Legislature(2013 - 2014)CAPITOL 106
03/14/2013 08:00 AM House STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB37 | |
| HB3 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| += | HB 3 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | SB 37 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 37-EXTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL
8:11:14 AM
CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was SENATE
BILL NO. 37, "An Act extending the termination date of the
Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing for an
effective date."
8:11:39 AM
SENATOR ANNA FAIRCLOUGH, Alaska State Legislature, as sponsor,
presented SB 37. She stated that SB 37 would extend the Alaska
Suicide Prevention Council (ASPC) from 2013 to 2019. She
relayed that in 2001, the Alaska State Legislature created the
ASPC, which is made up of 17 members: 2 members appointed by
the Senate President, 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the
House, and 13 members appointed by the governor. She said the
duties of the council are outlined in AS 44.29.350, which read
as follows:
Sec. 44.29.350. Duties.
The council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the
legislature and the governor with respect to what
actions can and should be taken to
(1) improve health and wellness throughout the
state by reducing suicide and its effect on
individuals, families, and communities;
(2) broaden the public's awareness of suicide and
the risk factors related to suicide;
(3) enhance suicide prevention services and
programs throughout the state;
(4) develop healthy communities through
comprehensive, collaborative, community-based and
faith-based approaches;
(5) develop and implement a statewide suicide
prevention plan;
(6) strengthen existing and build new
partnerships between public and private entities that
will advance suicide prevention efforts in the state.
SENATOR FAIRCLOUGH reminded the committee that Alaska has the
highest rate of suicide in the nation. She said suicide is
preventable, and the state can do something about [those
statistics]. She said she is honored to have served for over
three years as a member of the House of Representatives on the
council, and she currently serves on the council as an appointee
from the Senate. She reported that the council has done great
things with the support of the legislature. She indicated that
the council has connections with military personnel, the
spiritual community, schools and youth, and with those who have
been affected by suicide. She asked the committee to support the
proposed extension of the council.
8:14:00 AM
CHAIR LYNN stated his support of the proposed legislation and
thanked the sponsor for bringing it forward. He said one case
of suicide is one case too many.
8:14:10 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said a constituent is involved in a
program that goes into schools and offers a dramatization with a
message of hope, and she encouraged Senator Fairclough to
familiarize herself with the program, which is called, "Carry
the Cure."
8:14:56 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON talked about another group called, "This
Generation Ministries," which is from North Pole, Alaska. He
asked how actively the council pursues connections to the
various groups working on suicide prevention throughout the
state.
SENATOR FAIRCLOUGH answered that there is a web site, which
connects all the resources throughout the state. She deferred
to the executive director of the council for further details.
8:15:51 AM
KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Statewide Suicide Prevention
Council, Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), Department of
Health & Social Services (DHSS), told Representative Isaacson
that one of the council's major roles is to "act as a clearing
house to connect community-driven suicide prevention and
partners." She said the council has allotted funds from its
limited travel budget to conduct outreach trips to three rural
areas of the state: two members went to Nenana two weeks ago, a
trip to Bethel and a small village outside of the Bethel hub has
just been planned, and the council will coordinate rural
outreach in Kivalina with one of its members there, pastor
Lowell Sage. She said the council has met with members of
[This] Generation Ministries and many other community-driven
suicide prevention efforts in an attempt to connect everyone
together. She relayed that [stopsuicidealaska.org] is the
council's state suicide prevention portal and the primary way
people are connected.
8:17:27 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked what efforts the council makes in
curbing substance abuse, which she said is often linked to
suicide.
MS. BURKHART answered that the council's five-year plan includes
a strategy to ensure Alaskans have access to mental health and
substance abuse treatment services when they ask for it. She
said substance abuse prevention and suicide prevention
coalitions in communities are often separate, and the council
encourages them to come together as a wellness coalition or at
least to become partners.
8:18:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES talked about the alarming rate of suicides
by soldiers returning from war. She asked if that statistic has
increased in Alaska and if the council is doing anything about
the issue.
MS. BURKHART returned to the issue of substance abuse to say
that two years ago, the Department of Health & Social Services
"co-located" the ASPC with the Advisory Board on Alcoholism &
Drug Abuse and the Alaska Mental Health Board; therefore, the
council has coordinated its efforts around behavioral health and
suicide prevention to create "one big movement forward."
Returning to Representative Hughes' question regarding soldiers,
Ms. Burkhart said she cannot speak to what the Veterans
Administration is doing to address suicide prevention, other
than what is reported to her from its representative. She said
the Veterans Administration has developed services and supports
for returning veterans who choose to engage in those services.
She said the State of Alaska has prioritized resiliency and
protective factors as part of the foundation for all of its
prevention efforts. She stated that for more than a decade, the
council has been involved with the Alaska Initiative for
Community Engagement, as well as efforts to address adverse
childhood experiences and to equip children to grow up as
healthy adults and avoid addiction and serious mental illness.
8:20:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked what resources the council desires
and which are the areas it sees as in need of improvement.
MS. BURKHART referred to six goals of the state plan, most of
which can be categorized as things that can be done by Alaskans,
by communities, or by the state. For example, she said
communities have taken a huge role with or without grant
support. She encouraged Representative Keller to read the
report just published by the council, which highlights many of
those community efforts. She said last year the state
appropriated $450,000, which has already been implemented in its
alternative schools and will be "a competitive process for other
school districts." Ms. Burkhart relayed that 1,800 people were
trained last year and the state has appropriated funding for
additional programs that are being initiated; however, she said
there has not been a lot of research growth. She said there is
a lot of interest in adverse childhood experiences, including
how they affect Alaskans and how they can be prevented. She
indicated that other areas of research are not exciting to
others but are in need of resources.
MS. BURKHART, in response to Representative Keller, said she has
not approached the Institute of Social & Economic Research
(ISER). She said the organization with whom the council most
closely coordinates is the Center for Alaska Native Health
Research (CANHR), at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She
spoke highly of the organization and said the council has
connected CANHR with other community partners that want to move
forward in a participatory research model. She said there is
also conversation about "renewing the addiction studies chair"
at [the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies] at the
University of Alaska Anchorage, which is under the guidance of
David L. Driscoll, PhD, who is interested in research related to
adverse childhood experience.
8:24:12 AM
MS. BURKHART, in response to Representative Keller, stated that
for each strategy in the state plan, there is a specific
population measure. She said the first implementation report
from the state plan shows that the rate of suicide in 2011
dropped by 23. She said that cannot yet be called a trend, and
she noted that data is still being gathered to determine how
many suicides occurred in that year by Alaskans living outside
the state. She related that the council has seen a large
increase in the number of Alaskans who have been trained in an
"evidence-based suicide prevention model," such as the applied
suicide intervention skills training and mental health first
aid, and she reiterated that there has been an increase in
community coalitions involved in suicide prevention.
8:25:48 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked how Alaska compares to other states.
MS. BURKHART answered that the national suicide average is 11-12
per 100,000 people; Alaska's average is 19.5. She said there
are other Western states whose numbers are also high, but Alaska
has been twice the national average for decades.
8:26:46 AM
MS. BURKHART offered an update on how the council responded to a
legislative audit. The first recommendation made in the audit
was that the council should evaluate its executive director and
memorialize the way it does business with its partner boards.
She noted that because of the council's limited means, there is
a lot of support and sharing from the Mental Health Board and
the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. She reported
that the council completed the evaluation in December. She
explained that the council has a process for doing [an
evaluation] annually in partnership with executive committees of
the other two boards. She said the council has memorialized the
way it does business so that its operation will not be affected
by any changes in leadership. Ms. Burkhart said the second
recommendation from the audit was for the council to monitor
attendance and report it to the governor. She said the council
has instituted an attendance law the beginning of the present
fiscal year and will communicate that information to the Office
of the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the
House at the end of each fiscal year. She said the third
recommendation from the audit had to do with developing and
monitoring performance measures in conjunction with the Office
of Management & Budget. She said the council has had
performance measures in place for many years, related to
individual council members and the performance of suicide
performance measures; however, it has not coordinated that with
the Office of Management & Budget in the past. She said the
council is working with the Department of Health & Social
Services to match languages, because "they are not written in
the same terms of art," and it anticipates having that done by
the end of the fiscal year.
8:28:32 AM
CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony.
8:28:40 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER opined that one of the greatest features
of the council is that it has the opportunity to engage services
from private organizations that exist across the state. He
remarked that sometimes the legislature cannot direct its funds
that well.
8:29:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report SB 37 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes. There being no objection, SB 37 was reported out of the
House State Affairs Standing Committee.