04/15/2000 04:43 PM House JUD

HB 413 - INTENSIVE FAMILY PRESERVATION SERVICES                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN KOTT announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                              
HOUSE  BILL  NO.  413,  "An  Act   relating  to  intensive  family                                                              
preservation services; and providing for an effective date."                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Number 1115                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE SHARON  CISSNA, Alaska State  Legislature, sponsor,                                                              
explained the bill as follows:                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
     This bill  provides for a  program that gives  intensive                                                                   
     intervention.    And perhaps  a  family whose  child  is                                                                   
     about  to be removed  has been  offered intervention  in                                                                   
     previous  stages.   However, in this  model, the  family                                                                   
     ... is about to lose their child  to state custody.  And                                                                   
     that is the point at which this  program intervenes. ...                                                                   
     It is imminent that the child will leave. ...                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
     This  program was  developed in 1974  by the  Washington                                                                   
     program called  "Homebuilders." ... In that  state, they                                                                   
     have  been  intervening  at  this point.  ...  When  the                                                                   
     family is  in crisis,  ... about 80  percent of  the ...                                                                   
     children and families who've  been served have been able                                                                   
     to stay  in their homes.   And in  that time,  there has                                                                   
     never  been one  death of a  child who  has remained  in                                                                   
     their home as a result of this program.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     The  family  is  offered the  intensive  service.    The                                                                   
     intensive service  must be of  a very high quality.   It                                                                   
     has features  such as 24-hour-a-day availability  of the                                                                   
     same caseworker,  for up to six weeks.   It's intensive,                                                                   
     and  it's  short. ...  The  program  must attain  -  and                                                                   
     that's one of the high qualities  of this - ... at least                                                                   
     a 70  percent success  rate with  the families that  are                                                                   
     served, and actually that winds  up being ... lower than                                                                   
     the rates  of approximately 15  of the states  that I've                                                                   
     been able  to study; they've  all been closer to  the 80                                                                   
     percent success rate.  So 70  percent is on the low side                                                                   
     that  we write  into  the statutes  here,  but the  rate                                                                   
     should be higher than that.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     There  are approximately  30  states  that have  adopted                                                                   
     this model.   And  in the HES  [House Health,  Education                                                                   
     and Social  Services] Committee,  ... there were  people                                                                   
     who  testified from  both the State  of Washington,  who                                                                   
     had worked in  that program, and from the  ... intensive                                                                   
     family preservation  program in Michigan.   Michigan has                                                                   
     approximately an 85 percent  success rate.  They've been                                                                   
     able to  dramatically lower ...  their costs ...  in the                                                                   
     children in out-of-home placement. ...                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     That's really the long-term  goal of this program, is to                                                                   
     bring the rolls down.  This  bill itself sets up a study                                                                   
     that will  then propose  a pilot  project, and ...  they                                                                   
     will  also look for  funding, federal  and private.  ...                                                                   
     Actually,  one  of  the  people who  spoke  in  the  HES                                                                   
     Committee suggested  that they  may be able  to identify                                                                   
     some funding  sources, as well. ... So the  funding part                                                                   
     of it  is what we're trying  to do, so that it  will not                                                                   
     be [general funds], and the  pilot project will probably                                                                   
     be   in  one   location,   to  achieve   what's   called                                                                   
     saturation.   You  want to  make sure  that the  service                                                                   
     delivery is up  to the need in that given  area, so that                                                                   
     ...  you   have  success,  and  you  can   actually  ...                                                                   
     demonstrate   that  you   can   bring  the   out-of-home                                                                   
     placements down.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Number 1338                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE CROFT said he had  looked this over for judicial or                                                              
other policy choices,  and he believes it is a  wonderful program,                                                              
from what  he knows about  it in other  states.  The  main problem                                                              
will be getting  money to start  it up.  He  wished Representative                                                              
Cissna luck in the House Finance Committee.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN KOTT  said he had looked  it over, as well, and  the only                                                              
section that  deals with  the courts  is Section  2, briefly.   He                                                              
asked  whether  anyone  wished  to  testify,  then  closed  public                                                              
testimony.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Number 1395                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  ROKEBERG  made a  motion  to move  HB  413 out  of                                                              
committee with individual recommendations  and the attached fiscal                                                              
note(s).   There being  no objection,  HB 413  was moved  from the                                                              
House Judiciary Standing Committee.