Legislature(2009 - 2010)CAPITOL 106
02/25/2009 08:00 AM House EDUCATION
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview(s): University of Alaska, Mark Hamilton | |
| HB126 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 126 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 126-FOSTER CARE/CINA/EDUCATION OF HOMELESS 9:35:10 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 126, "An Act relating to continuing the secondary public education of a homeless student; relating to the purpose of certain laws as they relate to children; relating to tuition waivers, loans, and medical assistance for a child placed in out-of-home care by the state; relating to foster care; relating to children in need of aid; relating to foster care transition to independent living; and relating to juvenile programs and institutions." 9:35:29 AM REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA, Alaska State Legislature, speaking as the sponsor, said that over the past year he and others have discussed what parts of Alaska's foster care system are fixable. He then stressed how the state is the parent of the foster children and has custody of these children. Representative Gara related that the Casey Family Foundation and the University of Alaska have performed some Alaska-specific studies. In fact, a recent university study has reported that roughly 40 percent of foster care children end up homeless at some point in their life. He asked the committee to keep the aforementioned in mind as if the committee was the parent of these foster children. He then informed the committee that studies show that one of the indicators a child is going to underachieve is when the child is moved from school-to-school. Furthermore, a national study reports that on average foster children nationwide will transfer schools one to two times during their high school years. Even worse, is that roughly 65 percent of foster children [nationwide] have attended three or more elementary schools and many of those school changes occur in the middle of the year. This legislation doesn't change the Office of Children's Services' (OCS) ability to maintain a child in one stable home, he noted. REPRESENTATIVE GARA related that the national government has taken a certain percentage of foster youth, just those awaiting foster care, and provided funding to school districts so that youth are given transportation funds. Therefore, foster care youth who move within the same district can stay in the same school. The aforementioned, he clarified, only covers those foster youth who are waiting or in emergency foster care not those foster youth who go from one home to another. One of the studies provided in the committee packet relates that the arrest rate among foster youth is 10 times the average of those youth not in foster care. The question for all of these issues is: what can be done to provide foster care youth with a more stable educational experience and what can be done to provide foster youth with greater opportunity than they have now. He then mentioned that nationally foster care youth attend college in about half the numbers as youth not in foster care. REPRESENTATIVE GARA related that a foster care conference was held this fall during which some very narrow and cost effective solutions were found. He noted that the committee has been provided a proposed committee substitute (CS) that corrects some of the problems found in the original legislation. 9:40:52 AM REPRESENTATIVE MUNOZ moved to adopt CSHB 126, Version 26- LS0309\S, Mischel, 2/24/09, as the working document. CHAIR SEATON objected for the purpose of discussion. 9:41:11 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA explained that Sections 4, 5, and 9 in Version S includes the statutory definition of "out-of-home care." Section 10, borrowed from the State of Minnesota, provides an immunity provision such that there's no legal right of action against a social worker should he/she miss a monthly [home] visit. In order to allow for the option to extend foster care to the age of 21, conforming language in Section 13 was necessary. Sections 14 and 16 adopt the "out-of-home care" definition. Section 17 provides a monetary living expense stipend in an amount that is not less than the daily rate provided to a licensed foster parent for necessary living expenses. This stipend can be received by the foster care youth for up to a year. The language in Section 17 is meant to be flexible in terms of the amount the foster care youth receives and its duration. 9:44:52 AM CHAIR SEATON removed his objection. There being no further objection, Version S was before the committee. 9:45:17 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA then reviewed various sections of Version S. Section 1 specifies that transportation funds will be provided for those students who move to another school within the same school district. Furthermore, when feasible the student will be kept in the same school in order to avoid foster care students from bouncing between various schools. A similar program, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvement Act of 2001, is being successfully utilized in the Municipality of Anchorage. 9:46:28 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER pointed out that the requirements don't apply if a student changes district, or if the superintendant doesn't find it to be in a student's best academic interest. She inquired as to the sponsor's view on other types of waivers. She explained that she is a big believer in neighborhood schools and a foster child might benefit from doing all the things the foster family does. Although it may be in the foster child's academic interest to stay at their original school, often the academic issue isn't the primary concern for a child trying to fit into a new environment. REPRESENTATIVE GARA suggested that Representative Gardner consult with some of the experts on this issue. However, he offered that many foster youth are changing schools during the school year. The academic consequences of the aforementioned, especially with the trauma associated with a foster care change, is terrible. Representative Gara said that although he could imagine cases in which it may be desirable to place foster youth in a neighborhood school, he expressed concern about a flat rule that would always place the youth in a new school when he/she changes foster care parents. 9:48:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER clarified that she is interested in a waiver based on something other than academic interest, perhaps the youth's best interest. REPRESENTATIVE GARA said that would likely make sense, but expressed the need to speak with experts in the area in order to address such. 9:49:02 AM REPRESENTATIVE WILSON inquired as to whether [Section 1] only affects a single school year or is forever. REPRESENTATIVE GARA, referring to page 2, highlighted that the language refers to the standard of "the student's best academic interest". The legislation, as written, would allow a child to attend another school the next school year, if it's in the student's best interest. Adding the neighborhood school preference as suggested by Representative Gardner would require language specifying that such could occur when it's appropriate for the youth and in the best interest of the youth. The problem, however, is that it's not always that neat. He highlighted the difficulty in specifying which placements are stable. Representative Gara clarified that the desire is to avoid the school changes during the semester, especially for those youth who are transferring to many foster families. 9:50:57 AM CHAIR SEATON inquired as to who determines the best academic interest of the youth. REPRESENTATIVE GARA answered that the school district would make the determination. He suggested that the committee hear from two individuals who make these determinations in the Anchorage School District for those foster youth and homeless youth who aren't in permanent foster care. 9:51:49 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER surmised that the sponsor has implied that OCS is moving children around, which is problematic. He questioned whether limiting waivers to only youth who move and the academic considerations would eliminate OCS's ability to make a determination based on social matters. REPRESENTATIVE GARA replied no. He specified that this legislation doesn't attempt to micromanage what OCS considers to be the most appropriate placement for a youth. The OCS has a duty to serve the best interest of the youth. This legislation doesn't stop OCS from doing a placement as it currently does, rather Section 1 only specifies that if a change is made by OCS such that the foster youth would go to another school transportation funding would provided, if it's determined to be in the child's best interest to stay in the same school. Representative Gara reiterated that [Section 1 of Version S] doesn't impact OCS placement decisions; rather it merely speaks to funding to the school district after a decision is made. 9:54:13 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA, continuing his sectional analysis, informed the committee that nationally only half of all foster youth attend college as compared to their peers. He noted that there is some college aid available, including scholarships from the Casey Family Foundation, the university, and OCS. Section 2 provides needs-based aid to foster youth in order that they can attend higher education. He reminded the committee of a few years ago when legislation, commonly know as the aspire bill, passed to provide college aid for youth. The legislation aimed to provide college scholarships to foster youth, but the fundraising effort to obtain private funds hasn't happened at this point. The legislature has made a determination that foster youth would need assistance in attending college. He highlighted that many college students have a parent, a "life line," to call during the college years, but foster youth don't have that opportunity once foster care ends. He noted that part of the effort is to include living expenses for higher education because living expenses are a large part of the problem for foster youth. 9:56:54 AM CHAIR SEATON, referring to page 2, line 2, inquired from where the language "under 29 years of age" came. REPRESENTATIVE GARA noted that the language originally referred to "under 23 years of age." The question, he specified, is how long an individual who was in foster care should be given to complete college. The availability of the grant program has been extended to 10 years after high school. 9:57:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER, referring to page 2, lines 25-26, inquired as to where the term "state-supported educational institution" is defined. 9:58:24 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA explained that the program proposed in HB 126 likely won't have enough funds to send a foster youth to Harvard. The grant program is limited to the state university system, including the Alaska Vocational Technical Center (AVTEC). He mentioned that AVTEC representatives want to bring in youth. In response to Chair Seaton, Representative Gara confirmed that the intent is to limit [the grant program] to the State of Alaska university system. 9:59:55 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARA then turned the committee's attention to the other main sections of Version S. One provision extends the option of foster care to age 21 for which there is federal funding available. The notion is that if a youth finds a foster care placement, why take them out if the youth and the parents believe the placement is beneficial. Similarly, this legislation would extend Medicaid benefits to age 21, which is essentially the current practice. The last major provision provides a year of living assistance, if necessary, when the youth leaves foster care. The fiscal note from the Department of Health and Social Services specifies an estimate of $130,000, which the department has said is a low estimate. Still, doubling that estimate is a small amount, he opined. He also pointed out that half of the state's 2,000 foster youth are in the homes of relatives and the other half are in non-relative homes. Therefore, he estimated that maybe 100-200 foster youth would come out of foster care in a year, of which a certain amount would be [stable]. 10:02:04 AM CHAIR SEATON, noting that HB 126 has a House Health and Social Services Standing Committee referral, reminded the committee it would primarily focus on the educational impacts of HB 126. 10:02:30 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER asked if foster youth can refuse to remain in state custody the extended timeframe. She further asked if there is a requirement for the foster youth to be employed or attending school rather than just merely living in someone's house. REPRESENTATIVE GARA clarified that there is no requirement that the foster youth has to stay in foster care to age 21. The aforementioned would be up to the foster youth and the foster family. Therefore, it's an option. Furthermore, Representative Gara related that no standards have been developed regarding how to qualify for foster care up to age 21. [HB 126 was held over.]
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| hb 126 materials.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/2/2009 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/9/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 126 |
| Link to UA workforce development programs (health).doc |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| Link to University of Alaska Budget Request and performance summary.doc |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| UA Training tomorrow's workforce today 2008.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| U A FactSheet_lifescience.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| UAA-Sports-Arena.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| UAS-Auke-Lake-Fact-Sheet1.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM |
|
| workdraft HB 126.pdf |
HEDC 2/25/2009 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/2/2009 8:00:00 AM HEDC 3/9/2009 8:00:00 AM |
HB 126 |