY18, one was 25 hours, one
was 74 hours, and one was 761 hours.
SENATOR HUGHES observed that it seemed that the division will
not have too much trouble complying. Without a limit, it doesn't
push anyone to resolve the problem as quickly. She is glad to
hear that it seems the division was pushing to get the minors
into a better arrangement.
2:13:44 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said that the JJDPA was amended by the Juvenile
Justice Reform Act in 2018. These seem to be comporting
elements. There doesn't seem to be much else in here except for
one exception. On page 7, line 22, in the new subsection that
Mr. Davidson said would cause the most questions, it says, "A
minor shall be transferred to a facility operated by the
Department of Corrections when the minor turns 18 years of age."
When a minor turns 18 under current state law, the minor can
chose to stay in DJJ custody until the age of 20. That is
because of the services that can be provided to a minor until
the age of 20. Those services are limited in the adult
correction system. When minors finish their sentences, they come
back into the community. The state wants to do its best to
rehabilitate them. He asked if it is is federal law that it says
"a minor shall be transferred" and if it is required, does that
negate the minor's ability to stay in the DJJ jurisdiction up to
20.
MS. DOMPELING replied that she does not believe that it requires
the division to move a juvenile at age 18. She may need to get
back on the specifics of that.
2:16:12 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said the words in the bill are "A minor shall be
transferred to a facility operated by the Department of
Corrections when the minor turns 18 years of age." That is very
specific to an age and specific to shall language. That is why
he is concerned. It takes the division ability to work with a
minor until the age of 20 away.
MR. DAVIDSON said that section as drafted has caused confusion.
The intent is a minor subject to this section. In the other body
that was flagged and the division is working to fix that. The
intent is not to change of the age of DJJ jurisdiction. This is
just for minors who are subject to waiver and who will be
transferred from a DJJ facility to a DOC facility at age 18. It
is only for the minors waived to the adult court. They will be
held in DOC facilities starting at age 18. It is not delinquent
minors who are covered by delinquency statutes.
SENATOR BEGICH said it sounds like that language needs to be
amended. He asked if the chair would object to Senator Begich
working with DJJ on the language that may be needed there.
CHAIR WILSON asked if the department has language ready for an
amendment for consideration by the committee.
MR. DAVIDSON replied yes. The division has an amendment that has
been drafted by Legislative Legal that will be under
consideration tomorrow in the other body.
CHAIR WILSON asked him to please forward that to his office to
be shared with committee members.
2:18:38 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said that page 8, lines 16 and 17, has the
opposite problem. He didn't think the phrase "minor expressly
waives this limitation" is in federal law. If it is, if minors
are in an adult correctional system and are making the choice to
expressly waive the ability to be removed from the adult system,
the bill is giving them the power to do so. A minor exposed to
the correctional system and choosing to stay in the correctional
system, which has far fewer opportunities for reform or
reformation or other kinds of things to improve lives, that
decision by virtue of the nature of the jurisdiction might not
be the healthiest choice made by a minor. He asked if "minor
expressly waives this limitation" is part of federal law or is
it a policy change that doesn't need to be there.
MR. DAVIDSON responded that language about exceptions to those
rules in Section 9 is from the federal law. Page 8, line 14, is
a minor that the department has requested be moved to an adult
facility rather than a juvenile facility and a court has made a
finding every 30 days that the minor should remain in an adult
facility and not be moved to a juvenile facility. This is
someone subject to the autowaiver who is 16 or 17. The federal
law says that at 180 days, a judge must make another finding and
must have good cause for an extension and the minor must agree
to that exception and remain in an adult facility. The division
mirrored that federal language in the bill. The 180 days and the
court process every 30 days is required by the act. The division
could remove the allowance for beyond 180 days and be more
stringent about minors held in adult facilities, but having the
expressly waived language would be required if the bill allowed
for extensions beyond 180 days.
SENATOR BEGICH said Mr. Davidson described it in a way that
makes Senator Begich more comfortable with it. Mr. Davidson said
the extension requires both the judge and the minor to agree to
it.
MR. DAVIDSON replied that that was his understanding.
SENATOR BEGICH said to let him think about the language and make
sure it does what Mr. Davidson says it does. He thinks that that
is right, but he needs to think about that for a little bit.
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the word "or" on line 16 should be the
word "and."
SENATOR BEGICH said that she might be right. He will report back
to the chair about his thoughts on that. When the Juvenile
Justice Reform Act passed, it wasn't only changing the laws
reflected in this bill. There are other elements he hopes the
committee will have an opportunity to talk about regarding the
division progress. He is encouraged to see this bill. The DJJ
has done a great job capturing what the federal act intended to
do. He looks forward to moving this out of committee.
2:24:33 PM
SENATOR HUGHES said to go back to page 8, she asked why a minor
would be waiving that limitation and not a parent or guardian.
MS. DOMPELING responded that is a good question. This is from
federal language. That is something to consider. In that Section
2, lines 14-16, she sees that 180 days is six months that the
department has gone back to court to discuss findings for that
juvenile to still be held in an adult facility and not count as
a penalty toward Alaska. She sees that as a little bit of a
reprieve for the court. If the behaviors and reasons are still
in existence for six months, does there need to be a hearing
every 30 days from that point. Everyone is hopeful that this
will not happen often. She and Mr. Davidson have said in the
past that with the skills of staff working with adolescents,
that they are able to manage most of these kids. When the
division worked with Oregon Youth Authority in March, she asked
them about how they handle this. They said this section is a
relief valve. In certain circumstances, Oregon has had youth in
its system who were unable to be managed in the juvenile
detention milieu and Oregon needed the relief to move that youth
to an adult correctional facility. She sees this as a little bit
of reprieve for the court after six months of going back and
hearing the same evidentiary hearing about why the youth should
remain in the adult system. That is a good question about the
parent and whether the parent or minor can consent.
SENATOR HUGHES said that to go back to page 7, about the 18-
year-old "shall be," and that would only apply to offenders
subject to adult court. She is assuming that these crimes the
youth committed are severe yet at the same time they are young
and will have life left to live when released after 20-30 years.
She believes that when those offenders are released, the
legislature wants to make sure that they are in the best shape
possible so that communities are safer when they get out. She is
concerned about these offenders who have committed serious
crimes and tried in adult court. Now they will be without
juvenile services. She would hope that DOC would have
opportunities for inmates to have an education and opportunities
in the adult system to make up for what they would receive in
the juvenile system. She asked if there has been any discussion
of that because these youth will be back on the street. If the
state can give them the opportunity to turn their lives around,
the state needs to do it so they won't recommit crimes.
MS. DOMPELING said that she cannot speak for the Department of
Corrections. There is an alternative school in Anchorage called
New Path High School. The principal at the McLaughlin Youth
Center oversees both schools. That is available to individuals
up to their 24th birthday. There are educational opportunities
available with DOC up to age 24.
SENATOR HUGHES asked if there are statutes requiring services be
provided to juveniles up to age 20.
MS. DOMPELING replied that is required by statute for youth who
fall under the delinquency statute. It is not for the automatic
waiver youth. DJJ is responsible for the care of those
individuals in their secure facilities. That includes education.
SENATOR HUGHES asked if the committee could get a list of the
services that DJJ must provide.
CHAIR WILSON asked Ms. Dompeling to provide that to his office
so he would distribute that to committee members.
MS. DOMPELING answered that she would.
CHAIR WILSON asked Ms. Meade for any comments about Section 8.
2:31:15 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Alaska Court System, Juneau,
Alaska, said the court system has been discussing provisions and
some changes may be coming to the committee. DJJ has been
responsive to the court's concerns. She will continue to work
with the division on a couple of other minor changes that would
be helpful to the court system.
CHAIR WILSON asked if other than that amendment for Section 8 if
any other amendments or concerns will come to the committee.
MR. DAVIDSON answered that in the other body and with Ms.
Meade's help, a drafting error was identified in Section 2. He
will provide that to the committee at the same time as the
Section 8 amendment.
SENATOR BEGICH shared that he found in his paperwork that the
JJDPA, pages 26 and 27, has that section word-for-word. As Mr.
Davidson said earlier, it is literally word-for-word the same,
with the exception of "juvenile" and "minor" being interspersed.
DJJ may be required to have this exact language, including the
"or" clause and 180 days and all those things. His sister was
the former Anchorage School District principal of McLaughlin and
New Path and two other alternative facilities. There are some
minimal services provided. Spring Creek Correctional Center
segregates the younger population and that population has access
to GED and other resources until age 24 and then they are put in
general population.
2:34:51 PM
CHAIR WILSON opened public testimony.
2:35:06 PM
AMY GORN, Chair, Alaska Juvenile Advisory Committee, Wasilla,
Alaska, said that the Alaska Juvenile Advisory Committee (AJAC)
is the state advisory group through the Juvenile Justice
Delinquency and Prevention Act. State advisory groups guide the
compliance of JJDPA for core mandates. AJAC also supports
reducing and preventing juvenile crime while ensuring that
Alaska youth are provided meaningful opportunities to succeed.
DJJ is in compliance with the critical requirements with the
federal legislation. SB 91 is addressing an update to one of
these core mandates. The sight and sound separation of juvenile
and adult offenders must now include youth awaiting trial as
adults. The JJDPA was reauthorized by Congress in 2018. It is
important to AJAC that Alaska remain in compliance with federal
legislation. The proposed agreement and coordination between DJJ
and DOC as presented in SB 91 will fulfill this requirement and
more importantly, improve the safety of minor offenders, prevent
the segregation of juveniles and their possible isolation, and
may positively impact recidivism as research shows a lower
likelihood of minors reoffending when remaining in juvenile
justice custody. AJAC is in support of SB 91.
2:37:20 PM
CHAIR WILSON closed public testimony.
SENATOR REINBOLD said this is one of the most organized bills
she has seen. The fiscal notes were there. She liked the
presentation of the sectional. They were clear with concerns and
forthcoming amendment. She was impressed.
SENATOR BEGICH said he wanted to echo Senator Reinbold's
comments and he takes enormous pride that he was employed by DJJ
and was chair of AJAC. He could not be prouder of the group of
people working in the division.
2:38:32 PM
CHAIR WILSON said he loves the folks in the Mat-Su. He held SB
91 in committee and will await amendments from the division.
2:39:37 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Wilson adjourned the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting at 2:39 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 91 Transmittal Letter.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 Version 32 GS1576 A.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 Sectional Analysis Version 32 GS1576 A.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 Fiscal Note 1 DPS AST.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 Fiscal Note 2 DHSS DJJ.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB 91 Fiscal Note 3 DOC.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| SB091-JUD-ACS-03-05-2021.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SB 91 |
| HSS_Steve Parker Resume_Redacted.pdf |
SHSS 3/9/2021 1:30:00 PM |
SHSS Governor's Appointees to the State Medical Board |