02/09/2011 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB17 | |
| Presentation: Citizen Review Panel | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 17 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 9, 2011
1:32 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Bettye Davis, Chair
Senator Dennis Egan
Senator Johnny Ellis
Senator Kevin Meyer
Senator Fred Dyson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 17
"An Act classifying certain synthetic cannabinoids as schedule
IIA controlled substances; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED SB 17 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PRESENTATION BY CITIZEN REVIEW PANEL
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 17
SHORT TITLE: SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MEYER
01/19/11 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/7/11
01/19/11 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/11 (S) HSS, JUD
02/09/11 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) MEYER
01/19/11 (S) PREFILE RELEASED 1/7/11
01/19/11 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/19/11 (S) HSS, JUD
02/09/11 (S) HSS AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
ROBERT THOMPSON, Sergeant
Fairbanks Police Department
Fairbanks, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 17.
DENNIS WHEELER
Municipal Attorney
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 17.
JENNIFER MESSIG
Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor
Municipality of Anchorage
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 17.
SHELLY HUGHES, Director
Government Affairs
Alaska Primary Care Association
Fairbanks, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 17.
ORRIN DYM, Manager
Alaska State Crime Lab
Commissioner's Office
Department of Public Safety
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SB 17.
SUSAN HEUER, Chair
Citizen Review Panel
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented annual report by Citizen Review
Panel.
FRED VAN WALLINGA, Member
Citizen Review Panel
Willow, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented annual report by Citizen Review
Panel.
CHRISTY LAWTON, Acting Director
Office of Children's Services
Department of Health and Social Services
Juneau, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave OCS response to Citizen Review Panel
report.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:32:07 PM
CHAIR BETTYE DAVIS called the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:32 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators Ellis, Egan, Dyson, Paskvan, Meyer,
and Chair Davis.
SB 17-SYNTHETIC CANNABINOIDS
1:32:40 PM
CHAIR DAVIS announced the first order of business would be SB
17.
SENATOR MEYER, sponsor of SB 17, explained this bill would
classify synthetic cannabinoids as a controlled substance. He
explained that synthetic cannabinoids have recently appeared in
the form of a new drug, called "Spice" or "K2". These substances
are relatively cheap, easily attainable, and used by many
people, especially teenagers. Spice is popular because it has
effects similar to marijuana but can't be detected in a drug
test, and is legally sold over the counter as incense; it is
also more potent than marijuana.
The Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) has passed an ordinance
prohibiting the possession of the substance in the city of
Anchorage. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and the US military
have also taken action against it, and the city of Juneau is
considering an ordinance. By enacting SB 17, he emphasized,
hopefully the legislature can prevent this substance from
causing more harm and more accidents. Senator Meyer noted that
15 states have already passed legislation against the drug, and
21 states have introduced legislation that will make it unlawful
to sell, purchase, possess, manufacture, transport or deliver
synthetic cannabinoids.
1:36:07 PM
CHRISTINE MARASIGAN, staff to Senator Meyer said she would
answer any questions.
1:37:48 PM
ROBERT THOMPSON, Sergeant, Fairbanks Police Department,
testified in favor of SB 17. On January 12, he said, there was a
traffic accident in Fairbanks where the driver admitted to using
Spice, and acknowledged that he was impaired. They discovered
that they could not charge him under the DUI statutes, but only
for reckless driving. It is obviously a public safety risk that
people are consuming Spice and driving. Sergeant Thompson noted
the driver was described as being passed out, and was
disoriented when he came to. He emphasized that although this
substance is legal, it creates a significant threat to public
safety.
1:39:59 PM
DENNIS WHEELER, Municipal Attorney, Anchorage (MOA), said the
municipality supports SB 17 and its companion bill, HB 7. The
MOA believes there should be felony penalties, and the substance
should be criminalized statewide. He mentioned that the MOA has
benefitted from a grant from the Highway Traffic Safety Office
which allowed Ms. Messig to make presentations around the state
regarding this drug, its effects, and why it is so dangerous.
1:42:19 PM
JENNIFER MESSIG, Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor,
Municipality of Anchorage, said that APD had a traffic fatality
where Spice was involved, as well as numerous DUI cases, but
they are not able to prosecute these as DUI cases. There are
also health concerns with these chemical compounds. There has
been at least one death directly attributed to Spice; in Montana
a 16 year old died after using Spice, and blood toxicology
confirmed no other drugs were present in his system.
A number of very dangerous symptoms can occur when someone uses
this drug, and it doesn't depend on the amount used. Some of the
symptoms are dangerously high blood pressure, loss of
consciousness, acute tachycardia, unpleasant hallucinations,
delusions of impending death, and delusions of super-human
strength.
SENATOR MEYER noted that many people use Spice because it is
legal, so they believe it must not be harmful. He asked about
the difference between marijuana and Spice.
1:46:17 PM
MS. MESSIG responded that Spice can look like marijuana, because
the chemical compounds are often sprayed onto leafy green
substances, and it has the same method of delivery. The
researcher who developed Spice was actually researching the
possible medicinal effects of marijuana. He discovered that the
compounds in Spice bind differently in the brain than marijuana,
up to 800 times tighter, so the effect is much stronger than
marijuana. What makes it so dangerous is that it targets people
who might not otherwise experiment with drugs. They reason it is
not illegal, so it must not be harmful.
1:49:21 PM
SENATOR MEYER said he asked his daughter if she had heard of
Spice in her high school, and she said it was very popular
because it doesn't show up on a drug test. He then asked how law
enforcement agencies test for Spice now that it is illegal in
Anchorage.
MS. MESSIG said that Spice is not detectable in an ordinary drug
screen. A few labs have developed the ability to test for some
of those compounds in the urine, and those tests cost anywhere
from $35 to $55, but not all 7 compounds can be tested for. One
lab can do a blood test but it is very expensive.
SENATOR MEYER asked if they have to send samples out of state to
be tested.
MS. MESSIG confirmed they do have to send them out, and it is a
very difficult process.
1:52:08 PM
SHELLY HUGHES, Government Affairs Director, Alaska Primary Care
Association, testified in support of SB 17. She cited health
risks and the potential for substance abuse, and said that the
effects to the central nervous systems and cardio vascular
systems are evident, and it is a concern to clinicians across
the state. Spice-related emergency room visits and the need for
medical care by students are all red flags.
1:54:06 PM
CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony on SB 17.
SENATOR MEYER asked a question for the state crime lab.
1:54:45 PM
ORIN DYM, Manager, Alaska State Scientific Crime Laboratory,
Commissioner's Office, Department of Public Safety, stated he
was available to answer questions.
1:55:24 PM
SENATOR MEYER asked why there is a fiscal note.
MR. DYM explained that there are two types of analyses that
should be clarified. The Alaska State Crime Lab has no
toxicology section; what they can test for is the possession of
such substances, in order to provide positive identity for court
cases.
1:56:42 PM
SENATOR EGAN asked if the state crime lab has seen a cocaine-
like bath salts being sold in stores.
MR. DYM said the first sample was recently submitted; there are
three common chemicals associated with those substances, which
he forwarded to the department of law.
SENATOR EGAN said, "So it has reached Alaska."
MR. DYM confirmed that was true.
1:58:11 PM
SENATOR EGAN asked if the new substance could be included in
this bill.
CHAIR DAVIS said it could be considered.
SENATOR MEYER said his staff has looked at that issue.
CHRISTINE MARASIGAN, staff to Senator Meyer, said that issue has
been brought up before. She pointed out that several of the
compounds in Spice have already been on a DEA watch list, which
makes Spice a known quantity, with data backing up the use,
manufacture, and transport. She further stated that at this
point there is no conclusive research on the bath salts.
2:00:21 PM
CHAIR DAVIS noted a letter of support from the Mayor of
Anchorage, and state troopers on the line to answer questions;
she asked if anyone from DSHS was present.
2:01:17 PM
CHRISTY LAWTON, Acting Director, Office of Children's Services,
said this was the first she had heard of SB 17, and she did not
know the department's position.
SENATOR EGAN moved to report SB 17 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s). There
being no objection, SB 17 moved from the Senate Health and
Social Services Standing Committee.
2:03:03 PM
CHAIR DAVIS announced a brief at-ease.
^Presentation: Citizen Review Panel
2:04:34 PM
CHAIR DAVIS announced the next item of business would be a
presentation by the Citizen Review Panel. She noted this is a
panel mandated by the federal government, and it is obligated to
give a yearly report to the legislature and the governor.
SUSAN HEUER, Chair, Citizen Review Panel (CRP), explained the
panel is a volunteer group of seven members who review the
policies and procedures of the Office of Children's Services by
contacting OCS and its community partners throughout the state.
CRP picks a hub, such as Bethel, and does visits from that hub
to neighboring villages.
She stated that one of the CRP's recommendations to OCS was to
address the discrepancy between rural, bush and urban child
protection services. In traveling to the rural areas, the panel
noticed that children in urban areas had better access to child
protective services than children in small, remote villages. A
second recommendation was that OCS front line workers need
adequate support staff to allow them to focus on social work,
not paperwork, and a third was that training for new workers
needs to be modified to address the on-ground reality of the
job.
MS. HEUER said the panel's recommendations to the legislature
were similar; address the discrepancy between rural, urban, and
bush child protective services, clarify fiscal responsibility in
certain areas, and use the capital budget to adequately fund
housing and facility work for OCS and its workers.
2:09:39 PM
She further reported that staff in Bethel and the surrounding
areas say the lack of housing affects worker recruitment and
retention, and retaining workers in remote areas is always a
problem. She also stated the panel would like to see
standardization of resources between state agencies. In terms of
OCS, she said, the panel was pleased to learn that "safety is
safety," regardless of location. OCS has also acknowledged staff
retention problems as a barrier to protecting children. Frequent
turnover directly impacts the safety of children, especially in
bush and rural areas. Ms. Heuer also noted the lack of adequate
support staff, and said that OCS has requested an updated
workload study, and has undertaken an in-house data study to
examine caseload and resource distribution. She further noted
that OCS has updated its training curriculum, and supervisory
strategic plan, and that overall, OCS is doing a good job of
addressing the most pressing issues. She emphasized that OCS is
a huge, ponderous, bureaucratic agency with a very challenging
mission, and that the agency is working hard to comply with
requirements from the federal Program Improvement Plan. Changes
being made are reflected in better child protection policies and
evolving practices.
2:14:41 PM
MS. HEUER said poor worker retention leads to frustrations in
the court system because of continuances, late reports,
detrimental court rulings, and children remaining in custody for
too long. OCS needs to resolve poor worker retention to fix
these issues. She said the panel supports OCS's efforts to
evaluate staff ratios; once that study is complete, OCS will
need financial support to implement it. She also said the
housing issue is critical to staff retention, and that policies
will fail without staff to implement them.
2:19:47 PM
MS. HEUER stressed that Alaska does not want to be a state that
will not make changes until a child dies. Unfortunately, the
perception among OCS staff now is that children are less safe
than they were before; workers are afraid that a child will die
on their watch.
2:20:29 PM
CHAIR DAVIS asked in what way are children are less safe.
MS. HEUER said the CRP met with all the supervisors in the OCS
Wasilla field office in December, and that as a group they are
worried the population generally is less safe; kids are falling
through the cracks; children are at risk; the level of worry in
the meeting was alarming.
2:24:25 PM
FRED VAN WALLINGA, panel member, said that after going into a
community and talking with agencies and citizens, the CRVP
reports back to senior management, and therefore problems can
get fixed more quickly.
MS. HEUER noted the newly created Western Region of OCS is also
struggling with staffing issues.
2:24:57 PM
CHRISTY LAWTON, acting director, Office of Children's Services,
Department of Health and Social Services, said she would respond
to the report from the CRV.
CHAIR DAVIS asked Ms. Lawton if she could first give a brief
overview of her career.
MS. LAWTON said she was previously a child welfare
administrator, where she had oversight of field operations in
the 5 regions on a state-wide level. She has been with OCS for
thirteen years.
2:26:15 PM
MS. LAWTON expressed her appreciation for the CVP, and said the
information they produce is very valuable. Concerning the
panel's recommendations for OCS, especially with regard to
disparity among the different areas, she said that in a large
agency of 500 employees in 26 field office, consistent
communication is a challenge. There can be misunderstandings
about what can be paid for. For instance, if a social worker in
Bethel needs to get to a village, many times airline schedules
will not meet their needs. In order to assure child safety, if
they need to charter a plane, they can do that. Child safety
comes first.
She said OCS is working on the support staff issue, and is doing
an internal analysis of the number of support staff based on
number of workers. In addition to administrative support staff,
OCS also has a job class called Social Service Associates
(SSAs). SSAs are para-professionals who can do the work of
transporting children, providing supervised visitation, and some
paperwork assistance. OCS administrative staff pays bills,
answers phones, and helps with discovery for legal cases. OCS
has not added support staff for a number of years, and it is
looking for information regarding what is an adequate ratio of
support staff to social workers.
MS. LAWTON stated OCS has a number of training initiatives and
goals for 2011. The University of Alaska now has a family and
youth services training academy, which is looking at ways to
provide professional development for OCS staff. On-line training
is available for the rural offices, and the agency has revamped
its entire new worker training from 2 weeks to 4.
2:32:14 PM
She said that as far as worker retention, there are no magic
bullets, but some things can have an impact. OCS is looking for
ways to hire people whose values are aligned with the agency.
For instance, if their beliefs about a family's right to self
determination, or about institutional racism, are aligned with
those of the agency, they will be more likely to stay.
MS. LAWTON said OCS has received support from national resource
centers to develop a supervisory strategic plan to strengthen
and enhance child welfare supervision in Alaska. Child welfare
workers look to their supervisors for support, guidance,
clinical consultation, coaching, and mentoring. OCS is also
focused on increasing and enhancing training opportunities for
supervisors in the agency.
2:36:01 PM
MS. LAWTON made a final comment about children being less safe.
She said it breaks her heart to hear that, and to believe it,
because of all the work they have done to make children safer.
She said that when staff is overworked it is natural for them to
believe that children are not safe.
2:37:31 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked if the number of OCS cases is continuing to
rise.
MS. LAWTON confirmed that the number of cases has climbed
significantly in the last few years, but she said the number of
children in out-of-home care is declining. She views this as
success, because OCS is able to keep more children in their own
homes.
SENATOR DYSON asked if she had percentage increase figures.
MS. LAWTON said there has been a nine percent increase over the
past year.
SENATOR DYSON asked how many children in out-of-home care are
reunited with their birth families.
MS. LAWTON responded that approximately 50 percent of children
in out-of-home care are eventually reunited with their families.
SENATOR DYSON asked if there is a broad pattern of change in the
intensity of neglect and abuse.
MS. LAWTON said there is discussion about increased intensity,
especially in the Mat-Su Valley, but they have not been able to
track this.
SENATOR ELLIS asked where line workers go when they leave their
jobs, and do they ever mention state pay and benefits as a
factor.
MS. LAWTON said they note many factors, and pay is a small part.
The more significant areas are workload and support. Many staff
members are actually promoted, and others simply realize social
work is not the right job for them.
CHAIR DAVIS asked if the committee could have copies of the
staff survey.
MS. LAWTON replied she would be happy to provide copies.
2:42:11 PM
CHAIR DAVIS questioned SSAs doing social work with only four
weeks of training, and asked if they are supervised by other
social workers.
MS. LAWTON responded the SSAs get the same four weeks training
as other staff, and are supervised by a social work supervisor.
Sometimes in rural areas with small offices, SSAs are forced to
take on duties beyond their job description. In urban settings
OCS has units based on job focus, and a supervisor is
responsible for 5 - 8 front-line social workers plus SSAs. In
rural areas, where there is not enough staff, sometimes there is
not a supervisor on-site.
2:45:48 PM
CHAIR DAVIS asked if OCS is using nonprofit agencies in small
towns and villages.
MS. LAWTON said they are making improvements in that regard,
especially through their tribal partners and tribal agencies.
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Davis adjourned the meeting at 2:46 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
|
| SB 17 Ltr of support AK Mental Health Board.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| Ltr of Support Municipality of Anchorage.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| Ltr of Support Fairbanks Police.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| ADN Article 12 21 2010.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| ADN Article 12 08 2010.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| ADN Article 10 20 2010.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| Fiscal Note.pdf |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
SB 17 |
| Alaska's Citizen Review Panel.pptx |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |
|
| Alaska's Citizen Review Panel.pptx |
SHSS 2/9/2011 1:30:00 PM |