Legislature(2021 - 2022)DAVIS 106
05/04/2021 08:00 AM House TRIBAL AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HB184 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HB 184 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 184-REQUIRE TRIBAL CHILD WELFARE COMPACT
8:02:01 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the only order of business would
be HOUSE BILL NO. 184, "An Act requiring state participation in
a tribal child welfare compact."
8:02:14 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:02 a.m. to 8:03 a.m.
[During the at-ease, Chair Zulkosky passed the gavel to
Representative Ortiz.]
8:03:00 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 184. She
explained that HB 184 seeks to protect the Tribal Child Welfare
Compact (TCWC) in Alaska by codifying it in Alaska Statute. She
reminded the committee of an earlier meeting during which Nicole
Borromeo from the Alaska Federation of Natives gave a
presentation on the TCWC, and she said Ms. Borromeo will be
offering council during the hearing on HB 184.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY offered a PowerPoint presentation, entitled,
"HB184 Tribal Child Welfare Compact," and reminded committee
members that the TCWC is an agreement between the state and
tribes seeking to address deep structural inequities in the ways
Alaskan children are cared for across the state. She began on
slide 2, "Why the Work Began," which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
Significant Disparities
• Alaska Native Children make up 15% of the state's
general population but represent 60% of the
children in state custody
• Disparities of this nature indicate a system
failure in our child welfare system
OCS Retention Difficulties
• Office of Children's Services (OCS) typically
operates at a 50% vacancy rate and require
frontline workers to carry caseloads more than 3x
the national average
• The goal of HB 151 (2018) was to lower turnover
and vacancy rates, but despite increased funding,
turnover rates have not decreased
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 3, "How the Work Began," which
read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Tribal State Collaboration Group
• A 25-year partnership between state, tribal
representatives, and invited stakeholders
Goals:
• Strengthen Alaska's compliance with the Indian
Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978.
• ICWA is a Federal law that established standards
for the removal and placement of American Indian
children and enabled Tribes and families to be
involved in child welfare cases.
• Reduce the disproportionality of Alaska Native
children in state custody
• Build & strengthen working relationships
Tribal Title IV-E Agreements
• Provides Federal funding to states and tribes for
foster care, transitional independent living
programs, guardianship assistance, and adoption
assistance
• Tribes also receive a higher reimbursement rate
than states for covered services, resulting in
significant General Fund savings.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 4, "What is Alaska's Tribal
Child Welfare Compact?" which read as follows [original
punctuation provided]:
• The Alaska Tribal Welfare Compact (Compact) is a
government-to-government agreement to improve the
life outcomes for Alaska's children and families
by transferring specific, negotiated child
welfare services and supports (including revenue
streams) from the Office of Children's Services
(OCS) to the Tribal CoSigners
• The Compact was signed in 2017 by Governor Walker
and 18 Tribal Co-Signers; representing 161
Federally-recognized Tribes and Tribal
Organizations and continued under Governor
Dunleavy in 2019
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 5, "Implementation Timeline,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• FY2018
• Tribal Co-Signers developed their programs, built
capacity and infrastructure
• OCS began sharing Protective Services Reports
(PSRs or 'screen ins' or 'screen outs'), and
provided training and technical support
• FY2019
• Tribal Co-Signers began performing Initial
Diligent Relative Searches
• The Parties negotiated four new Scopes of Work
for Ongoing Relatives Searches, Family Contact,
Licensing Assists, and Safety Evaluations
• However, the State declined to sign due to a
change in Administration
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 6, "Implementation Timeline,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• FY2020
• Parties worked out differences and signed all
five previously-negotiated
• Scopes:
• Initial Diligent Relative Searches (IDRS)
• Ongoing Relative Searches (ORS)
• Family Contact
• Licensing Assists
• Safety Evaluations FY2021
• Negotiations will take place in May 2021
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 7, "Advantages," which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Provides higher quality services, closer to home,
at a lower cost through leveraging Tribal
resources
• Strengthens state services by engaging Tribes,
often the most local government, on an issue of
shared interest
• Increased public trust through existing family
relationships with Tribes
8:08:24 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 8, "Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACES)," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a tremendous
impact on future violence victimization and
perpetration, and lifelong health outcomes.
• ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur
in childhood (0-17 years):
• Experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect
• Witnessing violence in the home or community
• Having a family member attempt or die by suicide
• Growing up in a household with substance abuse,
mental health problems, instability due to
parental separation or household members in
prison
• ACEs are linked to:
• Chronic health problems
• Mental illness
• Substance abuse problems in adulthood
• Increased incarceration rates
• ACEs can negatively effect:
• Education
• Job opportunities
• Earning potential
8:09:04 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 9, "Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACES)," which read as follows [original punctuation
provided]:
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a
tremendous impact on future violence
victimization and perpetration, and lifelong
health outcomes.
• How big is the problem?
• ACEs are common. 61% of adults surveyed across 25
states reported that they had experienced at
least one type of ACE, and nearly 1 in 6 reported
they had experienced four or more types of ACEs.
• Preventing ACEs could potentially reduce a large
number of health conditions. For example, up to
1.9 million cases of heart disease and 21 million
cases of depression could have been potentially
avoided by preventing ACEs.
• Women and several racial/ethnic minority groups
are at greater risk for having experienced 4 or
more types of ACEs.
• ACEs are costly. The economic and social costs to
families, communities, and society totals
hundreds of billions of dollars each year
CHAIR ZULKOSKY highlighted the cost of ACEs in particular, and
stated that it's clear that a delay in the investment in healthy
families and healthy children could be costly to the state
further down the road.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY proceeded to slide 10, "Sectional Analysis,"
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Section 1: Amends AS 47.05 to add a new section to
article 1 requiring the State to participate in a
Tribal Child Welfare Compact.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY offered clarification that the intention behind
the design of the language that is included in the bill is meant
to be broad and general as to not tie the hands of the state or
the tribes. Due to the fact that negotiations occur annually,
she shared her understanding that it is the intent of HB 184 to
not be overly prescriptive. She noted that the administration
of current State of Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy has indicated
its ongoing support for the program, and she expressed that she
would like future administrations to continue to support it.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY explained the intent behind HB 184. Right now,
she said, the TCWC is an executive initiative under the Dunleavy
Administration, but the fact that it is not in statute adds
significant ambiguity. She said that HB 184 would provide
cosigners with stability and predictability to ensure that
quality programs can be administered to vulnerable youth and
families in the most remote areas of Alaska without having to
worry about the unknown future of the compact. She stated that
the reason she finds HB 184 so exciting is because the intended
impacts are perceived to be strong and will lead to quality
outcomes. The TCWC is an innovative and forward-thinking policy
that reaches kids and families in a meaningful way, she opined,
which would not be otherwise possible.
8:12:43 AM
The committee took an at-ease from 8:12 a.m. to 8:14 a.m.
8:14:20 AM
NICOLE BORROMEO, Executive Vice President, Alaska Federation of
Natives, informed the committee that she serves as general
counsel for the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN) in addition
to serving as the executive vice president. She said that she
was born and raised in Alaska, and graduated from high school
and college in the state. She shared her understanding on
behalf of AFN that HB 184 is a bill that the entire legislature
can support, regardless of party affiliation. She opined that
conservative-minded legislators might support the proposed bill
because it intends to save the state money, and progressive-
minded legislators might support it because it offers an
opportunity to join AFN on the "cutting edge of law and policy"
with the proposed implementation of the first tribal state
compact.
MS. BORROMEO explained that the effort involved to create this
compact has expanded across two administrations thus far and has
been able to weather a pandemic. She shared that AFN is still
working to implement the child-welfare compact through every
corner of the state, even with the challenges due to COVID-19.
She expressed that an area that the tribes have been uniquely
successful at is identifying family members of children in the
compact for placement purposes. Some tribes have identified
over 70 different family members through the Indian Child
Welfare Act, she added. She echoed Chair Zulkosky's sentiments
that the goal of the compact is already being achieved in that
families are more comfortable speaking with local tribes or
local tribal organizations.
MS. BORROMEO expressed her understanding that HB 184 would save
the state millions of dollars, particularly in the ability of
the tribes to draw down on the Title IV-E program of the Federal
Social Security Act. She explained that tribes that are not
currently part of the Title IV-E program are exploring the
program as part of the compact, which wouldn't be possible
without the compact. She concluded that submitting the compact
in statute would ensure that it is a more stable program.
8:18:58 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked Ms. Borromeo to summarize what the
net benefit would be if HB 184 were to be adopted.
MS. BORROMEO replied that the net benefit is that the trajectory
of the lives of children who are placed in the state system
would be changed. She predicted that, years down the line,
these children would become contributing members of society.
She said that this would require that the state give a small
upfront investment that would return long-term dividends.
Overall, she said that this would allow the state to "turn the
corner" on worrying statistics, such as Alaska Natives making up
only 20 percent of the population, but making up 60 percent of
children in state custody.
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ asked Ms. Borromeo to explain what fell
short after Alaska entered the TCWC in 2017 that necessitated HB
184.
MS. BORROMEO responded that she wouldn't say that anything has
necessarily fallen short since 2017, but reminded the committee
of the change in administration coupled with the COVID-19
pandemic. She expressed her understanding that the compact is
still on-track considering those two hurdles. She noted that
another struggle is that the compact doesn't have a "firm
anchor" in state law, and for that reason, the condition of the
compact is at the will of the current administration and depends
on whether a governor will support it. She expressed that the
changes seen between the former State of Alaska Governor Bill
Walker's Administration and the Dunleavy Administration were
typical, in that the new administration wanted to take time to
become educated on certain policies and programs that were in
place prior to their governance, and this included the TCWC.
However, she explained, this education meant that about a year
of work was lost early in the implementation of the compact,
which she said caused the compact to become pliable again. She
concluded that cementing the compact in statute through HB 184
would offer relief, and would allow the implementation process
to truly begin.
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ shared his understanding that, when the
compact was implemented in 2017, it was more similar to an
agreement to begin a regulation; now, if HB 184 were to be
adopted, it would go from being a regulation to a state statute.
He asked Ms. Borromeo whether his understanding is correct.
MS. BORROMEO responded that she doesn't want to over-complicate
the analogy, but that Representative Ortiz has the essential
understanding of it. She offered clarification that the compact
in its current form is a regulation, which is easier to amend or
"gut" completely, whereas state law is more difficult to adjust.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY added there has been progress under both the
Walker Administration and the Dunleavy Administration, and that
putting it in statute would intend to protect the compact, which
would in-turn protect Alaska families and children. She echoed
Ms. Borromeo's claim that, if HB 184 were to be adopted, it
would anchor the progress made by both administrations by
solidifying the compact in statute.
8:25:36 AM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked Ms. Borromeo whether there were any
details about which to be more prescriptive.
MS. BORROMEO replied no, not at this time. She expressed that
AFN would like to see HB 184 adopted in full, and that it hopes
to ensure that legislators are familiar with the compact so that
more can be added to the statute in the future.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked Ms. Borromeo whether there was
anything that could be done differently or better in the child
welfare system.
MS. BORROMEO replied yes, that is the purpose behind the
compact. She said that, unfortunately, when one is at the
precipice of innovative policy, it is easy to default back to
what has been done before.
CHAIR ZULKOSKY noted that HB 184 carried a zero fiscal note.
8:32:19 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK asked Ms. Borromeo who the co-signers were.
MS. BORROMEO responded that the 18 cosigners consisted of all 12
regional non-profit tribal health consortiums, with the
exception of the consortium in Kodiak, Alaska, as well as some
individual tribes.
REPRESENTATIVE CRONK thanked Ms. Borromeo for identifying the
importance of "prevention," He said that prevention is key to
making progress.
8:34:06 AM
CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened public testimony on HB 184. After
ascertaining that there was no one who wished to testify, she
closed public testimony.
8:34:42 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ moved to report HB 184 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal
note. There being no objection, HB 184 was reported out of the
House Special Committee on Tribal Affairs.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HB0184A.PDF |
HHSS 4/22/2021 3:00:00 PM HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM |
HB 184 |
| HB 184 Sectional Analysis version A.pdf |
HHSS 4/22/2021 3:00:00 PM HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM SHSS 3/31/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 184 |
| HB 184 Sponsor Statement version A.pdf |
HHSS 4/22/2021 3:00:00 PM HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM SHSS 3/31/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 184 |
| HB 184 Powerpoint 4-22-21.pdf |
HHSS 4/22/2021 3:00:00 PM HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM |
HB 184 |
| HB 184 LOS_Alaska Childrens Trust.pdf |
HHSS 4/27/2021 3:00:00 PM HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM SHSS 3/31/2022 1:30:00 PM |
HB 184 |
| Alaska Regional Coalition letter of support.pdf |
HTRB 5/4/2021 8:00:00 AM |