Legislature(1997 - 1998)
04/30/1998 08:05 AM House STA
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 303 - EXTEND COUNCIL ON DOM.VIOL. & SEX.ASSAULT Number 0338 VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN announced the last item on the agenda is HB 303, "An Act extending the termination date of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault; and providing for an effective date," sponsored by Representative Elton. Number 0340 REPRESENTATIVE ELTON first noted the executive director of the council and two members are available to answer any questions. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON said this bill simply extends the termination date of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault for four years to June 30, 2002, from June 30, 1998. The council was established in 1981 and their statutory responsibilities are: To develop, implement, maintain and monitor domestic violence, sexual assault and crisis intervention and prevention programs, including educational programs and school curricula; To coordinate services provided by the Department of Law, Education, Public Safety, Health and Social Services, as well as other state agencies and community groups dealing with domestic violence and sexual assault; To provide technical assistance to state and local agencies and community groups, as requested; To develop and implement a standardized data collection system on domestic violence and sexual assault, and crisis intervention and prevention; Number 0348 To receive and dispense state and federal money and award grants and contracts to qualified local community entities for domestic violence, sexual assault, and crisis intervention and prevention programs; To oversee and audit the domestic violence and sexual assault programs which receive federal and state dollars; To consult with the Department of Health and Social Services in the formulation of standards and procedures for the delivery of services to victims of domestic violence by health care facilities and practitioners; To consult with the Alaska Police Standards Council and other police training programs to develop training programs regarding domestic violence for police officers and for correction, probation, and parole officers; To consult with public employers, school districts, the Alaska Supreme Court and prosecuting authorities who are required to provide continuing education courses in domestic violence to employees; To make an annual report to the governor on the activities of the council, including recommendations for legislation. Number 0350 The council's role and responsibilities have grown significantly since 1996. The state has imposed additional responsibilities and federal funding has increased substantially. This expansion of responsibilities is a reflection of a broadened understanding of the financial and social costs of domestic violence and sexual assault in Alaska communities. Those costs accrue in health care, corrections, police and court, as well as the long-term, negative effect on children who witness violence at home. The 1997 legislative audit of the council found that the council serves a public need and operates in the public interest and recommended that the council be reauthorized and its termination date extended to June 30, 2002 which is what this bill does. Number 0358 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN said he is intrigued by the federal money that's flowing into the state. He asked what is the state match since we've increased it and where is the money going. REPRESENTATIVE ELTON deferred the question to the executive director. Number 0361 JAYNE ANDREEN, Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Department of Public Safety, came before the committee in support of HB 303. She replied they have a number of federal grants which she uses in a variety of ways. Two of their federal grants are specifically pass-through grants from the council to locally-based programs to provide services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She noted there are matching requirements for both of those, those matching requirements are passed on to the local grantees - it's not the council's responsibility, it's something they incorporate into their grant process. REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked who are the local grantees - who won the grant awards. MS. ANDREEN said she doesn't have the spreadsheet with her on whom actually gets that. What they do is they issue one RFP [Request for Proposals] that combines both the state and the federal money. And through that RFP process, the application process, they can determine who would be eligible for the different pieces of the federal money. It's the Victims of Crime Act and the Family Violence Prevention and Service Act. Once the council determines what the total award will be, council staff goes through and determines how much will be federal versus state. REPRESENTATIVE RYAN stated he just wanted to make sure Anchorage gets its share. MS. ANDREEN assured Representative Ryan that Anchorage gets a significant part. REPRESENTATIVE HODGINS remarked unfortunately there is a tremendous amount of domestic violence. That's a pretty sad state of affairs. Number 0375 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ attempted to make a motion to move HB 303. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN said he appreciated Representative Berkowitz' eagerness to move the bill out. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN indicated he was somewhat confused in the budget subcommittee's process. He said, "We do have several safe shelters out in the area that I come from and there was some concern when, I believe some of the funds that normally go to the safe shelters were in danger of being pulled out and directed toward, I believe the 'rehab.' program for barterers, was that the case. Can you explain what happened? The funds that the safe shelters were concerned of -- they've been operating quite successfully out there. They've taken care of the victims and the children." He asked will we see that next year and noted he received a lot of feedback and wasn't prepared for that reaction. Number 0386 MS. ANDREEN replied she assumes what he is talking about is what happened in the House Finance Subcommittee for the Department of Public Safety. The council has long felt that it's important that if batterer's programs be funded, they should not be funded at the expense of victims services. We need to make sure that women and children are protected and have safe places to go. What happened with the subcommittee is the original "cut-sheet" that they put forward, reflected a reduction basically of the council's regular budget by $300,000, $100,000 of that was supposed to be federal money, $200,000 of general fund money. It did not designate where in the council's budget the money would come from, just that it would be moved into a separate BRU [Budget Review Unit], specifically for batterer's program(s). MS. ANDREEN noted because the council only has approximately $380,000 in administrative money, the rest of their money goes out in terms of grants and contracts for local services. They didn't see any place or way that they would be able to make that cut without some kind of reduction coming from the grant line. She thinks that's what people were reacting to. MS. ANDREEN reported what the subcommittee ended up doing was replacing that projected $300,000 cut with new permanent fund dividends (PFD) fund and placed that in a separate BRU. So the council's grant line for victims' services, as far as the state funds go, remains the same for FY 99. And then there is new money in the House version for increased grants to batterer's programs. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if the council will be looking for alternative funding this year. Number 0403 MS. ANDREEN replied they are always looking for additional funding. There are also several federal grants that are not specifically for grant lines to victim services but are for special projects and those are all... TAPE 98-57, SIDE B Number 0002 MS. ANDREEN replied to a question asked by Representative Ryan which was not recorded. She stated it depends on what the grant program is. With the STOP [Services, Training, Officers and Prosecutors] grants under the federal Violence Against Women Act, it's basically a 25 percent match except for services in the subgrants that are devoted to victims services. With the Rural Domestic Violence Child Victimization Grant and the Mandatory Arrest grant, there is no matching requirement for those two. With the two grants that fund ongoing services, both the Victim's of Crime Act grant and the Family Violence and Prevention and Service Act, it varies depending on how long a program has been in place but it's approximately 25 percent - it starts with 25 and goes up. Number 0008 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN asked how does the permanent fund money work. Is it the incarcerated people's money? MS. ANDREEN replied that's the incarcerated people's money. The council is one of the three designated agencies to receive PFD money. JODY JOHNSTON, Women's Resource and Crisis Center, testified via teleconference from Kenai. She stated, as we heard Ms. Andreen identify this that, not only are there both state and federal funds, one of the things she wants to highlight is that other states recognize the value of our state council and the uniqueness of it, that we have a government arm that in fact provides a focus for victims - both women and children, and that we can provide a congruency throughout the state of our services. She encouraged the committee to pass this bill and bring it to the floor and pass it quickly so that the council can focus on what it does well and that is coordinating services and monitoring throughout the state to help assure that the elimination of domestic violence in our state can continue to progress. Number 0025 DIANA BUFFINGTON, President and State Coordinator for the Children's Rights Council and also the Chairman of the Alaska Task Force on Family Law Reform testified via teleconference from Kodiak in opposition to HB 303. She said, "I'm asking you that you turn down the request for extension of the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Gentlemen, in 1971, 72, I was involved in a domestic violent relationship. ... On May 5, 1985 I was sexually assaulted in Houston, Texas, and I came out of both of those incidences as a better person and I did it solely without the councils on domestic violence, without women's resource centers and things like that. I am concerned that the Council on Domestic Violence has become a gender-biased organization, they improperly report federal statistics, like the U.S. Justice Department's statistics that came out on the 1996 report. Our council recently said that 95 percent of women are the victims of domestic violence that is false. According to U.S. statistics, 205,000 women were treated by emergency room hospitals, 16,000 men were treated by emergency room hospitals for domestic violence." Number 0042 MS. BUFFINGTON discussed other statistics on domestic violence and sexual assault, the trend in male-bashing, and women's shelters that educate and encourage their employees in assisting women in filling out restraining orders. She also accused the council of encouraging false allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault of children as a means of controlling custody. She indicated, in states where mandatory mediation and divorce education are in place, you'll find domestic violence numbers, false allegations and child abuse and sexual assault going down. Ms. Buffington doesn't believe the council spends wisely and encouraged the members to defeat HB 303. VICE CHAIRMAN IVAN asked if there was anyone else who wanted to testify. UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER said they support the bill but don't want to hold the bill up. Number 0093 REPRESENTATIVE RYAN made the motion to move HB 303 from committee, with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note. There being no objections, HB 303 moved from the House State Affairs Standing Committee.
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