02/12/2013 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

                    ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE                                                                                  
      HOUSE HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                     
                       February 12, 2013                                                                                        
                           3:02 p.m.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Representative Pete Higgins, Chair                                                                                              
Representative Wes Keller, Vice Chair                                                                                           
Representative Lance Pruitt                                                                                                     
Representative Lora Reinbold                                                                                                    
Representative Paul Seaton                                                                                                      
Representative Geran Tarr                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MEMBERS ABSENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Benjamin Nageak                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
PRESENTATION: YOUTH POLICY SUMMIT                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
     - HEARD                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
HOUSE BILL NO. 16                                                                                                               
"An Act relating to citizenship requirements and an alcohol                                                                     
impairment and drug testing program for applicants for and                                                                      
recipients of specified cash assistance."                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     - BILL HEARING POSTPONED                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
No previous action to record                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
AMANDA METIVIER, Statewide Coordinator                                                                                          
Facing Foster Care in Alaska                                                                                                    
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Presented during the Youth Policy Summit.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CIARA GOODMAN                                                                                                                   
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Presented her story during the Youth Policy                                                              
Summit.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REBECCA SHIER, Statewide Representative                                                                                         
Facing Foster Care in Alaska                                                                                                    
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Presented her  story during the Youth Policy                                                             
Summit.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CRYSTAL PARILLA, Peer Navigator                                                                                                 
Alaska Youth and Family Network                                                                                                 
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Presented her  story during the Youth Policy                                                             
Summit.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
LILLY BABINO                                                                                                                    
Facing Foster Care in Alaska                                                                                                    
Anchorage, Alaska                                                                                                               
POSITION STATEMENT:  Presented her  story during the Youth Policy                                                             
Summit.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA                                                                                                         
Alaska State Legislature                                                                                                        
Juneau, Alaska                                                                                                                  
POSITION  STATEMENT:   Testified during  the Youth  Policy Summit                                                             
presentation.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:02:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR PETE  HIGGINS called the  House Health and  Social Services                                                             
Standing   Committee    meeting   to    order   at    3:02   p.m.                                                               
Representatives  Higgins,  Keller,   Seaton,  and  Reinbold  were                                                               
present at  the call to  order.  Representatives Pruitt  and Tarr                                                               
arrived as the meeting was in progress.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
^Presentation: Youth Policy Summit                                                                                            
               Presentation: Youth Policy Summit                                                                            
                                                                                                                              
3:02:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HIGGINS announced that the  only order of business would be                                                               
a presentation by the Youth Policy Summit.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:03:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AMANDA  METIVIER, Statewide  Coordinator, Facing  Foster Care  in                                                               
Alaska, explained that she was  also a coordinator for the Alaska                                                               
Youth  Policy Summit,  an  annual event  which  brought about  20                                                               
youth  from all  over Alaska  to the  legislature to  share their                                                               
various stories and experiences  with the social service systems.                                                               
The summit also offered youth the  opportunity to have a voice in                                                               
policy and  develop skills  as leaders.   She  said that  she had                                                               
spent three  years in foster  care in Anchorage before  aging out                                                               
of the  foster care system,  and that  she had just  received her                                                               
Master's degree in Social Work.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:05:01 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CIARA GOODMAN  shared that  she was an  Alaska native,  a college                                                               
student, and  had aged  out of  foster care.   She said  that her                                                               
experiences with  foster care and residential  treatment had made                                                               
her  an  empathetic,  intelligent,   and  genuine  person.    She                                                               
declared  that  she was  the  daughter  of a  bi-polar  alcoholic                                                               
mother, and that she had  bounced between a loving and supportive                                                               
guardian and her abusive mother.   She relayed that she had spent                                                               
a  short chaotic  period living  with her  father, before  moving                                                               
back to her  guardian's home and starting high  school, where she                                                               
made  friends, became  a cheerleader,  and received  good grades.                                                               
At the  end of her freshman  year she was put  on medication, and                                                               
her  personality changed.   When  her guardians  could no  longer                                                               
handle her, she was moved  into a residential treatment and given                                                               
more  medication.   The  effects  of  the medication  caused  her                                                               
grades to drop  and she lost her privileges.   She stopped taking                                                               
the  medication and  ran  away, feeling  safer  sleeping on  park                                                               
benches than  staying at the  residential treatment center.   She                                                               
was moved  to another residential treatment,  and the medications                                                               
were stopped.   She settled  down and became more  stable, smart,                                                               
and fun.  She  shared that she met other kids  who were also lost                                                               
to medication and  manipulation, and many who had  given up their                                                               
fight and their dreams for love  and success.  She declared that,                                                               
with  more involvement  by  her family,  she  would have  avoided                                                               
placement in shelters and overmedication.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:09:00 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REBECCA SHIER,  Statewide Representative  for Facing  Foster Care                                                               
in Alaska, shared  that, as her mother was a  heavy user of crack                                                               
cocaine and alcohol,  she was an emergency  foster care placement                                                               
as  an  infant.     She  moved  back  with  her   uncle  and  her                                                               
grandmother,  but   her  uncle  had  alcohol   problems  and  her                                                               
grandmother passed  away, so there  was no longer any  support in                                                               
her life.  She  said that she lived in foster care  from 12 to 19                                                               
years of  age, in  24 different  places, which  included homeless                                                               
shelters,  emergency   foster  homes,  park   benches,  treatment                                                               
centers, foster homes, and a  short reunification with her mother                                                               
that failed  after five  months.   She said there  was a  lack of                                                               
foster  homes  throughout  Alaska,  and that  each  move  between                                                               
foster homes would  set a child back five to  six months in their                                                               
education  and social  trust.   She  reported that  it was  these                                                               
experiences that  lead her to  her current work with  foster care                                                               
and  youth advocacy.    She  noted that  she  was also  attending                                                               
college, with a double major in music and social work.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:11:54 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD asked when youth  would age out of foster                                                               
care.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  SHIER replied  that this  was usually  when a  youth was  18                                                               
years,  unless  the  state  deemed  it  necessary  because  of  a                                                               
disability, education,  or mental health  issue, to keep  them in                                                               
foster care.   She said that youth could now  stay in foster care                                                               
until  21 years  of age.   She  explained that  aging out  of the                                                               
system meant  not finding legal  permanence:  not  being adopted,                                                               
not  getting  guardianship,  or  not  being  reunified  with  any                                                               
permanent family.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:12:47 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HIGGINS asked if her work was voluntary.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS.  SHIER explained  that it  was predominantly  volunteer work,                                                               
although there  were occasional  small stipends.   She  said that                                                               
her work as  an outreach case manager was a  paid position, which                                                               
developed from  an AmeriCorps volunteer position.   She clarified                                                               
that she was participating in the summit on her own time.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:13:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CRYSTAL  PARILLA,   Peer  Navigator,  Alaska  Youth   and  Family                                                               
Network, said that  she was a college student,  majoring in Human                                                               
Services, and  that she had been  placed in foster care  when she                                                               
was 8 years old.  She  was moved through 24 different placements,                                                               
including  group   homes,  residential  treatment   centers,  and                                                               
various foster homes,  in the next 8 years, so  she did not build                                                               
any connections or  trust with adults.  She shared  that when she                                                               
was 16  years of  age she  was placed back  with her  mother, but                                                               
that did not work out well  because of the lack of connection and                                                               
contact  during the  preceding 8  years.   She reported  that she                                                               
found her  dad in the State  of Washington when she  was 18 years                                                               
of age, although he had had  no contact since she was very young.                                                               
She relayed  that she  did not  have a  good connection  with her                                                               
father, as  well, because of  the lack  of earlier contact.   She                                                               
stated that  she was now  on her own,  although she lived  with a                                                               
family who were very helpful to her.   She noted that it was very                                                               
hard on youth when there was  not a family connection at an early                                                               
age.   She  reported that  she was  currently working  as a  peer                                                               
navigator  to help  other youth  by advocating  for their  needs.                                                               
She clarified  that she served  the whole family, as  the program                                                               
was very family focused, and she  tried to help youth get support                                                               
for their needs in the community.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:17:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
LILLY BABINO,  Facing Foster  Care in Alaska,  said that  she was                                                               
enrolled  at  University of  Alaska  Anchorage  with a  focus  on                                                               
Hospitality  and  Restaurant Management.    She  said that  being                                                               
placed in treatment and foster care  had changed her life from an                                                               
abusive  childhood  situation to  growing  into  an adult.    She                                                               
shared that  she had never  believed that she would  achieve what                                                               
she had now accomplished.  She was  forced to grow up at 12 years                                                               
of age, as,  she noted, her mother  did not care and  gave up the                                                               
rights to  her (Lilly) at  the first opportunity.   She expressed                                                               
her appreciation for her foster  care placement with a family who                                                               
cared and treated her well.   She declared that she was no longer                                                               
medicated, and that  foster care had "changed my  life from being                                                               
hopeless to having hope" for a good future.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
3:20:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER said that no  one should have to go through                                                               
what they had gone through and  he expressed how impressed he was                                                               
with their  willingness to speak so  openly.  He stated  his hope                                                               
for what they would accomplish in the future.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:21:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD  affirmed that all of  them had expressed                                                               
that hope came with support, and  she commented that "part of the                                                               
healing  process is  passing it  on and  helping others,  and you                                                               
guys are all a shining example of that, so keep it up."                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:21:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR  expressed her surprise for  the frequency of                                                               
placement  moves, and  asked if  the Alaska  Center for  Resource                                                               
Families  had helped  with the  recruitment  for foster  parents.                                                               
She  expressed  a  desire  for  the  legislature  to  offer  more                                                               
support,  and  asked  for  suggestions   to  help  or  distribute                                                               
information.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:23:09 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS.  METIVIER, in  response, affirmed  that  there was  a lot  of                                                               
recruitment  for foster  families,  especially  for older  youth.                                                               
She  indicated that  although the  initial foster  care placement                                                               
was  very important,  there  was  no system  to  match youth  and                                                               
families,  and too  often it  was "whatever  bed is  open."   She                                                               
pointed out  that this would  often lead to youth  with traumatic                                                               
issues  being  placed with  regular  foster  parents, instead  of                                                               
foster homes  licensed as therapeutic  placements.   She declared                                                               
that more permanent  placements up front should  be the emphasis,                                                               
which  could  include  reunification with  the  family,  adoptive                                                               
placement,  or   guardianship  with   the  current   foster  care                                                               
placement.  She  pointed out that there were  better outcomes for                                                               
teens  and  young  adults  when there  was  a  permanent  support                                                               
system.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:25:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR HIGGINS  endorsed the testimonies of  the youth presenters,                                                               
declaring that  they should not  be silent, as it  gives strength                                                               
and  hope to  others  in  similar situations.    He offered  some                                                               
personal anecdotes of his younger life with a foster sibling.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:26:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   TARR   asked   for   comments   on   legislative                                                               
priorities.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. METIVIER, in response, stated  that these priorities would be                                                               
discussed in the legislator's offices.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:27:19 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE REINBOLD  asked if there was  a coordinated effort                                                               
and relationship with Covenant House.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. METIVIER  replied that  she had  previously worked  for three                                                               
years with Covenant House.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:27:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA, Alaska  State Legislature, endorsed that                                                               
these youth  train many of  the social  workers at the  Office of                                                               
Children's Services (OCS) so that  OCS can improve its practices.                                                               
He pointed  out the youth  had come  to speak to  the legislature                                                               
for many years,  and they have worked on many  of the foster care                                                               
reforms  adopted   by  the  legislature.     He   indicated  that                                                               
previously the OCS mission had been  to prevent harm, but that it                                                               
was  now more  important  to ensure  that  youth transition  into                                                               
success.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:29:18 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
ADJOURNMENT                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
There being no  further business before the  committee, the House                                                               
Health  and  Social  Services   Standing  Committee  meeting  was                                                               
adjourned at 3:29 p.m.