Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 106
02/18/2010 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation by Ocs Citizen's Review Panel | |
| Presentation on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 18, 2010
3:06 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Bob Herron, Co-Chair
Representative Wes Keller, Co-Chair
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Paul Seaton
Representative Sharon Cissna
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Tammie Wilson, Vice Chair
Representative Lindsey Holmes
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Bettye Davis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION BY OCS CITIZEN'S REVIEW PANEL
- HEARD
PRESENTATION ON FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
SUSAN HEUER, Chair
Citizen Review Panel (CRP)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified and presented a PowerPoint of the
CRP Annual Report.
KRISTIN HULL, Board Member
Citizen Review Panel (CRP)
Wasilla, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the CRP presentation.
TAMMY SANDOVAL, Director
Central Office
Office of Children's Services (OCS)
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in response to the Citizen Review
Panel (CRP).
AMANDA METIVIER, Statewide Coordinator
Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the relationship of OCS and
CRP to FFCA.
DIANE CASTO, Prevention & Early Intervention Manager
Prevention and Early Intervention Section
Division of Behavioral Health
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder (FASD).
LESLIE RANDALL
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the effects of FASD.
STEVE RANDALL
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the effects of FASD.
RENEE LELAND (ph)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the effects of FASD.
MARY BETH MOSS
Hoonah, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about the effects of FASD.
VALERIE SLOANE (ph)
Ketchikan, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified about special education in the
schools.
ACTION NARRATIVE
3:06:54 PM
CO-CHAIR WES KELLER called the House Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:06 p.m.
Representatives Keller, Herron, Cissna, and Seaton were present
at the call to order. Representative Lynn arrived as the
meeting was in progress. Senator Davis was also in attendance.
^Presentation by OCS Citizen's Review Panel
Presentation by OCS Citizen's Review Panel
3:07:24 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER announced that the first order of business would
be a presentation by the OCS Citizen's Review Panel.
CO-CHAIR KELLER reflected on the difficulty of dealing with the
dynamics of anger and substance abuse and its effect on
children. He expressed frustration with knowing the cause, but
struggling for policies to address a solution.
3:09:41 PM
SUSAN HEUER, Chair, Citizen Review Panel (CRP), gave a brief
overview explaining the role of the CRP. She pointed to slide
2, "Mandate," and explained that the Citizen Review Panel (CRP)
was federally and state mandated to evaluate the policies and
procedures of the Office of Children's Services.
3:11:12 PM
MS. HEUER spoke about slide 3, "CRP duties," and explained that
the group went to community partners and obtained feedback on
how the Child Protection Services were being delivered.
3:11:34 PM
MS. HEUER moved to slide 4, "CRP Vision," and explained that the
vision was "to enable OCS to implement their policies and
procedures in a culturally sensitive and consistent manner
across the state." She expressed concern for different OCS
responses to urban areas than for rural and bush areas.
MS. HEUER furnished slide 5, "Current Membership," and stated
that there were currently nine members from many parts of
Alaska.
3:12:48 PM
MS. HEUER skipped to slide 7, "CRP's role in protecting Alaska's
children," and explained that CRP visitations were made to main
hubs and satellite communities in order to gather information
for a site report on the status of child welfare.
MS. HEUER jumped to slide 9, "Where Some of Us Have Been," and
listed the cities CRP had visited.
3:13:54 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON asked for an explanation to the lack of Native
Alaskan representation on the panel.
3:14:27 PM
MS. HEUER replied that there were two Native members. She
described the ongoing effort to include board members from many
different cultures, adding that it was difficult to get rural
Native Alaskan representation.
3:15:16 PM
MS. HEUER said that CRP spoke with any agencies that worked with
children or child protection issues.
MS. HEUER, in response to Co-Chair Keller, said that CRP
scheduled individual appointments ahead of the visit.
3:15:58 PM
MS. HEUER, in response to Representative Seaton, affirmed that
CRP met with child advocacy centers (CACs) in the local
communities and she elaborated that the centers were key
partners with OCS.
3:16:35 PM
KRISTIN HULL, Board Member, Citizen Review Panel (CRP), said
that a result of many appointments were leads for other groups
to speak with.
3:17:08 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER shared that "the secret is community
coalitions."
3:17:26 PM
MS. HEUER clarified that the CRP pressed for more communication
among community partners.
MS. HEUER addressed the five issues of concern for CRP: Bethel;
the creation of Region 5; standardization of recruitment and
retention incentives between state departments; the urban-rural
divide for the delivery of child protection services; and
clarification of funding for the transportation of children to
protective centers.
MS. HEUER announced that Bethel had been in a developing crisis,
and was unable to maintain "a stable population of social
workers in that field office... supervisors and managers." She
reported that workers from Anchorage and Wasilla were
temporarily working in Bethel. She pointed out the
ramifications to the children: reports of harm were not
investigated in a timely manner, follow up services were not
being offered, families were not being unified, and permanency
was not being found. She pointed out that there was not an
active effort to keep cases in courts, and the legal system was
"out of balance." She declared that Bethel was "a symptom of
the whole rural social worker situation in Bush Alaska because
it is so hard to retain workers out there."
3:20:24 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA established that she had seen social
problems tied directly to water, energy, and economic
dysfunction.
MS. HEUER agreed, and shared that Bethel had been in trouble for
a long time. She observed that there was now a gap in the
services which had dealt with many of those issues, including
the protection of children. She declared that Bethel would need
creative solutions, different than the solutions for Anchorage
or Wasilla.
3:22:25 PM
MS. HEUER explained that the Wasilla OCS office already served
13 field offices, and it was too far removed from Bethel and its
surrounding villages. She offered the CRP recommendations for
Bethel: high speed internet; a housing incentive; job
flexibility, which could include job sharing; and she noted that
social workers received no extra benefits, which were needed to
retain good staff.
3:25:15 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON asked if there was subsidized housing in Bethel
for the public defenders, or other state agencies.
MS. HEUER replied that there was subsidized housing in other
rural communities, and that the Division of Alaska State
Troopers received housing in Bethel.
CO-CHAIR HERRON noted that teachers received housing in the
rural villages but not in Bethel. He agreed that there was a
"significant housing complex" for the Division of Alaska State
Troopers in Bethel. He expressed that the opposing view would
be, "if we do this for OCS employees, then do we have to do it
for Corrections, DOT..." He asked if CRP had given any thought
to this.
MS. HEUER stressed that without a change to policy, it would
become more difficult to keep good workers in Bethel. She
emphasized that the "band-aid fix" was more costly than the
subsidizations. She called attention to the need for a stable
workforce to solve the OCS problems in Bethel.
3:27:25 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON noted that Bethel was his hometown, and he
recognized the difficulty of providing services to all the areas
that needed it.
3:28:08 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA, addressing the issue of partnering in
Bethel, opined that "tribal health is a pretty mighty engine."
She declared a need for actively pursuing partnerships, and
suggested that it could be accomplished quickly. She urged the
use of Medicaid money for services to the kids, and observed
that it could generate some fiscal support.
3:29:43 PM
MS. HEUER relayed that the overwhelming request was for support
staff to allow social workers to do social work. In addition,
she declared that supervisors needed to be on-site, not remote.
3:31:24 PM
MS. HEUER moved to the next slide, "Proposed Fifth Region," and
described the four current OCS regions. She pointed to
everything which was run out of the Wasilla office, and declared
that 13 field offices were too many for the Wasilla region. She
compared that the State Troopers had five regions, and she
observed that there was very strong support for the addition of
a fifth region. She informed the committee that the 55 villages
around Bethel had the highest rate of sexual abuse in the state.
MS. HEUER provided the next slide, and she reflected on the need
for standardization of recruitment and retention incentives
among state departments. She explained that different
departments had different means of retention, and she expressed
the need for creative solutions, especially for rural employees.
3:34:36 PM
MS. HEUER offered the next slide, "Urban/Rural/Bush Divide."
She noted that CRP endorsed "the consistent delivery of child
protection services throughout the state." She agreed that OCS
was working to implement new programs to standardize child
protection among the regions. She ascertained that the new
programs were developed and piloted in urban areas, but often
did not work as well in Rural and Bush Alaska, resulting in a
lower quality of child protection for these regions. She
recommended for OCS to collaborate with tribal partners in order
for these programs to be successful. She acknowledged that
there could be some difficulty with federal regulations.
3:36:19 PM
MS. HEUER moved on to the next CRP recommendation: to clarify
the funding responsibility for transportation to Child Advocacy
Centers (CACs). She confirmed that this was a constant "turf
battle," which often resulted in delay and agency conflict, as
the statutory language did not make the designation. In
response to Co-Chair Keller, she said that this conflict was
reported in many rural communities.
3:38:30 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON asked if there was a transportation priority.
MS. HEUER offered her belief that it was usually paid for by the
Division of Alaska State Troopers.
CO-CHAIR HERRON agreed that there needed to be a priority in the
case of a crime being committed.
3:40:02 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON shared that he had visited the CAC in
Homer, and he noted that there was no requirement for the
Division of Alaska State Troopers to utilize the CAC. He
pointed out that the forensic investigation was often done by a
trooper. He opined that this could be a policy issue, more than
a funding issue. He suggested bringing the departments together
to discuss the issues. He mentioned that he had requested a
report from the Department of Law for the frequency of non-
prosecution due to poor forensic investigation by the state
troopers.
CO-CHAIR KELLER pointed out that the Children's Justice Task
Force was also pursuing this.
3:43:57 PM
MS. HEUER described the next slide, "Recent OCS Improvements."
She listed an expansion of training for front line workers, a
new supervisor training program, improvement of the OCS-CRP
partnership, and temporary solutions to the Bethel problems as
improvements. She touted the hard work of the rural OCS staff.
3:45:51 PM
MS. HEUER summarized:
OCS is really struggling to provide adequate child
protection services, in the face of the amount of
child abuse that there is in Alaska. Bethel is the
most blatant example, but it's happening everywhere.
It is the result of an overwhelming demand and
inadequate human and capital resources. They are
doing what they can, but it's not enough. We're going
to have to find a different way to build the system;
to continue to just extend what there is is not the
solution. We've got to design it differently. We've
got to let them train people and then expect them to
stay around for multiple years, so their experience,
they know what to do, they make community partners,
they make tribal partners, and they establish
relationships with families.
3:46:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA offered to join a subcommittee to help.
3:47:18 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER expressed his gratitude to CRP for its work in
the communities.
3:47:48 PM
TAMMY SANDOVAL, Director, Central Office, Office of Children's
Services (OCS), Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
said that OCS was very grateful to the CRP for all its work to
improve the statewide systems. She offered to provide a wider
view to the issues at OCS. She pointed out that a year before,
OCS had just completed the second of the federal Child and
Family Services Reviews (CFSR), which indicated that there were
a number of areas for improvement. She reported that the OCS
Progress Improvement Plan (PIP), a two year federal corrective
action plan within the child welfare system, was approved in
December, 2009. She related the three themes for improvement in
the plan: families' intervention within the system, supervision
and accountability, and strengthening system capacities. She
stressed that OCS could not be the only system for service and
interaction with the family, in order for a successful
intervention. She stated that the PIP was posted on the
Department of Health and Social Services website. She addressed
the CRP recommendation for standardization and shared a "model
of practice" which OCS had developed.
3:52:43 PM
MS. SANDOVAL explained that the practice model was a high level
overview of the five core components within OCS, with a method
for conducting business. [Included in the committee packets.]
She expanded on each of these five components: intake, the
taking of a new call; initial assessment, the assessment of the
family situation; family services, the ongoing intervention;
resource families, the adoptive families; and service array, the
community providers all working together for the same outcome.
MS. SANDOVAL addressed the CRP points, and agreed that Bethel
was a problem. She pointed out that an early problem was the
inability of the bandwidth to allow the discovery and permanency
reports to get to the court. She explained how the bandwidth
problem affected the OCS management information program, ORCA.
She revealed that satellite latency in the rural areas did not
allow the documents to be produced that were required by law.
She reported a short term fix for Bethel was due in 90 days, and
explained that there was a long term fix projected to be online
in 24 months. She projected that this would allow workers to do
their job, and would increase worker retention.
3:58:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON reminded that there were these same
problems with ORCA four years prior, suggesting that it was the
design of the program, and not bandwidth. He recollected that
the program focused on constant communication, and did not allow
a report to be downloaded, worked on, and sent back in. He
offered his belief that ORCA was designed for urban use. He
expressed his frustration with the ORCA program.
4:01:25 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER said that he realized it was big issue, but that
he considered it to be a bandwidth problem.
4:02:13 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON emphasized his belief that the problem was
the ORCA software, not the transmission speed.
4:04:04 PM
MS. SANDOVAL, in response, agreed and stated that continual
program improvements had been made over the last 4 years, but
that she was not sure if this issue had been fixed. She
reflected that this was an opportunity to see if rural service
could be improved. She shared that other departments with web
based applications were experiencing the same issues, and that
this solution was for all the state agencies.
4:06:04 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER summarized this to be a serious issue, but he
recognized the challenges due to the geography of Alaska.
4:07:09 PM
MS. SANDOVAL moved to the second issue of CRP concern: creation
of a fifth region. She reported that OCS was close to a
finalized plan, and she affirmed that the growing population of
the Mat-Su Valley necessitated development for another region.
She shared that there were two line supervisors for Bethel, but
that the shortage of staff had necessitated that both these
leaders also "carry cases." She noted that funding for the new
region would include leadership and management positions to
strengthen community coalitions.
4:09:20 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER asked how this would be done. He affirmed that
the consensus solution was for community coalitions. He stated
his concern for the difficulty of administration at the state
level connecting with a community based organization.
4:10:59 PM
MS. SANDOVAL agreed that OCS was building these coalitions. She
reflected on a recent conference she had attended that included
community stakeholder groups working together. She offered her
belief that, given OCS leadership, this same community
involvement would arise in Bethel. She acknowledged that it was
necessary to build a network around the family.
4:13:35 PM
MS. SANDOVAL moved on to the discussion for standardization of
incentives, though she noted that she did not have anything new
to offer. She emphasized that retention and recruitment was her
primary issue as director of OCS. In 2009, the OCS front line
staff had a 34 percent turnover, and a 20 percent vacancy rate.
She stated that 50 percent of front line staff had been with OCS
for less than two years, and 20 percent had been with OCS less
than one year. She confirmed that this constant retraining
explained a lot of the OCS struggles. She relayed an anecdote
detailing three reasons for the Bethel staffing difficulties:
the moving costs were more than OCS could offer to pay; the cost
of living in Bethel was too high; and, the plane tickets to and
from Bethel were too expensive.
4:17:18 PM
MS. SANDOVAL, in response to Co-Chair Keller, explained the two
classifications for front line worker: social worker, if
licensed and with a degree in social work; and children services
specialist, which required a related four year degree, or "many,
many years of experience in doing OCS work in the past and
moving through the system."
4:18:04 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER asked about recruitment within Bethel.
MS. SANDOVAL replied that there was a stipend program in
conjunction with the University of Alaska, which allowed workers
to return to school for a social work degree, but that was
usually a child services specialist, with a related degree.
CO-CHAIR HERRON offered his belief of an ongoing institutional
resistance to a collaborative relationship between OCS and the
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). He asked how many more years
it would be until a mutual trust existed between ICWA and OCS.
MS. SANDOVAL, in response, said that she was "not entirely sure
if I know what you are referring to, but I can tell you that the
Office of Children's Services (OCS) is ready to move on what
would be called contracting for tribal case management." She
provided that this was federally approved and that OCS was
prepared to contract with tribes to help with the ICWA work.
She clarified that it was not resistance within OCS, and that
OCS was ready to pay the tribes for help with the work.
4:21:56 PM
MS. SANDOVAL, in response to Co-Chair Keller, explained that
some duties can be contracted, and some duties must be retained
by OCS. She stated that OCS would we working in partnership
with the contracted tribes to serve the families.
4:22:40 PM
MS. SANDOVAL expressed her agreement with CRP to the differences
between rural, bush, and urban and the difficulties for
standardization because of these differences. She spoke to the
funding responsibility for CACs, expressed agreement with
Representative Seaton's analysis, and listed a myriad of reasons
for the difficulties of resolution.
4:24:31 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed a need for a collaborative
discussion among the participants to reach a solution.
4:27:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON, reflecting on communications and relief
for the paperwork burden, asked if remote area line workers
could utilize an input device, or if there were limitations with
ORCA.
4:28:21 PM
MS. SANDOVAL replied that, in addition to available pilot and
fee services, OCS had a contract with a dictation service for
case notes. She shared that there was not a mandatory use
policy, but that personal style determined the preferable tool
for each staff.
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked to clarify that ORCA would integrate
with various input devices, and that individuals, not
necessarily the entire office, could request a device.
4:29:59 PM
MS. SANDOVAL said that she would not deny a requested device,
but that she could not speak to all devices working in
conjunction with ORCA.
4:31:17 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER suggested a workshop during the interim.
4:31:42 PM
AMANDA METIVIER, Statewide Coordinator, Facing Foster Care in
Alaska (FFCA), said that CRP was doing great work. She stressed
that her recommendations for supporting youth could not be made
without supporting the workers. She applauded OCS for its PIP
and the engagement with FFCA to ensure that youth were involved
with the life decisions.
4:33:16 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON asked Ms. Metivier for her impressions of OCS
from 10 years ago to today.
MS. METIVIER directed her comments to the OCS independent living
program for older youth. She noted that the program had grown,
and offered more services. Previously, there had been one
independent living coordinator in Juneau, but now there were
four regional independent living specialists to help develop a
plan for education and housing resources. She pointed out that
more needed to be done, as youth were still aging out of foster
care into homelessness.
4:35:45 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 4:35 p.m. to 4:36 p.m.
^Presentation on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Presentation on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
4:36:58 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER announced that the next order of business would
be a presentation on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.
DIANE CASTO, Prevention & Early Intervention Manager, Prevention
and Early Intervention Section, Division of Behavioral Health,
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS),
enthusiastically reported a 32 percent decrease for birth rates
with FASD from 1996-2002.
4:38:54 PM
MS. CASTO outlined her background in the prevention field, and
emphasized that this decrease did not happen overnight. She
noted that FASD efforts began with a 1991-95 initiative funded
by a small grant from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
She spoke about the current initiative which began in 1998, and
including funding from a federal earmark from 2000-2006. She
emphasized that results took generations, and it was only now
that results were seen. She reported that it took a lot of
public education, as many women did not realize that alcohol
consumption during pregnancy could damage the developing child.
She shared that alcoholism was a destructive condition, and that
another part of the public message was for the public to help
alcoholics to stop drinking or not get pregnant.
4:42:58 PM
MS. CASTO said that a statewide network of ten diagnostic teams
each helped 150-200 FASD children annually to find the
appropriate services. She emphasized that there were not enough
services available, especially for individuals who do not look
disabled but have damaged brains. She elaborated that a normal
appearance lead people to label actions as "bad behavior" when
it was actually FASD. She affirmed that there was progress.
4:45:03 PM
MS. CASTO declared that a downward trend could only be
maintained with vigilance, and would be difficult to maintain
after the loss of federal funding. She stated that it takes a
long time to change the social norm and that each generation
needed to hear the information. She compared it to the tobacco
education process. She declared that the majority of the 32
percent decrease in FASD births was within the Native Alaskan
population.
4:47:38 PM
MS. CASTO, in response to Co-Chair Keller, said that Alaska was
one of the few states to collect this data, but that Alaska had
the highest decrease of those states. She stated that Alaska
was viewed as a leader for its collection of prevalence data and
its monitoring of the births.
4:48:02 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER reflected that the data should be even better in
the upcoming year.
4:48:31 PM
MS. CASTO expressed her concern for data after 2006, as there
was no longer an education grant. She opined that the grant
money had been spent efficiently and effectively for a good
infrastructure.
4:49:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN asked if there was medical evidence that
alcoholism would result in FASD in sperm.
4:49:47 PM
MS. CASTO replied that male drinking did not cause FASD, but
that excessive and binge drinking would reduce sperm count and
result in a decreased birth weight. She confirmed the
importance of the male role for support to a woman not drinking
during pregnancy.
4:51:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON asked about the proportion of women with
FASD having a child with FASD.
MS. CASTO replied that there was not a lot of data, but that
many women with FASD had a high birth rate with FASD. She
declared that alcohol was often used for self medication by
individuals with FASD. She established that alcoholism was
generational, and that education was needed to break the cycle.
4:54:28 PM
MS. CASTO, in response to Representative Seaton, said that
voluntary long term contraception was a huge piece of the
comprehensive approach to reducing the number of children born
with FASD. She reported that the department worked on long
duration contraception.
4:55:40 PM
LESLIE RANDALL introduced her newly adopted 7 year old daughter,
Eleanor, who was diagnosed with FASD. She described that
Eleanor had significant developmental delays when she first came
to live with them three years prior; she experienced frustration
in communication as most people could not understand her, she
did not have the hand-eye coordination or the muscular
development to bounce a ball, and her speech was that of a
toddler. Ms. Randall conveyed that Eleanor's academic,
emotional, and physical curriculum was increased to bring her up
to her age group. She shared that all the family had moments of
frustration, but that everyone persevered. Eleanor still has
specialized tutoring, twice a day, seven days a week. She
specified that the sports venue helped with coordination,
organizational skills, and self esteem. She recounted the time
and effort they all gave, and she stated that early support
services for FASD allowed for a 90 percent chance of success.
She acknowledged the need for Eleanor to continue with
specialized tutoring, mental health, and sports programs, and
she noted the need for other services as Eleanor became a
teenager. She said, "we've told her from the very beginning
that our job as parents is to help her be the best she can be,
and that her job is to help us to do that." She requested that
funds be secured for FASD children.
STEVE RANDALL disclosed that he and his wife had been coaches,
teachers, and foster parents, and had faced the corresponding
challenges. He shared that FASD had enlarged their definition
of need. He reviewed Eleanor's history with the family, noting
her lack of clothing, insatiable hunger, and need for love when
she arrived. He observed that most Ketchikan teachers did not
know much about FASD, and the nature of such a broad spectrum
disease made it difficult for answers. He reported that testing
at the Juneau FASD clinic provided many answers for Eleanor's
needs. He described the learning and behavioral difficulties
and frustrations of FASD. He stated the need for FASD funding.
He revealed that many of the students in Ketchikan exhibited
some FASD-like behavior.
5:05:58 PM
CO-CHAIR KELLER passed the gavel to CO-CHAIR HERRON.
5:06:29 PM
RENEE LELAND (ph) shared the story of her 10 year old adopted
son, Caleb. She spoke about Caleb's biological mother and her
history of binge drinking, domestic violence, and placement in a
treatment facility while pregnant. Ms. Leland shared that when
Caleb missed developmental milestones, she was able to access
the many FASD therapies in Anchorage, but she pointed out that
these facilities were not available in rural areas. She related
a story about a teacher who, even though aware of Caleb's
disability, had denied Caleb a reward for a memorization project
that Caleb had worked hard on, but had been unable to perform.
She shared that Caleb was voted "the kid with the most
perseverance," and she voiced her pride of him. She asked that
the committee support funding for FASD education and for
substance abuse treatment centers.
5:11:29 PM
MS. LELAND, in response to Co-Chair Herron, said that progress
was being made to educate teachers about FASD, although the
misunderstandings about FASD behavior were still a big issue.
MARY BETH MOSS shared her experiences with her 3 year old
adopted daughter, Leah. She described Leah's birth mother: her
background, and her pregnancy, during which Leah had been
exposed to "alcohol, marijuana, oxycontin, and crack cocaine for
every day of her prenatal existence." Ms. Moss reported that
Leah met all her early developmental milestones, but that an
examination at the FASD clinic in Juneau revealed Leah's
condition. Ms. Moss reported that there were no resources in
Hoonah and that none of the Hoonah school, Head Start, tribal
representatives, or clinic staff had any familiarity with FASD.
She pointed out that all of her information came from internet
searches and contacts with other FASD families. She shared the
honor of Leah's Tlingit name. She asked the committee to
support funding for FASD programs.
5:18:48 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON asked each witness to list the one FASD service
that would help the most.
MS. MOSS replied that "small, rural, often Native, communities
were desperately in need of services." She explained that many
communities did not have the time, the skills, or the
wherewithal to search for resources, and that she had
opportunities that most others did not. She asked for increased
funding for services to rural communities, and she voiced
support for the parent navigator program.
5:21:16 PM
MS. LELAND agreed, and requested more beds for expecting mothers
with substance abuse problems.
5:21:59 PM
MS. RANDALL expressed a need for education to special education
providers. She relayed that her daughter's FASD diagnosis was
not accepted by the Ketchikan schools because it had been
performed in Juneau.
5:23:27 PM
CO-CHAIR HERRON expressed his incredulity "that the school
district says sorry."
MS. RANDALL relayed that they had since moved her daughter to a
private school. She stated that Ketchikan had a reputation for
digging their feet in and being stubborn about children's
services. She relayed that her daughter's IEP for speech
therapy was closed because she did not communicate well.
CO-CHAIR HERRON repeated his incredulity and commented that
Representative Seaton, as Chair of the House Standing Committee
on Education, would explore this bias on a statewide level.
5:24:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN reported about his teaching background, and
expressed his shock for this incident.
MS. RANDALL replied that she had been a teacher, prior to
becoming a nurse. She expressed her concern for other parents
who did not know that they could also be the "voice for their
child."
5:27:30 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LYNN called for more support from the school
districts, and expressed that "it's the kids that are important
here. It's our future."
5:27:49 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SEATON expressed his concern, and asked Ms.
Randall for a written follow up to the testing and the incident,
so that he could pursue a follow up. He opined that the
Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District had denied support for
an intensive needs program, and not special education.
5:30:06 PM
VALERIE SLOANE explained that she had been Ellie Randall's
public school special education teacher. She offered her
perceptions to the current direction of special education. She
shared that she had taught in Bush Alaska, where it was
estimated that 76 percent of the 150 kids had some degree of
FASD, but that most were not diagnosed. She noted that talk
about drinking alcohol while pregnant was taboo. She offered
her opinion that the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
was primarily focused on adequate yearly progress, and that
special education was focused on ensuring that the most students
passed the state mandated tests. She opined that special
education students were "pushed to the side because they're not
the majority of those kids who're going to pull the scores up."
She expressed concern for this approach and shared an
apprehension for the purported over diagnosis of Native Alaskans
by the school district. She opined that the district went to
the cautious extreme of not labeling students for fear of being
sued. She stated that this resulted in long term student
failure before it was possible to intervene. She identified the
taboo for labeling and the lack of training in special education
diagnoses as causes for an inability to distinguish between
cultural, behavioral, and learning issues. She reported this to
be a systemic problem which was exacerbated in small districts
due to an even more limited number of viewpoints.
5:34:53 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Health and Social Services Standing Committee meeting was
adjourned at 5:34 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| CRPrprt.PDF |
HHSS 2/18/2010 3:00:00 PM |
|
| FASD.PDF |
HHSS 2/18/2010 3:00:00 PM |