03/20/2025 03:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

            SB  88-CHILD PLACEMENT; DILIGENT SEARCH                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
3:48:51 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   DUNBAR  reconvened   the   meeting   and  announced   the                                                               
consideration  of  SENATE  BILL  NO.   88  "An  Act  relating  to                                                               
placement  of a  child  in  need of  aid;  relating to  adoption;                                                               
relating to variances  for foster care licenses;  relating to the                                                               
medical records of children in  foster care; and providing for an                                                               
effective date."                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
3:49:22 PM                                                                                                                    
LAURA  ACHEE,   Staff,  Senator  Jesse  Bjorkman,   Alaska  State                                                               
Legislature, Juneau, Alaska, offered a  brief recap of SB 88. She                                                               
stated  the legislation  would establish  clearer guidelines  and                                                               
deadlines  for family  searches to  help connect  foster children                                                               
with relatives or  family friends willing to take them  in. SB 88                                                               
would also give  OCS and the courts greater  flexibility to place                                                               
children in settings that are in their best interest.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
3:50:31 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNBAR opened public testimony on SB 88.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
3:50:48 PM                                                                                                                    
KARA JOHNSTON, representing self,  Soldotna, Alaska, testified in                                                               
support of SB  88. She explained that after caring  for a newborn                                                               
since  birth and  being told  for  15 months  that no  biological                                                               
relatives  could be  found, OCS  suddenly  identified six  family                                                               
members  seeking placement  just  as parental  rights were  being                                                               
terminated.  Her foster  daughter, now  16 months  old and  fully                                                               
bonded to  them, was  ordered to  be moved  to strangers  with no                                                               
meaningful  transition  plan,  causing profound  trauma  for  the                                                               
child and family.  As a result, after a decade  of fostering, she                                                               
decided to  close their license  because they believe  the system                                                               
is harming children and families.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
3:52:57 PM                                                                                                                    
ANDREA BOESHART,  representing self, Kenai, Alaska,  testified in                                                               
support  of SB  88.  She noted  that her  family  was a  licensed                                                               
resource family  from 2018  through 2003.  She shared  a personal                                                               
story  of  a three-year-old  girl  that  was removed  from  their                                                               
foster care home to live with a biological family member.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:55:41 PM                                                                                                                    
DESTINEE   MCCLUNG,   representing   self,   Anchorage,   Alaska,                                                               
testified  in support  of SB  88.  She said  her family  fostered                                                               
eight  children  over  five  years   and  recently  closed  their                                                               
license, emphasizing that foster  parents are frontline witnesses                                                               
to serious  failures within OCS.  She noted that Alaska  has lost                                                               
32 percent  of its general  foster homes, in part  because foster                                                               
families become discouraged when  they are forced into situations                                                               
that  traumatize children  rather than  support them.  She argued                                                               
that   SB   88's    family-search   requirements   and   judicial                                                               
accountability   are    necessary   to    prioritize   children's                                                               
developmental  needs, strengthen  early  attachments, and  ensure                                                               
OCS performs its duties effectively.                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
3:58:17 PM                                                                                                                    
JOHN KULIKOWSKI, representing  self, Anchorage, Alaska, testified                                                               
in support of  SB 88. He stated that he  has repeatedly witnessed                                                               
delays,  misinformation, and  poor  decision-making  by OCS  that                                                               
have  deprived their  foster children  of meaningful  experiences                                                               
and stability.  He said  the adoption  process has  stretched far                                                               
beyond  promised  timelines,  creating  ongoing  uncertainty  for                                                               
several  children  who have  already  spent  many months  in  the                                                               
system.  While acknowledging  SB 88  is not  perfect, he  said it                                                               
adds needed accountability and refocuses  the system on the well-                                                               
being of foster children.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:00:33 PM                                                                                                                    
KRISTEN HADDOX, representing self,  North Pole, Alaska, testified                                                               
in  support of  SB 88.  She stated  that after  eight years  as a                                                               
foster and  relative placement  home, she  has seen  how children                                                               
endure severe trauma  and need relatives to  show genuine, timely                                                               
interest  rather   than  waiting   years  before   engaging.  She                                                               
described how  OCS policies prevented  permanency for a  child in                                                               
their   care   for   five   years   despite   extensive   medical                                                               
documentation,  and  only  strong  advocacy  from  a  grandmother                                                               
allowed the  child to remain  with them. She emphasized  that the                                                               
harsh  realities foster  parents witness  underscore the  need to                                                               
prioritize   children's   stability   and  healing   over   adult                                                               
preferences.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:03:10 PM                                                                                                                    
DEANNA MARTIN, representing self,  Soldotna, Alaska, testified in                                                               
support  of SB  88. She  said that  witnessing the  harm done  to                                                               
friends  and family  by  a foster  care  system lacking  adequate                                                               
protection has  discouraged her own  family from  becoming foster                                                               
parents. She noted  foster families step in  to shield vulnerable                                                               
children but  are too often  undermined by the very  system meant                                                               
to support them. She argued that this dynamic must change.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:04:02 PM                                                                                                                    
EMILY BOLANDER,  representing self, Fairbanks,  Alaska, testified                                                               
in  support of  SB 88.  She  explained that  although they  never                                                               
intended  to  be a  medical-specialized  foster  home, they  have                                                               
cared  for  children with  extremely  complex  medical needs  and                                                               
often received no prior medical  history. She said foster parents                                                               
are  denied access  to critical  medical records,  hindering safe                                                               
and  timely  care.  She  stated   that  SB  88's  medical-records                                                               
provision  is  essential  to   protecting  children  by  ensuring                                                               
caregivers  can   provide  rapid,  informed,   and  comprehensive                                                               
treatment.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:06:48 PM                                                                                                                    
JOSH  FUNK, representing  self,  Kotzebue,  Alaska, testified  in                                                               
support  of SB  88. He  relayed a  story of  his parents  and his                                                               
foster brother.  He said his  foster brother was murdered  by the                                                               
biological  mother after  being  put back  in  her care,  despite                                                               
court statements indicating she was unsafe.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  DUNBAR  asked  how  SB  88 might  have  changed  the  case                                                               
described, noting  that the relatives  involved appeared  to have                                                               
already been known  to OCS. He asked whether it  was an ICWA case                                                               
and whether any ICWA provisions could conflict with the bill.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
4:10:18 PM                                                                                                                    
MR. FUNK answered that he  was unsure whether ICWA conflicts with                                                               
SB 88 but confirmed the case  was an ICWA case. He explained that                                                               
the child, Peter, was placed with  his parents at nine months and                                                               
remained  with  them for  four  and  a  half years  before  being                                                               
returned to  his biological  mother, noting  that the  bill would                                                               
shorten  timelines  by  requiring adoption  consideration  at  12                                                               
months rather  than what he  heard was  two years. He  added that                                                               
Peter died at six years old and his younger sister was four.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
4:11:40 PM                                                                                                                    
MICHELLE FUNK, representing self,  Kotzebue, Alaska, testified in                                                               
support of SB  88 and added that the  bill's provision addressing                                                               
long-term placements  for children under six  would have directly                                                               
influenced  how  the court  weighed  adoption  and prevented  the                                                               
process from being drawn out for too long.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
4:12:18 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNBAR closed public testimony on SB 88.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:13:27 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR DUNBAR held SB 88 in committee.