Legislature(2005 - 2006)BUTROVICH 205
04/15/2005 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| SB150 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 150 | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
April 15, 2005
2:18 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Fred Dyson, Chair
Senator Gary Wilken, Vice Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Donny Olson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 150
"An Act repealing the limits on grants awarded from the Alaska
children's trust fund."
MOVED CSSB 150 (HES) OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 150
SHORT TITLE: ALASKA CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND GRANTS
SPONSOR(s): HEALTH, EDUCATION & SOCIAL SERVICES
03/21/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
03/21/05 (S) HES, FIN
04/06/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
04/06/05 (S) Heard & Held
04/06/05 (S) MINUTE(HES)
04/15/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
JOEL GILBERTSON, Commissioner
Department of Health & Social Services
PO Box 110601
Juneau, AK 99801-0601
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 150
MARGO MCCABE
Alaska Children's Trust Fund
550 W. 8th St. Suite 304
Anchorage, Alaska 99501
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 150.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR FRED DYSON called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 2:18:37 PM.
Present were Senators Donny Olson, Kim Elton, Gary Wilken, Lyda
Green and Chair Fred Dyson.
SB 150-ALASKA CHILDREN'S TRUST FUND GRANTS
2:18:37 PM
CHAIR DYSON announced SB 150 to be up for consideration.
SENATOR GREEN moved to adopt a committee substitute (CS) for SB
150, Version \F, as the working document before the committee.
CHAIR DYSON objected for the purpose of discussion.
2:19:56 PM
JOEL GILBERSTON, commissioner, Department of Health and Social
Services (DHSS) said:
The committee substitute bill before you changes the
original so that the children's trust grants have a
four-year term. One of the reasons that the trusties
have been interested in this is that the trust does
not generate a large amount of income.
Because of ongoing commitments to existing grants, we
have been able to do no new grant making and for just
about two years we have not issued a new grant. We
want to move towards a system where there will be a
natural process for grantees when they apply to
develop a self-sufficiency plan in their original
application for how they plan on funding their
programs after Children's Trust Fund Dollars are no
longer available. We want a system in which the board
makes funding determinations based on data from
performance measures and phases out grants after
funding them for four years.
2:22:48 PM
SENATOR GREEN asked whether it is possible to create a system in
which the trust can determine whether or not an organization is
meeting its objectives.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON said it is a goal of the department to
have performance measures for all of its grant projects. In some
cases the department has been moving away from performance
grants in favor of performance contracts in which it awards
compensation to contractors on the basis of measurable outcomes
of their work.
Performance measures would be developed through the Alaska
Children's Trust with support from the Office of Children's
Services (OCS). The trustees would develop the plan and the
Trust would receive assistance from the OCS in developing
performance measures. The goals would be incorporated into the
Requests For Proposals (RFPs) that go to the grantees. The
grantees would be required to make quarterly reports on progress
towards the goals.
2:24:19 PM
SENATOR GREEN noted when the Senate worked on the Alaska
Children's Fund; it never intended the grant projects would
extend beyond four years. She expressed concern with the Fund's
history of issuing multiple grants to the same entity in
different locations throughout the state. She asked whether the
language of the CS would allow that to happen.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON responded by requiring grantees to
submit a sustainability plan during the RFP process and by
having explicit performance measures and a fair selection
process guided by a desire for measurable outcomes, the CS would
ensure the competition that would allow better results from the
grantees.
SENATOR GREEN wanted assurance that no one entity becomes the
recipient of the preponderance of any one-year's grant.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON said it is not the intention of the
board that that should occur. The board has a broad selection of
individual entities that receive grants.
2:26:25 PM
MARGOT MCCABE, Alaska Children's Trust Fund, agreed with
Commissioner Gilbertson's comments.
CHAIR DYSON asked the amount the fund distributed in the last
budget year.
MS. MCCABE informed the committee they distributed approximately
$270,000 in the previous year.
CHAIR DYSON remarked the CS would eliminate the current $50,000
cap on grants. He asked whether the board has considered a
future practical working cap.
MS. MCCABE replied:
I think that we will and think that they will be
established for each RFP depending on what the need is
in that cycle.
CHAIR DYSON asked whether the list of recipients listed in the
brochure is exhaustive and, if the trust uses any particular
paradigms or philosophies to guide it in its selection of
grantees.
MS. MCCABE responded:
We evaluate each program on a case-by-case basis where
we look at whether it really supports our mission of
preventing child abuse and neglect. The RFP process
delineated in the committee substitute will give us
more data about the communities in need, other program
offerings in those communities, the type of program
offered and how effective it has been in other parts
of Alaska, which are the things that we consider.
2:30:16 PM
CHAIR DYSON asked how an elementary school with school funding
got on the Trust list.
MARGOT said the school is a transitional preschool that
initially started out as a mentoring program.
CHAIR DYSON asked whether it is fair to infer that preschools or
elementary schools are not going to be major recipients in the
future.
MS. MCCABE responded that is a fair assumption unless the school
is able to demonstrate the program they are implementing is
aimed at preventing child abuse and neglect. There are many
programs in a position to carry out the mission of the Trust.
CHAIR DYSON remarked there does not appear to be any faith-based
recipients on the list and asked whether this reflects a policy
on the part of the Trust.
MS. MCCABE said the Board welcomes proposals from faith-based
initiatives for consideration.
COMMISSIONER GILBERTSON added there are no prohibitions on
providing funding to faith-based organizations.
SENATOR GREEN moved CSSB 150(HES) from committee with individual
recommendations and attached fiscal notes. Hearing no
objections, the motion carried.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Dyson adjourned the meeting at 2:36:29 PM.
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