Legislature(2017 - 2018)BUTROVICH 205
02/26/2018 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Citizen Review Panel Presentation on the Department of Health and Social Services Office of Children's Services | |
| SB122 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | SB 122 | TELECONFERENCED | |
SB 122-OCS CITIZEN REVIEW PANEL
2:03:19 PM
CHAIR WILSON reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SB 122.
2:03:43 PM
RYNNIEVA MOSS, Staff, Senator John Coghill, Alaska State
Legislature, presented SB 122 on behalf of the sponsor. It is An
Act repealing the authority for a child abuse or neglect review
panel in DHSS and establishing the Child Protection Citizen
Review Panel in the office of the ombudsman.
Section 1:
AS 24.55.400. Establishes the Citizen Review Panel in the
legislative branch of state government under the office of
the ombudsman and instructs the panel to emphasize public
participation in the panel's work and to bring all the
stake holders on the panel.
The panel will meet at least every three months and it will
establish guidelines for its operation.
Gives the panel the authority to investigate individual
cases if it deems necessary.
AS 24.55.405. Requires the panel to reviews policies and
procedures of OCS on an annual basis and review reports
submitted annually to the federal government. The panel is
given statutory authority to recommend and advocate for
changes to the department's child protection services.
It requires OCS to provide the CRP the following state
plans submitted to the federal government annually:
State plan for grants for child abuse or neglect
prevention and treatment programs. (42 U.S.C. 5106a(b))
State plan for delivery of child welfare services
prepared jointly by the state and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services. (42 U.S.C. 621 629m)
AS 24.55.410. Mandates that OCS SHALL consult with the CRP
and assist the panel in carrying out its duties, including
providing case-specific information to the panel.
AS 24.55.415. Makes information delivered at a CRP meeting
confidential and the CRP must follow the Open Meetings Act
giving public notice and restricting the CRP members from
meeting privately.
AS 24.55.420. Provides for public outreach and public
comment.
AS 24.55.425. Provides for the CRP to prepare an annual
report to be available to the governor, legislature and
public. Requires OCS to submit a written response to the
report within six months of its release. Requires the panel
and the department to prepare a joint report to the
governor, legislature and public every three years.
AS 24.55.430. Sets a penalty of up to $2,500 for each
violation of confidentiality a person is convicted of.
AS 24.55.435. Provides immunity for panel members from
liability in panel actions.
AS 24.55.440. Definitions.
Department is the DHSS.
Panel is the Citizens Review Panel
Section 2: Gives the CRP access to confidential
documents regarding child protection cases.
Section 3: Repeals the Alaska Statutes that put the
CRP under the jurisdiction of DHSS.
Section 4: Requires DHSS to do a two-year review of
existing processes for reviewing and overseeing the
work of OCS and outline a plan to reduce duplication
and improved coordination amongst agencies involved in
child protection. The report will be delivered to the
senate secretary, house chief clerk, the governor and
the general public.
Section 5: Gives the office of the ombudsman
regulatory authority.
Section 6: Transition language that allows existing
panel members to serve out their term on the panel
even though it has been moved from the department.
The bill does not have an effective date.
2:07:43 PM
MS. MOSS said this bill is not pointing fingers at anyone saying
they are not doing their job. It is saying that CRP is
underutilized and misunderstood and needs to be utilized better.
In 2005, when Senator Coghill carried House Bill 53, it was a
direct result of working with the Murkowski administration and
CRP to take an objective look at OCS to see what was working and
what was not working. It is because of CRP they been able to do
some reforms with OCS and the child protection system.
SENATOR GIESSEL asked if the panel falls under Boards and
Commission and if the members are governor appointed.
MS. MOSS answered no and yes.
SENATOR GIESSEL said the membership of boards and commissions is
generally well defined to provide diversity. She suggested it
might lend more credibility and force if the membership had more
definition.`
MS. MOSS said that is a good point. She added that she was not
sure whether the governor appoints panel members.
2:10:35 PM
KATE BURKHART, State Ombudsman, Alaska Office of the Ombudsman,
commented on SB 122. She said she has spoken to Dr. Vadapalli
and the leadership at OCS to see how this would work. Prior to
her appointment as ombudsman, she was executive director of
three autonomous, co-located state planning councils. She is
familiar with how co-location can work without jeopardizing the
autonomy of the organizations. She has plenty of comments on SB
122. At the start of the conversation, understanding the
benefits and pitfalls of co-location is important.
MS. BURKHART said co-location requires alignment of missions,
which is set by the legislature in this case. The missions of
the Ombudsman's Office and CRP are in many ways aligned, but not
always. It requires a commitment of the membership and a
commitment to shared values. It requires rigorous management and
adequate resources. SB 122 hopefully will include clear guidance
on how the Ombudsman's Office can provide management assistance
and not just be a fiscal agent. She sees this perhaps managed as
a separate RDU in the budget so there is a clear accountability
on the use of funds with no comingling of funds. That speaks to
the accountability and "so what" questions that Dr. Vadapalli
talked about. It does require staff and management. While the
Ombudsman's Office does not have staff to dedicate, there is a
way to manage in partnership with CRP, such as with the state
council on behavioral health.
She said she does not know that the Ombudsman's Office is the
only place to house the CRP, but it is one place. If SB 122 were
to pass, her office could promulgate regulation within a fiscal
year. The Ombudsman's Office operates with regulations and would
want to do that with the CRP also.
2:15:13 PM
SENATOR BEGICH asked if OCS does not complete the task of
writing regulations, which it has not done since 2015, whether
her office would have the ability to rapidly complete the
regulatory writing process.
MS. BURKHART said it would take a full fiscal year. Her office
has multiple people with legal backgrounds and experience with a
recent comprehensive regulatory overwrite of their office.
CHAIR WILSON asked which areas of DHSS have received an
increased number of complaints.
MS. BURKHART said within DHSS, the most complaints have been
received about OCS and the Division of Public Assistance. She
did not have the report with her, but thought there were about
200 some complaints for each of the divisions.
CHAIR WILSON said he could see people saying that her office is
trying to influence CRP through investigations on that
department.
MS. BURKHART said the ombudsman has rigorous confidentiality
standards and any complaints about OCS remain confidential. If
SB 122 were to pass and a CRP staff member is in the office,
that person would not have access to that information. That
person would have the same access to aggregate data available in
reports. She has talked with Information Services at the
Legislative Affairs Agency about separate hosting, so CRP staff
would not have access to their servers and case management
system. She is used to the idea of a strong wall to prevent
conflict. They would create infrastructure and processes to make
sure CRP staff person was not privy to that information.
2:19:01 PM
CHAIR WILSON said the committee looked forward to getting the
fiscal note. He held SB 122 in committee.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| SB 122 Version J.pdf |
SHSS 2/26/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SB 122 |
| SB 122 Sponsor Statement.pdf |
SHSS 2/26/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SB 122 |
| SB 122 Sectional Analysis.pdf |
SHSS 2/26/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SB 122 |
| SB 122 - CItizens Review Panel Power Point.pptx |
SHSS 2/26/2018 1:30:00 PM |
SB 122 |
| senate hss presentation_02262018.ppt |
SHSS 2/26/2018 1:30:00 PM |
DHSS OCS CRP SHSS 2.26.18 |