04/04/2012 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

          SB 82 - FOSTER CARE LICENSING/STATE CUSTODY                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
1:36:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR  THOMPSON announced that  the first order  of business                                                               
would be CS  FOR SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR SENATE  BILL NO. 82(JUD),                                                               
"An  Act  relating to  the  procedures  and jurisdiction  of  the                                                               
Department  of  Health  and  Social  Services  for  the  care  of                                                               
children   who  are   in  state   custody;   relating  to   court                                                               
jurisdiction  and  findings pertaining  to  children  who are  in                                                               
state  custody;  and  modifying the  licensing  requirements  for                                                               
foster care."  [Before the committee was HCS CSSSSB 82(HSS).]                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
1:37:11 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CELESTE  HODGE,   Staff,  Senator  Bettye  Davis,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature,  on behalf  of the  sponsor, Senator  Davis, relayed                                                               
that  SSSB 82  would modify  various  provisions of  Title 47  in                                                               
order  to prioritize  the  needs of  children  in state  custody.                                                               
Among other things,  SSSB 82 seeks to ensure  that older children                                                               
in  foster care  achieve what  she referred  to as  "permanency";                                                               
permanency for a child, she went  on to explain, is best achieved                                                               
through reunification with the child's  parent, or, failing that,                                                               
through adoption  or guardianship.   However, she added,  if none                                                               
of those options are available,  permanency can still be achieved                                                               
through  what  she referred  to  as,  "another planned  permanent                                                               
living  arrangement   (APPLA),"  and   the  bill,   by  providing                                                               
guidelines for  both the  OCS and the  court regarding  when this                                                               
APPLA  option should  be used,  seeks to  ensure that  it is  not                                                               
chosen unnecessarily.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. HODGE  explained that  in addition, SSSB  82 would  allow for                                                               
state custody to  be resumed in instances where the  parents of a                                                               
previously-released  child [age  16  or older]  are unwilling  or                                                               
unable  to  care   for  the  child;  would   create  a  statutory                                                               
presumption  that  siblings  be  placed in  the  same  home  when                                                               
possible  and  when doing  so  is  in  their best  interest,  and                                                               
requires documentation  in instances  where such  placement isn't                                                               
possible; would  provide guidelines  for a child's  early release                                                               
from  state custody,  including proper-notification  requirements                                                               
and  stipulations  that  such  release be  in  the  child's  best                                                               
interest;  would  statutorily   stipulate  that  the  application                                                               
process  for  foster  parents be  streamlined;  would  provide  a                                                               
variance  of applicable  building code  requirements for  certain                                                               
foster care homes under certain  circumstances; and would conform                                                               
the   statutes   addressing   the  retention   of   the   court's                                                               
jurisdiction over  a child  under the age  of 21,  to legislation                                                               
passed in 2010.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS.  HODGE, in  conclusion, mentioned  that  SSSB 82  has a  zero                                                               
fiscal note.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  LYNN questioned  whether the  bill also  contains                                                               
provision  for notifying  necessarily-separated siblings  of each                                                               
other's whereabouts.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG,  mentioning that  he supports  SSSB 82,                                                               
expressed  disfavor  with Section  1's  proposal  to establish  a                                                               
short  title  for the  bill  in  uncodified law,  and  questioned                                                               
whether  the  sponsor  would  object  to  having  that  provision                                                               
deleted.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MS. HODGE suggested that others could better address that issue.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
1:46:32 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHRISTY LAWTON,  Director, Central  Office, Office  of Children's                                                               
Services (OCS), Department of Health  and Social Services (DHSS),                                                               
relayed  that the  OCS collaborated  on SSSB  82, and  finds that                                                               
[its passage] would be in the  best interests of the children the                                                               
OCS serves.   In  response to questions,  she said  that deleting                                                               
Section 1's  proposed short  title would not  have any  impact on                                                               
OCS  staff; that  much of  what's contained  in SSSB  82 comports                                                               
with  the  OCS's  concept  of best  practices  for  children  and                                                               
families, and  the OCS was  already contemplating  making changes                                                               
to OCS policy reflective of  some of the bill's proposed changes;                                                               
that  the adoption  of SSSB  82 would  enable Alaska  to stay  in                                                               
compliance with federal  law; and that the bill  won't impact the                                                               
OCS's ability  to change  its policies, most  of which  stem from                                                               
federal guidelines.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
1:49:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AMANDA  METIVIER, Statewide  Coordinator, Facing  Foster Care  in                                                               
Alaska (FFCA) -  noting that she is an alumni  of the foster care                                                               
system,  having  "aged  out"  of  foster  care  while  living  in                                                               
Anchorage, and is currently pursuing  a master's degree in social                                                               
work -  relayed that the  FFCA supports  SSSB 82, adding  that it                                                               
would do a  number of things to improve the  lives of children in                                                               
foster care.   To elaborate, she, too, noted that  the bill would                                                               
create a  statutory presumption  that siblings  be placed  in the                                                               
same  home when  possible;  regardless that  federal law  already                                                               
requires this  of states,  siblings coming  into the  foster care                                                               
system in Alaska  are still being separated.  With  regard to the                                                               
bill's  proposal to  provide a  variance  of applicable  building                                                               
code  requirements for  certain foster  care homes  under certain                                                               
circumstances, she  indicated that  this would allow  more foster                                                               
children  from  rural  areas  of  the  state  to  stay  in  their                                                               
communities.  Referring, then, to  the bill's proposal to provide                                                               
guidelines  regarding   the  aforementioned  APPLA   option,  she                                                               
characterized this as  the most important provision  of the bill,                                                               
one that  would help  foster children  obtain the  permanency and                                                               
support they need in order to be successful later on in life.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
VICE CHAIR THOMPSON,  after ascertaining that no  one else wished                                                               
to testify, closed public testimony on SSSB 82.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG  observed that language in  Section 3 of                                                               
the bill addresses  the resumption of state  custody in instances                                                               
where  the  person is  completing  an  educational or  vocational                                                               
program.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
1:59:24 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE LES  GARA, Alaska State Legislature  - in response                                                               
to a  question, and speaking as  one of the joint  prime sponsors                                                               
of  the House  companion  bill  to SSSB  82  - acknowledged  that                                                               
deleting Section 1's proposed short  title would be a policy call                                                               
for the committee to make.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. HODGE concurred.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:00:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved  to report HCS CSSSSB  82(HSS) out of                                                               
committee  with individual  recommendations and  the accompanying                                                               
fiscal notes.   There being no objection, HCS  CSSSSB 82(HSS) was                                                               
reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.