Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
02/14/2018 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Presentation: Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Children's Services "alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact" | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
February 14, 2018
1:30 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator David Wilson, Chair
Senator Natasha von Imhof, Vice Chair
Senator Cathy Giessel
Senator Peter Micciche
Senator Tom Begich
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES~ OFFICE
OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES "ALASKA TRIBAL CHILD WELFARE COMPACT"
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
MELANIE BAHNKE, President/CEO
Kawerak, Inc.
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented on the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare
Compact.
CHRISTY LAWTON, Director
Office of Children's Services (OCS)
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented on the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare
Compact.
CARLA ERICKSON, Supervising Attorney
Department of Law (DOL)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Answered questions about the Alaska Tribal
Child Welfare Compact.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:30:22 PM
CHAIR DAVID WILSON called the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Present at the
call to order were Senators von Imhof, Giessel, Begich, and
Chair Wilson. Senator Micciche joined shortly thereafter.
^Presentation: Department of Health and Social Services, Office
of Children's Services "Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact"
PRESENTATION: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, OFFICE
OF CHILDREN'S SERVICES "ALASKA TRIBAL CHILD WELFARE COMPACT"
CHAIR WILSON announced that the Office of Children's Services
would give a presentation on the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare
Compact.
1:31:33 PM
MELANIE BAHNKE, President/CEO, Kawerak, Inc., presented on the
Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact. She shared that she is
originally from St. Lawrence Island. Kawerak, Inc., in the
Bering Strait region of Alaska, is a tribal consortium, a
nonprofit that operates about 20 programs. She was pleased to be
able to share information with the committee about the exciting
partnership tribes are forging with the state.
1:32:30 PM
CHRISTY LAWTON, Director, Office of Children's Services (OCS),
Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), presented on
the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact.
MS. LAWTON noted that Francine Eddie Jones, Director of Tribal
Social Services at Central Council of Tlingit& Haida Indian
Tribes of Alaska, was in the audience and Nicole Borromeo with
the Alaska Federation of Natives was attending by phone.
She said data shows why the compact is so important. As of
yesterday, 2,855 Alaska children were in state custody, 1,734 of
whom are Alaska Native/American Indian. That is 61 percent, even
though they make up only 22 percent of the population in Alaska.
Alaska Native/American Indian children are three times as likely
to be in foster care as their Non-Native counterparts. In the
eight years that she has been director of OCS, there has been no
significant change to the disparity of who is in foster care.
She said Alaska Native children are more likely to have poorer
outcomes that Non-Native children. The percent of Alaska
Native/American Indian Children who were reunified in 2016 was
55%, while the number of Non-Native children who were reunified
was 71%.
She said disparities exist in repeat maltreatment. The percent
of Alaska Native/American Indian children who experienced repeat
maltreatment in 2016 was 17.7% while the rate was 10.2% for Non-
Native children. Maltreatment is defined as when a report of
child abuse is substantiated and then another report is
substantiated in the next 12 months.
According to the 2009-2011 surveys by the Alaska Pregnancy Risk
Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Project, an on-going survey
of mothers of newborns initiated by the State of Alaska Division
of Public Health, Section of Maternal, Child and Family Health,
one in three in Alaska children are reported to OCS before age
8. For Alaska Native children it is one in two. There could not
be a more critical time for a new approach.
1:35:41 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE said it must be frustrating to feel that the
state is not moving the needle in a better direction. He asked
if the state is evaluating programs throughout the United
States. These problems are shared with American Indians in the
lower 48. He asked if anyone was moving the needle.
MS. LAWTON said they always pay attention to research and
literature from across the country. American Indian children,
and children of other ethnicities, across the country are
overrepresented. Lots of states are trying many things and some
have found some success, but none have solved this issue of
disproportionality.
MS. BAHNKE said their work together was assisted by the Casey
Family Foundation, a national philanthropic foundation focused
on the well-being of children. If a silver bullet existed, it
would have been identified. It is time to try a new approach.
Doing the same thing over and over isn't working.
SENATOR BEGICH asked if he had the figures correct for OCS
reports: one in two of Alaska Native children and one in three
of all Alaskan children, so a third of kids are reported by age
eight to OCS. He asked if that was a percentage of the total
population or just raw reports.
1:38:53 PM
MS. LAWTON replied the data comes from the population surveyed
by Public Health from 2009 to 2011.
SENATOR BEGICH said he really wanted to nail the figures down.
One-third of kids in Alaska under age 8, probably about 65,000
kids, are reported to OCS. Some 20,000 individuals, not separate
reports, are being reported to OCS.
MS. LAWTON said yes.
SENATOR VON IMHOF said then about 10 percent of kids reported go
into state custody. She asked what happens to the other kids not
in state custody.
MS. LAWTON said OCS receives over 15,000 reports a month, and
those reports typically are about multiple children. OCS only
screens in half of the reports for an investigation. The other
half are just recorded. Of the 7,500 to 8,000 that are
investigated, 10 percent of cases investigated involve taking
children into custody.
SENATOR VON IMHOF asked if this is similar to other states.
MS. LAWTON said lots of reports exist of state-to-state
comparisons in many outcomes. She can find those reports.
SENATOR BEGICH said the Casey Foundation Kids Count must have
data.
1:42:13 PM
SENATOR MICCICHE said considering that Alaska is number one in
so many of the wrong demographics, it is probably the same here.
He said it is not an Alaska Native or rural issue. It is an
Alaskan issue--suicide, substance abuse, domestic violence,
sexual assault, adverse childhood experiences. If Alaska is
number one on these issues, it probably is in child custody. It
is all one problem. But he was curious if Alaska is number one
in terms of child custody.
MS. LAWTON said the state and OCS have a long history working
with tribes. They have been meeting face-to-face, multiple times
a year, for almost 23 years. In the 1990s an agreement was
signed about all the things that would be done differently
following the Indian Child Welfare Act, in engaging and
communicating to ensure they were doing the best service for
Alaska's kids. That work has been fantastic. Everything in the
90s plan was accomplished and built into OCS's policy,
practices, and training. Despite that, the state still has this
data.
One of the results of the 23 years of the tribal state
collaboration group is that 11 tribes receive federal
reimbursement for administrative and short-term training
centered on child welfare. The funding is provided via OCS
through tribal Title IV-E agreements.
In the last five years two IV-E maintenance agreements were
signed with Tanana Chiefs Conference and Tlingit and Haida that
allow them to transfer children to tribal custody, which they
have always had the authority to do, but now they can get the
federal revenue to pay for foster care.
MS. LAWTON said OCS has been doing these legal agreements for
many years. A compact is the next natural step in letting tribes
do the work they already have the authority to do. They are
already doing many programs. They are doing more prevention and
early intervention services than OCS can. Despite the 23-year
history, and Francine Eddie Jones has been at the table from the
very beginning, there has been no transformation in the system
improving outcomes. This is what they hope the compact will do.
SENATOR VON IMHOF said the DHSS audit several years ago stated
that DHSS is not taking full advantage Title IV-E agreements.
She asked if the compact is part of the response to the audit or
something separate.
1:46:49 PM
MS. LAWTON said she could not recall the report exactly, but
tribes have to decide to enter into an agreement. So far only 11
tribes or tribal organizations have done it. Many other tribes
want to enter into Title IV-E agreements, but it takes
infrastructure and administrative things to be put into place.
The audit said DHSS hadn't done enough site visits.
SENATOR VON IMHOF said she may find the audit to discuss later,
but it was something about federal money being left on the table
that the state was not taking advantage of.
MS. LAWTON said she now recalled what Senator von Imhoff was
referencing. That was about the ability to draw through what is
called the penetration rate, which is another set of formulas.
The department has made significant improvements. The IV-E
penetration rate is at an all-time high because of some
innovative strategies.
MS. LAWTON said prior to her current role, DHSS Commissioner
Valerie Davidson was part of a national commission that
developed the report Attorney General's Advisory Committee on
American Indian/Alaska Native Children Exposed to Violence:
Ending Violence so Children Can Thrive. Alaska's issues were so
striking that it had an entire chapter in the report.
She said one of the recommendations in the report was to create
a task force to look at finding solutions. They started
strategic meetings with tribal leaders and some attorneys from
organizations that were often suing OCS for ineffectual services
to some Alaska Native families and communities. It was a year of
tough, intense conversations.
She said the result of that work, which was heavily sponsored by
the Casey Family Programs, is a five-year strategic plan to
transform child welfare outcomes for Alaska Native children.
This is where the idea of the compact was birthed.
1:52:12 PM
MS. LAWTON shared the six strategic priorities of the plan.
1. Respectful Government-to- Government
Collaboration & Partnership
2. Self-Governance
3. Embrace & Implement the Spirit of ICWA
4. State Government Alignment
5. Community Engagement
6. Continuum of Culturally Specific Services &
Supports
She said they held the first tribal consultation in November in
Anchorage that involved all the divisions of DHSS. All 229
tribes in Alaska and many tribal groups were invited. It was the
first time to speak across disciplines with tribal colleagues in
many fields, and the intent is to continue it annually.
MS. LAWTON said the compact is about self-governance without
state oversight. They need some funding from the state of
Alaska. The challenge with some of the Title IV-E maintenance
agreements is that the federal portion only pays for a small
portion of it.
CHAIR WILSON asked if DHSS had a fiscal note.
MS. LAWTON said nothing is in writing yet. The compact was
signed in October, but they are still working on the last
details of the funding agreements. That should be available
soon. They hope to complete negotiations in the next week or so.
SENATOR VON IMHOF asked if DHSS should award grants vs
additional state funds or the same state funds paid to a
different entity.
MS. LAWTON said she was not sure she understood the question.
They are evaluating all the existing funding at OCS and not
asking for more. There is funding going to tribes through grants
and contracts for various services. OCS is considering where
there are efficiencies, what to end funding for to fund other
things, fee for service in the future, perhaps. OCS is planning
to use the Office of Rate Review to establish an analysis of
services. She gave the example of how to analyze and quantify
the cost of the many things a case worker does. Tribes have a
vision for taking over all of this in their geographic areas,
but it will take time to build infrastructure to do that. It is
new territory and they are trying to figure that all out.
1:57:00 PM
SENATOR VON IMHOF said she likes what she is hearing--to
prioritize work within the system to reallocate existing funding
and to see what is available at the local level.
SENATOR MICCICHE said he assumed they would be discussing the
actual compact during this meeting.
MS. BAHNKE addressed the question of why not just issue a grant.
She explained that compacting is different than being a grantee.
It is a formal relationship between sovereigns. It is not new.
Tribes and tribal organizations have entered into compacts with
the federal government for over 20 years. The Alaska Native
health care system is an example of a compacting agreement.
Kawerak has compacts for services formerly provided by the
Bureau of Indian Affairs and compacts that allows Kawerak to use
federal highway resources to build roads. But now they are
entering into this type of relationship with the state of
Alaska. The state is a partner, and Kawerak is not a grantee or
contractor.
MS. BAHNKE said compacting is not something new for tribes.
Kawerak has successfully administered state contracts and grants
for over 20 years. Delivering services closer to the service
population has been successful. One example is the work
requirements for public assistance. The Department of Labor was
not successful in identifying work sites in their villages for
beneficiaries of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).
Kawerak has human resources in the villages and is governed by
tribes in the region. Kawerak was able to identify work sites in
every village, and the state of Alaska is now in compliance for
federal work requirements in their region. They believe they are
capable. It is about stepping up and taking responsibility in
finding solutions to the state's issues and the issues in their
own backyards. It is a natural progression from being a
contractor, a grantee, to a true partnership.
MS. BAHNKE made the following points about the Alaska Tribal
Child Welfare Compact.
• It is a government-to-government agreement between the
State of Alaska and Alaska tribes and tribal organizations.
• It recognizes tribes' inherent sovereign authority to serve
their citizens as they have since time immemorial.
• It defines the services to be carried out by tribes and
tribal organizations in a defined jurisdiction or service
area.
• Alaska's first Tribal-State compact has opened the door to
create other government-to-government agreements in other
service areas beyond Child Welfare and beyond Health and
Social Services.
She said certain efficiencies will be gained by the state
entering into agreements with organizations like Kawerak, which
has 200 employees and is in every single village. It is
leveraging funds and resources.
She said 18 tribes and tribal organizations have signed the
compact. A number of them jumped on this opportunity. They feel
they are ready and have the capacity. Some will need to build
that capacity to reach the level of sophistication that a larger
organization like Kawerak has achieved.
2:05:05 PM
MS. LAWTON added that the compact describes how annual
negotiations will be done and also specifies when new cosigners
can join the compact or funding agreements. They expect the
number of tribes and tribal organizations to grow every year.
MS. LAWTON said that for the remainder of Fiscal Year 18, tribes
are working on program development, infrastructure and capacity
building, and training and technical support through individual
agreements.
She said that with the compact signed in October, some things
are being implemented. One of the more exciting parts of the
compact was spelling out the sharing of information,
particularly the screened out protective services reports. The
policy has been for many years to contact the tribe, if the
tribe is known, prior to going out to see the family to
investigate a report on an Alaska Native child, to see if the
tribe wishes to have a staff person to join OCS. OCS is now
automatically sending all reports, screened in and screened out
reports, with the 18 cosigners and the tribes connected to those
cosigners. More importantly, they also get the 50 percent of
reports that OCS is not doing anything with. Some of them are
already contacting those families to see if they can offer any
services. This could slow down the trajectory of growing
problems within families who then ultimately make their way back
to OCS.
MS. LAWTON said the three priorities for Fiscal Year 19 came
from negotiations with all the partners. It was difficult to
choose three priorities out of the whole universe of what OCS
does.
The FY2019 focus is primarily on
• Initial Diligent Relative Search
• Safety Evaluation for Unlicensed Relatives &
Prospective Foster Parents
• Family Contact
She said tribes already know families to complete safety
evaluations as compared to someone from Anchorage trying to fly
out to do this.
2:10:59 PM
MS. LAWTON shared the long-term vision:
• Outcomes for all Alaska children will be
improved.
• Families will be served closest to home, in their
own communities in a way reflective of their
culture and traditions.
• Families will be more receptive and engaged in
changing behavior which will mean over time that
the number of Alaska Native children in foster
care will decline as does the rate of
maltreatment.
• More tribes accessing Title IV-E funding to
operate programs autonomously with both the state
and federal funding required to be successful.
She said most of the time Alaska Native families will respond
better to someone from tribal organization.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if the number of groups in the compact
will grow past 18.
MS. LAWTON said other tribes and organizations are welcome to
join the compact every year when they do annual negotiations,
but they cannot join outside of the annual negotiations period.
SENATOR MICCICHE asked if anyone is operational at this point.
MS. LAWTON said they are all in different places. Many are going
on screen outs to offer services, for the reports not being
investigated. They are still working on funding agreements for
relative searches. All is in the process of gearing up.
MS. BAHNKE said they have not yet received a penny from the
state, but some are already offering services. They need funding
to ramp it up.
SENATOR MICCICHE said in the past the Native organizations were
notified if there was a report on Alaska Native children. He
asked if organizations kept a log of who was receiving services
or if this was completely new.
2:14:26 PM
MS. BAHNKE said OCS is supposed to share information when it
receives a report of harm and plans to do an initial
investigation, but they were not receiving all the screened out
reports. They are now receiving information on families who may
need resources and family preservation services. With the
compact, OCS is mandated to share information. She is not an
expert in OCS systems, but the majority of children in OCS
custody are not there because of the first initial report of
harm. They want to work with families at the first sign of
support needed. Hopefully this will reduce children going into
state or tribal custody.
SENATOR BEGICH said with the redeployment of funds with the
funding agreements, they are talking about the pool of funding
for what they both acknowledge is not a working system. With the
partnerships these funds can reach further out, with more local
expertise. He saw these as positive steps that should have been
done decades ago. The funding agreement is key, how those funds
are redeployed. He noted that the 18 signees represent more than
18 tribes. He asked how many tribes are with Kawerak.
MS. BAHNKE said Kawerak has 20 federally-recognized tribes in
their region. One of them is an independent signer of the
compact.
SENATOR BEGICH said that means that for those two entities they
are talking about 27 tribes at least. He said, one, the idea of
redeployment, which he wants to hear more about, two, the number
is more than 18, and three, incremental growth. It is best not
to do everything at once. He asked is it fair to say that as a
tribe expresses readiness, OCS is embracing that tribe.
2:18:43 PM
MS. LAWTON responded yes, that is exactly what their strategy
has been. She guessed that the cosigners probably represent over
100 tribes. Senator Begich is exactly right about incremental
growth. They need to get it right and be successful. They are
being strategic and thoughtful about how to start. The most
exciting conversation has been about redeployment of resources,
as they can imagine. They spent a lot of time looking at
documents of the OCS budget and all the federal formula. "It's a
big, complicated pile," she said.
She said they are looking at funds where they have a say about
how they are used. Federal funds have little flexibility. They
have the most flexibility with family preservation funds. In the
long term, they will need to be creative about how to move
resources. The other OCS budget components are heavily tied to
federal requirements and federal funding.
SENATOR BEGICH said looking back on slide 9 of the presentation,
the program development, infrastructure, etc., that also builds
consistency. They are almost a provider of consistency.
2:21:30 PM
MS. LAWTON said she was not sure about the word consistency.
Each tribe can approach how they are going to do these services
in their own unique way.
SENATOR BEGICH said he should have said best practices. There
are best, evidence-based practices that OCS will be stewards of
and however they pick those best practices.
MS. LAWTON said there are many things in child welfare that have
best practice and many things that don't. The tribes will
diligently try to find what works.
SENATOR GIESSEL said this is a great idea. It is a concept being
discussed in the education realm. Commissioner Michael Johnson
of Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) had the
Alaska Educational Challenge (AEC) last summer. One of the ideas
that emerged was the idea of compacting with tribes for
education. That was transformational.
She said that as a nurse practitioner, she often visualizes the
substance abuse crisis as a river where we see people in a river
heading toward a waterfall. We throw life preservers at them, we
swim out to them to try to get them to shore, to get on solid
ground, to get their lives back in order. She sees OCS that way
also. We need to go up the river to find out why people are
falling in the river and stop them. At the end of the day, it is
about healthy families. That is a people issue, not a financial
issue. When she worked at the Alaska Native medical center,
there was a program, perhaps family warriors, for men on how to
be fathers. Those kinds of things will stop people falling in
and create healthy families. She asked if part of the mission
will be to cultivate healthy families.
She said, "I think you took my notes." She cannot speak for
other organizations, but this is true for Kawerak. The OCS
mandate is safety of children first. Kawerak will look at the
well-being of family units, as well as child safety. The data
are not just numbers to them. They see faces behind the numbers.
They are their cousins, nieces. They feel a true responsibility
to the well-being of their family units and communities. This
agreement allows a more holistic approach. She hopes that their
social workers won't be viewed as just enforcers or there to
take children away. They will know that Kawerak is there to
provide support.
2:27:43 PM
MS. BAHNKE said the State of Alaska hasn't always gotten it
right when it comes to tribes. She hopes that 20 years from now
she can report the successes they have gained. The State of
Alaska will be on the right side of history when it comes to
this agreement.
SENATOR GIESSEL said government was never meant to deal with
these kinds of issues. It is local families, local communities,
that are best suited to deal with these kinds of issues.
CHAIR WILSON said the committee would like to ask questions
about the agreement itself.
SENATOR MICCICHE said the immediate benefit from the compact is
that he assumes a high proportion of screened out reports
results in an eventual visit from OCS. Now, instead of someone
from a different culture in Anchorage, a friendly face will show
up to help with early intervention. He expects a dramatically
different outcome just because of that. Capacity is going to
vary dramatically from tribal organization to tribal
organization. Looking at the section on licensing and
certification, he asked about qa [quality assurance] and qc
[quality check] to assure child safety and some measure of
qualification and outcome.
SENATOR MICCICHE rephrased his comments to ask how the state is
assured that the same capacity exists locally so people don't
slip through the cracks and a child remains at risk.
MS. LAWTON said a great amount of thought went into that area.
Tribes are going to receive state funding that OCS would have
gotten. There will be a process for OCS to visit and evaluate
programs. The compact has a provision to suspend or terminate on
both sides. OCS will work to address problems. That language is
built into the compact. No one wants to end an agreement. The
tribes could go to OCS with problems they perceive with OCS.
SENATOR MICCICHE said he is from a small community and sometimes
powerful people get a different outcome than others. He is
concerned about that.
2:33:28 PM
MS. BAHNKE said it sounded as though he was seeking some
assurances about whether OCS will be qualified to deliver
services and comply with the requirements She feels OCS will be
held to an even higher standard that currently.
CHAIR WILSON asked about blended families, with different tribal
members or nontribal members. He asked about child support, such
as whether a tribal jurisdiction can go after a nontribal member
for child support.
MS. LAWTON said they do see a lot of blended families. With the
compact, the definition that applies is whether the Indian Child
Welfare Act applies to the child.
CHAIR WILSON asked about section 6.2.3.1, Child Support, about
enforcement of child support, on page 18 of the agreement.
2:37:09 PM
CARLA ERICKSON, Supervising Attorney, Department of Law (DOL),
answered questions about the compact. She said the section is
about access to databases and information, not about who is
entering child support orders. She will get back him on whether
there is authority for a tribe to enter a child support order
over a Non-Native child, but that was not the intent of the
section.
SENATOR BEGICH responded to Senator Micciche's concerns about
what happens at the local level. He recounted a story from when
he worked with the Division of Juvenile Justice. The village of
Togiak created a Community Court Tribunal under a fraternal
community court agreement. Since Togiak was a divided community,
there were questions about fair sentencing because of the
factions in the community. When he reviewed the court records,
he did not find one example of one group retaliating against
another. He has been impressed by the commitment to community,
whether Native or Non-Native, when given the ability to make
decisions at the local level. He has seen it as a direct
practitioner.
SENATOR MICCICHE said he is not brand new to Alaska and he is
not brand new to areas that have tribal responsibilities. He
said it goes both ways. He said their diligence must guarantee
the safety of children. He doesn't doubt the compact, but there
are examples in Alaska in smaller, rural communities where that
is not the case. He hears what Senator Begich is saying, but for
the isolated child who cannot get relief because of local
protection, their job is to make sure it never happens.
2:40:58 PM
SENATOR BEGICH said he completely agrees. He asked if 5.3.5 on
page 11 provides enough time for the Negotiating Cycle.
MS. LAWTON said they don't know since they haven't done it
before but they will find out. She pointed out that both
Senators Begich and Micciche were correct in their comments.
Mistakes are going to happen. Mistakes happen every day under
her watch, despite her very best efforts. Child welfare is not
an exact science. They are going to try to support each.
MS. BAHNKE said it is like the stock market. Over the long run
you do well. She brought up what tribes have done with health
care in small communities. In her region some villages have
built roads to federal highway standards. She said they can be
trusted and counted on to ensure that they will do right by
these children.
CHAIR WILSON said he was grateful that the department is looking
for other ways to address problems. He was concerned about the
definition of tribal law in 2.19 on page 8 of the agreement that
states that tribal traditional law can be oral. He asked if that
means tribes can change laws because of someone's whim.
MS. BAHNKE said the definition, in relationship to the
agreement, is more about the authority of tribes to carry out
the agreement. Section 3.3 Tribal Authority on page 9 delves
into tribal authority. The definition is there to explain the
authority that allows them to enter into these types of
agreements.
CHAIR WILSON said the Division of Juvenile Justice(DJJ) is part
of DHSS. DJJ is part of the information-sharing agreement. He
asked if this means tribal organizations will take over some of
those arrangements or is DJJ just in the agreement to share
information for juveniles that may have a record.
2:46:06 PM
MS. LAWTON said they did not get into that specific
conversation, but she knows her tribal colleagues are interested
in delivering any services that could have better outcomes for
their families. They might be interested in becoming involved in
juvenile justice or any of the other DHSS services.
SENATOR VON IMHOF asked if the committee can get a report in a
year. She asked if they are quantifying the data to be able to
report on how it is going.
MS. BAHNKE said to expect great change in a year is a false
expectation, but they will be collecting data to turn it into
useful information. She wants to know 20 years from now that it
made a difference. She wants to know she contributed to
meaningful change.
SENATOR BEGICH said fundamentally the legislature is responsible
for the safety of every child. He looks forward to that report.
MS. BAHNKE said she sees everyone is concerned about the welfare
of children. They are partners in this shared responsibility.
She acknowledged Commissioner Davidson for her fearless
leadership in trying to find a new way to address the long-term
statistics the state faces. She feels very supported by the top
leaders as they enter into this agreement with the state.
MS. LAWTON echoed Ms. Bahnke's comments.
SENATOR MICCICHE said when they are back home in their
districts, they hear mixed messages on agencies from Native and
Non-Native families, rural or urban. There is a gap with the
local influence that could be beneficial in every one of the
difficult statistics he talked about earlier. He thinks that it
is the right way to go. The outside one-size-fits-all approach
has not worked, and he is very supportive. The state has not
gained ground on those issues. The reason he is in the
legislature is that because one day he wants not to need a
suicide task force, an OCS, because they have solved those
problems. He knows that is not real life, but a new approach is
needed.
2:51:47 PM
CHAIR WILSON said ensuring child safety is a key priority of the
state of Alaska. He thanked the presenters for looking for
creative solutions.
2:52:16 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Wilson adjourned the Senate Health and Social Services
Standing Committee at 2:52.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact 12.15.17.pdf |
SHSS 2/14/2018 1:30:00 PM |
Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact |
| Legislative Update - Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact FINAL February 2018.pdf |
SHSS 2/14/2018 1:30:00 PM |
Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact DHSS 2.14.18 |
| AK Transforming Child Welfare Outcomes Strategic Plan Matrix.pdf |
SHSS 2/14/2018 1:30:00 PM |
Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact |