00                            HOUSE BILL NO. 167                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to the care of children in state custody placed in nonprofit institutions                              
02 outside the state."                                                                                                     
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1. AS 47.14.100(a) is amended to read:                                                                 
05 (a)  Subject to (e), (f), and (i) - (m) of this section, the department shall arrange                                   
06 for the care of every child committed to its custody by placing the child in a foster                                   
07 home, [OR] in the care of an agency or institution providing care for children inside                               
08 [OR OUTSIDE] the state, or in the care of a nonprofit institution providing care                                    
09 for children outside the state. The department may place a child in a suitable family                               
10 home, with or without compensation, and may place a child released to it, in writing                                    
11 verified by the parent, or guardian or other person having legal custody, for adoptive                                  
12 purposes, in a home for adoption in accordance with existing law. For a child 16 years                                  
13 of age or older, the department may authorize another transitional living arrangement,                                  
14 including student dormitory residence at a postsecondary educational institution, that                                  

01 adequately meets the child's needs and is designed to assist the child's transition to                                  
02       independent living.                                                                                               
03    * Sec. 2. AS 47.14.112(d) is amended to read:                                                                      
04 (d)  The division of the department with responsibility over the custody of                                             
05 children shall prepare and make available to the legislature an annual report on                                        
06 employee recruitment and retention, including a five-year plan, for the division. Not                                   
07 later than November 15 of each year, the department shall deliver the report to the                                     
08 senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the                                     
09 legislature that the report is available. The report prepared under this subsection is                                  
10 separate from the annual report to the legislature required under AS 18.05.020 and                                      
11       must include, for the previous 12 months,                                                                         
12 (1)  the number of frontline social workers employed by the division,                                                   
13 the annual average turnover rate of the workers, and the average caseload of the                                        
14       workers on January 1 and July 1 of that year;                                                                     
15                 (2)  the number of children removed from their homes;                                                   
16                 (3)  the achievement of success measured by the following:                                              
17                      (A)  rate of family reunification;                                                                 
18 (B)  average length of time children spent in custody of the                                                            
19            department;                                                                                                  
20 (C)  rate of placement with an adult family member or family                                                            
21            friend;                                                                                                      
22 (D)  number of children placed in a permanent living                                                                    
23            arrangement with a guardian or biological or adoptive parent;                                                
24 (E)  number of children released from the custody of the                                                                
25            department;                                                                                                  
26 (4)  if the department has met or exceeded the caseload standards under                                                 
27 this chapter and, if the standards were exceeded, the number of caseworker positions                                    
28 in the division that could be eliminated and the amount of funding that could be                                        
29       reduced while continuing to meet but not routinely exceed the caseload standards;                                 
30 (5)  the performance of the department on federal benchmarks focused                                                    
31 on the safety, well-being, and permanent placements of foster children compared with                                    

01       the previous five years;                                                                                      
02                 (6)  the number of children placed in nonprofit institutions                                        
03       providing care for children outside the state.