Legislature(1997 - 1998)
01/31/1997 01:01 PM House JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 31, 1997
1:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Joe Green, Chairman
Representative Con Bunde, Vice Chairman
Representative Brian Porter
Representative Jeannette James
Representative Eric Croft
Representative Ethan Berkowitz
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Norman Rokeberg
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
* HOUSE BILL NO. 7
"An Act authorizing establishment of community dispute resolution
centers to foster the resolution of disputes between juvenile
offenders and their victims."
- MOVED CSHB 7(JUD) OUT OF COMMITTEE
(* First public hearing)
PREVIOUS ACTION
BILL: HB 7
SHORT TITLE: VICTIM/JUVENILE OFFENDER MEDIATION
SPONSOR(S): REPRESENTATIVE(S) PORTER
JRN-DATE JRN-PG ACTION
01/13/97 28 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/3/97
01/13/97 29 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRAL(S)
01/13/97 29 (H) JUDICIARY, FINANCE
01/31/97 (H) JUD AT 1:00 PM CAPITOL 120
WITNESS REGISTER
MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General
Governor's Children's Cabinet
Department of Law
P.O. Box 110300
Juneau, Alaska 99811-0300
Telephone: (907) 465-4338
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
ANGELA SALERNO, Executive Director
National Association of Social Workers
525 Main Street
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Telephone: (907) 586-4438
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
KATHLEEN ANDERSON, President
Alaska Dispute Settlement Association
P.O. Box 242922
Anchorage, Alaska 99524-2922
Telephone: (907) 345-3801
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
PATRICK CUNNINGHAM, Associate Professor
Department of Social Work
University of Alaska
3211 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Telephone: (907) 786-1725
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
NIKISHKA STEWARD, Executive Director
Anchorage Community Dispute Resolution Center
505 West Northern Lights, Suite 210
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Telephone: (907) 274-1542
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
SUSANNE DI PIETRO, Staff Attorney
Alaska Judicial Council
1029 West Third Avenue, Suite 201
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-1981
Telephone: (907) 279-2526
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
LINDA JOHNSON, Legal Advisor
Anchorage Youth Court
310 K Street, Suite 201
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Telephone: (907) 274-5986
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided testimony on HB 7.
BARBARA BRINK, Acting Director
Alaska Public Defender Agency
Department of Administration
900 West 5th Avenue
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
Telephone: (907) 264-4400
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
SHARON STURGES, Case Manager
Anchorage Community Dispute Resolution Center
505 West Northern Lights, Suite 210
Anchorage, Alaska 99503
Telephone: (907) 274-1542
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
ROBERT BUTTCANE, Juvenile Probation Officer
Department of Health and Social Services
2600 Providence Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508
Telephone: (907) 562-2285
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in favor of HB 7.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 97-8, SIDE A
Number 001
The House Judiciary Standing Committee was called to order by
Chairman Joe Green at 1:01 p.m. Members present at the call to
order were Representatives Con Bunde, Brian Porter, Eric Croft,
Ethan Berkowitz and Chairman Joe Green. Representative Norman
Rokeberg was excused.
HB 7 - VICTIM/JUVENILE OFFENDER MEDIATION
CHAIRMAN JOE GREEN announced the committee would hear House Bill
No. 7, "An Act authorizing establishment of community dispute
resolution centers to foster the resolution of disputes between
juvenile offenders and their victims." He advised members that a
sponsor substitute had been drafted for committee consideration.
[Proposed substitute was referred to during the meeting as a
sponsor substitute; however, it was adopted as a committee
substitute, CSHB 7(JUD).]
REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN PORTER, prime sponsor of HB 7, explained that
the bill represented the formalization of a program that had been
started and was up and running in its beginning stages in
Anchorage, and soon to be in other areas of the state. He stated
that the victim offender mediation program was a process in which
appropriate criminal activities of juveniles were disposed of by
the mediation process rather than a more formal process.
Representative Porter advised members that the program had proven
very successful in changing the direction of juvenile offenders,
and, in many cases, provided restitution that may not have been
otherwise obtained by victims.
Representative Jeannette James arrived.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER pointed out that the bill established minimum
standards for the dispute resolution centers and provided limited
immunity to the boards and personnel of those kinds of centers.
Representative Porter explained that the sponsor substitute had
been drafted to add limited immunity from civil suit to the youth
courts and members of the boards of directors, employees,
volunteers, and members of youth courts.
MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Law,
advised members that she was representing the Governor's Children's
Cabinet on how the bill related to youth and justice. She
expressed that the Governor's Conference on Youth and Justice had
been a year-long process that was trying to help the state find
solutions to the problem on youth crime. Ms. Knuth pointed out
that one of the principal solutions that had been offered was to
find alternatives to the state's health and social services
delinquency proceedings for minor juvenile offenses. One of the
most successful alternatives recommended was the use of mediation
in appropriate cases. She noted that not all cases were
appropriate for mediation. Domestic violence cases, in
particular, had proven to be poor candidates for mediation because
of unequal power in the relationship.
MS. KNUTH advised members that the mediation process was good for
the offender and also a benefit to the victim because it gave the
victim a better understanding of what the incident was about, why
they were victimized and had significantly reduced the fear of re-
victimization by the victim.
MS. KNUTH pointed out that there was one matter the Children's
Cabinet would like to address in the bill, which was that mediation
should be available for health and social services to use as a tool
in informal adjudication of cases, and also be available to the
court system. Ms. Knuth noted that the bill allowed both the court
system and the department to recognize the mediation centers. It
was the recommendation of the Children's Cabinet to amend the bill
so that only the Department of Health and Social Services could
recognize the mediation centers. Ms. Knuth pointed out that the
predominate reason for that was that the department was used to
performing that function; the court system was not, and did not
wish to get into that business. She advised members that the
Governor's Children's Cabinet felt that both the department and the
court system should be able to recommend, or direct an attempt at
mediation; however, only the department should be able to recognize
the mediation centers.
MS. KNUTH advised members that to accomplish that recommendation,
it would be necessary to delete Section 1, with several minor
changes in other areas of the bill.
Number 600
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER pointed out that he had previously discussed
those changes with Ms. Knuth and had no opposition to the proposed
amendment.
MS. KNUTH provided members a copy of the proposed amendment which
would delete Section 1, and renumber the following sections; page
2, line 13, delete [AS 22.34.020 or], and page 4, lines 20 and 21,
delete [administrative director of the Alaska Court System under AS
22.35.020 or by the].
REPRESENTATIVE CON BUNDE moved to adopt amendment number one.
There being no objection, amendment number one, HB 7, was adopted
unanimously.
REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT referenced the bolded language on page 4,
which provided the court's power, and on page 8, Section (f), which
establishes the authority for a minor to withdraw, and questioned
whether Section (f) would only allow a minor to withdraw if they
voluntarily entered the program. It was his concern that if the
court ordered mediation, that the offender would not have the
authority to withdraw.
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT offered amendment number two, CSHB 7, page 4,
line 25, after the word "restitution", insert, The minor may
withdraw, at any time, from the services of the center with no
penalty for violating the court order. The withdrawal must be in
writing.
CHAIRMAN GREEN objected for the purpose of discussion.
REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES stated that it appeared to her that
the proposed amendment would allow the juvenile to withdraw,
without a penalty, after a sentence had been imposed.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER stated that if there was an agreement after
the determination of guilt that both parties wanted to participate
in the process, the court would recognize that the parties were
going to try and by the crafting of the statute, it recognized that
either party could walk away in the middle of the process if they
found it fruitless. Representative Porter thought there was
motivation to participate in the program and did not see the court
providing another chance.
REPRESENTATIVE JAMES pointed out that the proposed language, in her
view, was basically a duplicate of the existing language on page 8.
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT stated that he did not know if the added
language would be necessary, and that his concern could be as
simple as removing the word "voluntarily". He added that there
appeared to be a possible conflict between the method of ordering
mediation and entering the process voluntarily.
MS. KNUTH thought there was a benefit in ordering the parties to
try the mediation but not penalize them if it did not work. She
recommended that page 4 remain intact, and strike the word
[voluntarily] in Section (f), because she felt then, that Section
(f) would cover both situations.
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT stated that after hearing Ms. Knuth's response
to the proposed amended language that he would withdraw that
amendment, and moved to strike the word [voluntarily], page 8, line
7, as amendment number two, HB 7. There being no objection,
amendment number two, HB 7, was adopted unanimously.
CHAIRMAN GREEN requested testimony, via teleconference, from
Anchorage.
Number 1330
ANGELA SALERNO, Executive Director, National Association of Social
Workers, advised members they fully supported the service of
victim/offender mediation. She pointed out that it provided a
balanced approach to juvenile justice, giving equal weight to
ensure community safety, held offenders accountable to their
victims and also provided competency development for the offenders
to purpose legitimate endeavors after their release.
MS. SALERNO advised members that the United States Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention had supported
development and improvement of juvenile justice restitution
programs in an attempt to reduce recidivism. She noted that by the
end of 1995, 24 states had adopted, or were examining juvenile
codes or administrative procedures that included a balanced
approach to juvenile justice.
MS. SALERNO pointed out that community dispute resolution centers
offered a low-cost, community based, effective alternative to
costly incarceration of juveniles.
KATHLEEN ANDERSON, advised members she was testifying on behalf of
both the Alaska Dispute Settlement Association as president, and
her own personal business, the Arbitration and Mediation Group.
The Alaska Dispute Settlement Association unanimously supported the
creation of community dispute resolutions centers, as described
under HB 7, and commended the sponsor for introducing the proposed
legislation.
MS. ANDERSON, speaking on behalf of her personal business, The
Arbitration and Mediation Group, advised members that the creation
of community dispute resolution centers was crucial to the state's
efforts to use alternative processes to deter repetitive
inappropriate behaviors demonstrated by today's juvenile offenders.
Ms. Anderson suggested that the committee consider placing language
in the bill that would give a court guidance in its ability to
order a juvenile to initiate mediation, and still make clear that
participation was voluntary.
PATRICK CUNNINGHAM, Associate Professor, University of Alaska,
expressed his full support of the proposed legislation. Mr.
Cunningham advised members that he was the Chairman of the
MacLaughlin Youth Center Community Advisory Board, and a founding
Board member of the Community Dispute Resolution Center in
Anchorage. He stated that the passage of HB 7 was vital to the
state's continued efforts to provide restorative justice to victims
of crime. Mr. Cunningham explained that the Anchorage Center was
providing a marvelous service mediating restitution contracts
between victims and juvenile offenders. The center was also a
member of the city's "Make a Difference" juvenile anti-crime
effort, which was beginning its second year of operation.
MR. CUNNINGHAM pointed out the HB 7 was necessary for the continued
growth of the of the mediation centers and the development of
similar programs throughout the state. He noted that the programs
were low cost and community based, with much of the financial
support for the Anchorage program coming from the municipality of
Anchorage, the University of Alaska, Anchorage, community
businesses, nonprofit organizations and individual citizens.
MR. CUNNINGHAM expressed that findings from the nationwide
programs, as well as those in Europe, had demonstrated that when a
victim is given the opportunity to meet with the offender, that
over two-thirds wish to participate. He noted many programs had
reported over 95 percent successful completion. Mr. Cunningham
continued pointing out that the offenders were confronted directly
with the destructive results of their crime; held accountable,
required to take action to make amends to the victim and the
community, and are closely monitored to assure that restitution is
given. Mr. Cunningham also pointed out that victims were empowered
by having the opportunity to directly participate in the justice
process, rather than the standard criminal justice process which
tended to be an offender oriented system.
MR. CUNNINGHAM concluded by stating that the proposed legislation
would institutionalize community dispute mediation centers and set
forth standards to be followed.
Number 1775
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE felt the proposed legislation could promote a
growth in the business area and asked what the cost of mediation
was, as well as the cost to the Department of Health and Social
Services, who would be certifying the mediation centers.
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER stated that members from the department would
be able to answer that question.
NIKISHKA STEWART, Executive Director, Anchorage Community Dispute
Resolution Center and current board member of the International
Victim Offender Mediation Association, advised members that the
proposed legislation would meet a number of community needs. She
noted that, primarily, the bill would provide a restorative justice
process for victims which places them at the heart; receiving
restitution, justice and closure of a traumatic event in their
lives.
MS. STEWART pointed out that the mediation process allowed for
creativity and flexibility that was not permitted in the
traditional justice system.
Number 1960
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE moved to adopt CSHB 7, as amended. There
being no objection, CSHB 7 was adopted as amended.
SUSANNE DI PIETRO, Staff Attorney, Alaska Judicial Council, advised
members she was in complete agreement with the testimony provided
by Mr. Cunningham and Ms. Stewart, and would be available for
questions by committee members if need be.
LINDA JOHNSON, Legal Advisor, Anchorage Youth Court, advised
members that she was speaking in support of community resolution
dispute centers being immune from civil suits.
MS. JOHNSON explained that the Anchorage Youth Court prosecutes
juvenile offenders through a trial of their peers and had been in
operation since 1989. In 1996 the court consider approximately 400
cases and expected to see 650 or more in 1997. Ms. Johnson pointed
out that there were several youth courts operating around the
state; Mat-Su, Kodiak and Juneau. She noted that in Kenai and
Fairbanks, youth courts were in the planning stage and there had
been frequent requests from the rural communities to establish
youth courts in those areas.
MS. JOHNSON explained that the board of directors would not allow
the Anchorage Youth Court to consider certain cases because of the
inability to protect themselves from suit, and requested that they
be included under the immunity language of the bill.
Number 2150
REPRESENTATIVE PORTER advised members and Ms. Johnson that under
Section 4 of the sponsor substitute, youth courts would be
considered immune from suit in a civil action.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked what types of cases the Anchorage Youth
Court was not accepting because of the lack of immunity.
MS. JOHNSON stated that it involved certain cases that might be
gang related.
BARBARA BRINK, Acting Director, Alaska Public Defender Agency,
Department of Administration, advised members they were in full
support of the proposed legislation. She noted that justice was
best served when victims, offenders and communities all receive
equitable treatment in the judicial process.
SHARON STURGES, Case Manager, Anchorage Community Dispute
Resolution Center, advised members they, also, fully supported HB
7. She pointed out that they had been operating a victim/offender
mediation program at both the diversion level and probation level.
Ms. Sturges advised members they did not charge for services at the
present time, although they were considering implementing some sort
of sliding fee scale, which was contemplated in a section of the
bill.
MS. STURGES advised members that the center negotiated $10,640 in
victim restitution the previous year, and of that amount, $10,090
had been paid, which represented a 95 percent payment rate. Ms.
Sturges expressed that the process worked for both the victims and
the offenders.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE asked Ms. Sturges who provided operating funds
for the center. Ms. Sturges explained that the funds were provided
from the Municipality of Anchorage, although approximately $25,000
of the $55,000 was provided through private donations.
TAPE 97-8, SIDE B
Number 000
ROBERT BUTTCANE, Juvenile Probation Officer and Supervisor of the
Anchorage Juvenile Intake Unit, spoke in favor of HB 7, and also
supported the sponsor substitute, as amended. He felt the proposed
legislation was suitable and sufficient for the juvenile
delinquency system to be able to use mediation programs, both for
the informal interventions, as well as the formal court orders.
MR. BUTTCANE pointed out that the department had submitted a zero
fiscal note, noting that they had been able to work together with
individual communities and entities to form partnerships to deal
with juvenile crime. He noted that the Municipality of Anchorage
offered the state of Alaska money that would provide for intake
officers, youth courts, victim offender mediation, sentencing
coordinators and a whole comprehensive juvenile crime intervention
proposal. It was Mr. Buttcane's understanding that the Anchorage
program was in the process of obtaining United Way certification in
order to receive contributions through that venue.
REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE moved to report CSHB 7, as amended, out of
committee with the accompanying zero fiscal notes and individual
recommendations. There being no objection, it was so ordered.
CSHB 7 was reported out of committee.
Number 825
ADJOURNMENT
There being nothing further to come before the committee, Chairman
Green adjourned the House Judiciary Standing Committee meeting at
2:08 p.m.
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