Legislature(2015 - 2016)GRUENBERG 120
04/12/2016 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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Audio | Topic |
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Start | |
HB200 | |
SB180 | |
HB334 | |
SB174 | |
Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ | SB 174 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | SB 112 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | HB 200 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | SB 180 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+= | HB 334 | TELECONFERENCED | |
+ | TELECONFERENCED |
SB 180-PARENT-GUARDIAN/CHILD: TEMP. POWER OF ATTY 2:31:03 PM CHAIR LEDOUX announced that the next order of business would be SENATE BILL NO. 180, "An Act relating to the temporary delegation by a parent or guardian of powers related to a child; relating to adoption; and relating to the distribution to a parent or guardian in a child protection situation of information on family support services." 2:31:30 PM KARLE NORE, Staff, Senator Cathy Giesel, Alaska State Legislature, said that SB 180 is commonly referred to as Safe Families for Children. An issue considered when drafting this legislation was to preserve families, which are the core unit of society, because [families] are the best environment for children. She remarked that life has challenges, such as loss of work, divorce, homelessness, struggling with addiction, medical emergencies, military deployment, or incarceration. Not all Alaskan families have someone to care for their children, who need a safe place while they solve these issues, she pointed out. These parents do not necessarily want, or need, government to take their children, and the bill establishes a safe and healthy alternative to placing a child into the foster care system. She said SB 180 allows parents to execute a power of attorney over their minor child, for no more than one year, to another family in order to prevent the child from entering the foster care system. This legislation allows the parent, or guardian, to retain all of their parental rights inside the power of attorney. Either parent can revoke the power of attorney immediately, at any time, regardless of who implemented the power of attorney. Birth parents retain all rights and responsibilities of the child, she said. It allows parents, or guardians, struggling to seek help with unemployment, homelessness, and/or eviction, without concern of losing their children, or without being accused of abandonment, abuse, or neglect of the child while these family challenges are resolved. There are provisions in the bill allowing for military parents, or guardians, as well as incarcerated parents, to execute a power of attorney for their children's care. This bill creates an exemption allowing for nonprofit organizations that help find temporary care for children in struggling families. She explained that it exempts the nonprofit from having a variance in order to operate, and it is getting government out of the way at the heart of these issues. 2:34:29 PM CHAIR LEDOUX listed witnesses available to answer questions and asked Ms. Nore to point out significant portions of the sectional. MS. NORE explained that the heart of the bill is the robust version of the power of attorney that gives more stipulation, and allows for military parents to execute the power of attorney for the length of their active duty plus 30 days. MS. NORE referred to the exemption for non-profit organizations, and pointed to Sec. 7, AS 47.32.020, page 8, lines 3-6, which read: (c) If a nonprofit organization operates a program that assists parents to find temporary care for a child, the nonprofit organization is exempt from the licensing and other requirements of this chapter when operating the program. 2:35:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT described this as the "safe, soft, surrender bill," when families are experiencing temporary crisis they can find suitable parents to intervene for them while the parent gets their life back together. She asked whether that is the gist of the entire bill. 2:36:28 PM MS. NORE agreed, and she said there was testimony within the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee by a mother who utilized the Safe Families for Children in Alaska program, which is operated by Beacon Hill. This mother was facing an extended hospital stay for several weeks and did not have anyone to care for her children. She asked Safe Families for Children for temporary care for her children; the children were temporarily place, and once she was healed regained custody of her children. REPRESENTATIVE KELLER expressed gratitude for the work the sponsor put into the bill, and noted he is the sponsor of HB 201, which is the House version of SB 180. 2:37:30 PM CHAIR LEDOUX opened public testimony. 2:37:40 PM ANDREW BROWN, Senior Fellow, Child Welfare Reform, Foundation for Government Accountability, said the Foundation for Government Accountability is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization dedicated to promoting better lives for individuals and families through improving health and welfare programs nationwide. He advised that Safe Families for Children is working in Alaska by rallying the local communities to come along side families in crisis before problems get to the point of OCS intervention. Statistically, he said, the majority of children in foster care are there due to poverty and neglect, rather than physical or sexual abuse. These children are there because their families often have nowhere to turn to get the help they need, and he related stories from his past. The concept of Safe Families for Children is simple, it is neighbors helping neighbors during times of trouble. It organizes through the local community to recruit, screen, and train volunteer host families to temporarily care for children while their parents receive help. He noted that the families do not receive compensation. Beacon Hill is overseen by professional staff and it is often done through existing private child welfare agencies to ensure the safety of all placements. When a parent, in crisis, seeks the help of Safe Families for Children, they are introduced to a host family willing and able to take care of their children. In the event that parent is comfortable, the parent authorizes the host family to care for their children through a power of attorney. He described this arrangement as unique, because the parent retains full legal parental rights throughout the duration of the placement. It is important, he pointed out, that this legislation allows parents to address issues without fear their family will be torn apart. 2:42:32 PM MR. BROWN pointed to Sec. 2, AS 13.26.023(h), page 5, lines 13- 17, which read: (h) Except as otherwise determined under another statute, the execution of a power of attorney by a parent or guardian does not constitute abandonment, neglect, or abuse of the minor child or ward under AS 47.10.013 - 47.10.015, unless the parent or guardian fails, after the power of attorney terminates, to retake custody of the child and does not execute a new power of attorney. MR. BROWN continued that the provision means that the parents loving choice to ask for help cannot be held against them, as opposed to being a bad parent and neglecting their child. He said he has been told by families in crisis that they would not go to the state for help due to fear the state would take their children away from them. Safe Families for Children is an important tool, this legislation is critical to get out in front and help OCS do the work they are already doing to protect children in Alaska. Nationwide, he explained, the Safe Families for Children network is active in 27 states, it has served over 20,000 children, and of those children 90 percent successfully returned home within an average of 45 days, never to enter the child welfare system. Nationally, when comparing a child in the foster care system, they have roughly a 50-50 shot at ever coming home, and an average time in foster care is over 700 days. He explained that this bill is inspired by best practices perfected by the Safe Families for Children organization over the last 14 years, and SB 180 gives families the safe option to provide for temporary care of their children while they get the help they need to achieve stability. The program keeps the children close to their communities and creates an environment where someone in that child's school district, or local church, or local community, comes forward to help the family and take the children in. He said that frontline OCS workers are stretched thin, they are overwhelmed and need better pools of resources to help them respond to the needs of children and families. [CHAIR LEDOUX passed the gavel to Vice Chair Keller.] 2:46:55 PM VICE CHAIR KELLER advised that Chair LeDoux passed the gavel to him because she has a bill in another committee. 2:47:11 PM ANDY COARY said he is in favor of the bill because it makes sense, and will enable movements, such as Safe Families for Children, to operate in Alaska and keep children from entering the foster care system. Also, he pointed out, by doing that, there is reduced financial strain on the state, and it allows non-state resources to step in and care for these children in need. He opined that the bill has the proper protections in place for parental rights, because it is a voluntary arrangement between a parent and a caregiver, and the parent maintains the right to revoke the power of attorney at any time. On a personal note, he offered that he has seen the benefits of the Safe Families for Children movement in Anchorage, because close friends have taken in children, and those children did not have to enter foster care. He described this as an ongoing effort to reduce the number of children entering foster care, and SB 180 will assist in reducing the number of children in state foster care. 2:49:15 PM CHARITY CARMODY, President, Beacon Hill, explained that Beacon Hill is a foster care and adoption community resource center, and is the arm of the faith based community seeking to provide aide to children going into foster care, or children at risk of going into foster care. In 2003, the Safe Families for Children national movement began, and is in seven different countries. Beacon Hill is the implementer for Safe Families for Children, with the blessings of OCS, because it believed the system would work in Alaska, especially within rural communities, because it does go back to the tribal way of the community taking care of itself, she said. Although, she commented, Beacon Hill did not want to become a child placement agency with regulations attached, although, it does operate in that manner, it prefers to operate outside of the state system. Therefore, Beacon Hill requested legislation that would help eliminate the need for Beach Hill to be a child placement agency, and also, that the host families are not required to be licensed foster families. She explained that the families within the movement are not families with any current OCS investigation, she stated, and if abuse was happening, the parents would be referred directly to OCS. These are families calling about other forms of crisis. She said that Beacon Hill began operating Safe Families for Children in Alaska on January 1, [2016], and since that time 12 children have entered Safe Families for Children in Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Valley who have not entered foster care. She explained that Beacon Hill, and the host families, come alongside the parents, surround them with a whole community of people that helps keep them on track, provides for their needs and the needs of the host families, and creates a social network that didn't exist for those families before. She commented that Beacon Hill has a wonderful relationship with OCS, under its current leadership, but administrations change and it wants to help protect the people willing to volunteer their time and lives for this movement. 2:53:32 PM MIKE COONS said he was speaking as a former non-commissioned officer in charge of medical readiness at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He offered that his duties included determining what to do with the children of the families if the United States went to war, with many logistical issues. From a deployment standpoint, he opined, there is a timeframe wherein deployment orders come in so an airman can work on those issues. Although, he explained, in the event of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the deployment happened fast, and being in Alaska it was difficult to get the grandparents to the children. He opined that this legislation will help the military community with those deployments and rapid deployments that occur and save those children from trauma in the foster care system. He related that he is not a fan of the state foster care system, and he supports this legislation moving forward. 2:56:05 PM VICE CHAIR KELLER after ascertaining no one further wished to testify, closed public testimony. REPRESENTATIVE MILLETT remarked that this is a good bill and she would like to see it move out of committee to avoid some children entering into the state foster care system, and save money for the state. VICE CHAIR KELLER added that having a strong family as a result [of this legislation] is a great bonus. REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked the administration's position on this bill. VICE CHAIR KELLER advised that Ms. Tracy Campbell can speak to his question. He related that he has spoken with OCS on several occasions and his impression is that OCS is positive. 2:57:35 PM TRACY SPARTZ CAMPBELL, Deputy Director, Office of Children's Services, Department of Health & Social Services, responded that the Office of Children's Services (OCS) has positive feelings about this program; however, the administration's official position on the bill is neutral. 2:57:58 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN moved to report CSSB 180(JUD), Version 29- LS1431/I out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSSB 180(JUD) passed out of the House Judiciary Standing Committee.