01/30/2018 03:00 PM House HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

        HB 162-DHSS CENT. REGISTRY;LICENSE;BCKGROUND CHK                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:30:03 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ announced  that the next order  of business would                                                               
be HOUSE  BILL NO. 162,  "An Act  relating to criminal  and civil                                                               
history requirements  and a registry regarding  certain licenses,                                                               
certifications, appeals, and authorizations  by the Department of                                                               
Health  and  Social  Services; and  providing  for  an  effective                                                               
date."                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:30:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
STACIE  KRALY,   Chief  Assistant  Attorney   General,  Statewide                                                               
Section  Supervisor,  Human   Services  Section,  Civil  Division                                                               
(Juneau), Department  of Law, characterized the  proposed bill as                                                               
a  legislative  fix   to  existing  statutes  found   in  AS  47,                                                               
specifically the background  check found in AS  47.05.300 and the                                                               
licensing statutes found  in AS 47.32.  She declared  that HB 162                                                               
was a  technical fix which arose  out of a number  of issues over                                                               
the  past  15 years  to  identify  a  number of  gaps,  overlaps,                                                               
redundancies, and "squishy language."                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:31:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ opened public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:31:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KATE   BURKHART,  Ombudsman,   Juneau  Office,   Office  of   the                                                               
Ombudsman,  reported that  her office  was  an independent,  non-                                                               
partisan,   and   objective   organization   which   investigated                                                               
complaints about  state government.   When those  complaints were                                                               
found to be justified, the  office would make recommendations for                                                               
the  improvement  of  government  policies  and  programs.    She                                                               
emphasized  that this  was not  an advocacy  role and  would only                                                               
include comment  on issues that  directly affected work  or where                                                               
work might  provide information  that would  inform deliberations                                                               
with  some  context.    She  reported  that  the  Office  of  the                                                               
Ombudsman had developed an understanding  of the background check                                                               
program  based  on  an extensive  investigation  which  had  been                                                               
concluded  and then  reported in  2016.   She declared  that this                                                               
information was  relevant to some  of the provisions  in proposed                                                               
HB  162.   She offered  her comments  for use  as the  bill moved                                                               
forward,  pointing  out that  she  was  not advocating  that  the                                                               
previous recommendations should be taken  in lieu of those in the                                                               
proposed bill.   She pointed out that, as there  was not a unique                                                               
registry  associated  with  the  background  check  program,  the                                                               
proposed  bill  offered  an   opportunity  for  clarification  in                                                               
statute.   The  bill, as  written, referred  to a  civil registry                                                               
which was in fact a  program that checked pre-existing registries                                                               
held  in other  places.    Prior to  2012,  the background  check                                                               
program  used the  standard for  civil  barriers, which  included                                                               
substantiated  reports  of child  maltreatment  and  harm to  the                                                               
Office  of Children's  Services (OCS).   In  2012, the  Office of                                                               
Children's Services began  use of a "more  robust standard" which                                                               
looked to  findings from the  court in a  "child in need  of aid"                                                               
proceeding.  The recommendations  from the Ombudsman's office had                                                               
been  to use  the more  robust standard  of adjudicated  findings                                                               
which also provided an opportunity  for due process in the court;                                                               
whereas the  substantiated report  of harm  did not  always offer                                                               
this opportunity.   She stated that the  background check program                                                               
was  an   essential  component  to   the  systems   which  served                                                               
vulnerable  Alaskans   and  that  proposed  HB   162  offered  an                                                               
opportunity  to strengthen  the  program.   She  relayed that  if                                                               
there was a  decision to use a substantiated report  of harm as a                                                               
basis for  a civil  barrier under  the background  check program,                                                               
which was a policy decision, then  the notice to the people about                                                               
whom  a report  had been  substantiated needed  to be  very clear                                                               
because this could  affect them for up to 10  years.  She pointed                                                               
out that, currently, this notice was  not clear.  She stated that                                                               
an express provision in the  proposed bill, which required that a                                                               
person be  put on  notice for inclusion  in the  child protection                                                               
registry,  could have  effects on  their ability  to take  a care                                                               
giving job, or to become a  relative placement for a child in OCS                                                               
custody.  She opined that this  was an important program and that                                                               
the  proposed bill  provided the  opportunity  to strengthen  the                                                               
program.   She  reiterated that  these comments  were offered  to                                                               
inform the process moving forward.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
3:37:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ stated that the bill would be held.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:37:46 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  SULLIVAN-LEONARD  directed  attention to  the  12                                                               
recommendations  addressing allegations  with  the Department  of                                                               
Health and  Social Services listed on  page 2 of the  letter from                                                               
the Office  of the Ombudsman,  and that there had  been agreement                                                               
for implementation to 3 of  those recommendations.  She asked for                                                               
a general outline  of the 12 recommendations,  with more specific                                                               
details to those 3 agreed upon recommendations.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. BURKHART directed  attention to page 35 of  the report, which                                                               
presented the  response by  the Department  of Health  and Social                                                               
Services.  She explained the  Ombudsman process, which began with                                                               
a confidential preliminary report to  a state agency.  The agency                                                               
then had  a chance to  respond before  a final report  was issued                                                               
and  an executive  summary  was  published if  the  issue was  of                                                               
public interest.   She  pointed to the  Department of  Health and                                                               
Social Services (DHSS)  response on page 35.   She explained that                                                               
DHSS was  in the  midst of  a regulatory process  as well  as the                                                               
proposal of a  bill similar to HB  162.  She opined  that part of                                                               
the intention  was to  implement recommendations  9 &  10 through                                                               
the regulatory process, as noted on page 42.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ  pointed out that  the committee members  did not                                                               
have this report.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS.  BURKHART  explained  recommendations  4 &  5  although,  she                                                               
reported, these were not relevant to HB 162.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:41:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked about recommendations 9 & 10.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. BURKHART  explained that recommendation  9 reviewed  the need                                                               
for another look at whether really  old findings in child in need                                                               
of aid  cases should be a  permanent bar to an  appointment.  She                                                               
reported that proposed HB 162  maintained for the current method,                                                               
that  the only  permanent  bar related  to  child protection  was                                                               
termination  of  parental  rights.    She  reiterated  that  this                                                               
recommendation was "not necessarily  super relevant to [HB] 162."                                                               
She  directed  attention  to recommendation  10  which  suggested                                                               
implementation of a tiered response  system, and that regulations                                                               
adopted   last   year   included  a   tiered   response   system,                                                               
particularly with criminal barriers.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:43:22 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. KRALY stated that there  had been significant and substantial                                                               
communication  with  the Office  of  the  Ombudsman about  moving                                                               
forward with the proposed bill and improving the process.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  SPOHNHOLZ  pointed  out  that there  would  be  additional                                                               
meetings   between  Ms.   Kraly   and  Ms.   Burkhart  to   offer                                                               
recommendations for possible inclusion in the proposed bill.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
3:44:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHARLES McKEE shared some personal experiences.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
3:47:26 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ left public testimony open.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
[HB 162 was held over.]