Legislature(2009 - 2010)BUTROVICH 205
03/01/2010 01:30 PM Senate HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB46 | |
| Anchorage Urban League - Seeds of Change | |
| Division of Pioneer Homes: Planning for Tomorrow | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | SB 46 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
SB 46-CHILD SUPPORT AWARDS
CHAIR DAVIS announced consideration of SB 46.
SENATOR THOMAS joined the committee.
1:33:48 PM
SENATOR KOOKESH, sponsor of SB 46, said this bill relates to
child support guidelines that were put in place when the Alaska
Supreme Court enacted Civil Rule 90.3. In its discussion the
court recognized that this is a substantive law and therefore
the Legislature could it replace at any time. SB 46 proposes to
do that. He observed that the most compelling reason for doing
so is that it would no longer be necessary to wait four years
before making changes to the guidelines. The bill does not
intend to change Civil Rule 90.3; rather, it places the current
rule into statute, he said.
DOROTHY SHOCKLEY, Staff to Senator Kookesh, clarified that the
proposed committee substitute (CS) does make a minor change to
the rule; it changes the word "court" to "tribunal." She said
that she is disappointed in the current process for changing
child support guidelines because the people who are affected
don't have a change to speak to the individuals who have the
power to make changes. This has been a problem. The feedback
that the sponsor has received is that people don't mind paying
child support, but they don't agree with the formula the court
has set. She related that she encouraged constituents to write
to the review committee, but it made a disappointingly small
difference. Just one statewide-call-in hearing was held. Putting
the rule into statute is perhaps the only solution, she said.
CHAIR DAVIS asked for a motion to adopt the work draft CS.
1:40:10 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN moved to adopt the work draft CS for SB 46,
labeled 26-LS0279\S, as the working document. There being no
objection, version S was before the committee.
CHAIR DAVIS asked Ms. Shockley to compare the CS to the original
bill.
MS. SHOCKLEY explained that the CS changes the word "court" to
"tribunal" throughout the bill.
CHAIR DAVIS noted that the packet also has several suggested
amendments.
SENATOR KOOKESH explained that the proposed amendments came from
Stacy Steinberg with the Department of Law (DOL) and the
committee could consider them now or at a subsequent hearing
after they've been incorporated into a new CS. He said he
supports the changes that the attorney general is recommending.
CHAIR DAVIS asked if he'd like to make any other changes.
SENATOR KOOKESH answered no; with the proposed amendments the
bill has the support of the attorney general and the child
enforcement division and he's pleased.
CHAIR DAVIS said she'd have the new CS drafted.
1:45:35 PM
KENNETH KIRK, representing himself, said he's an attorney who
used to do child support cases and he's been on two previous
review committees. He observed that the Alaska Supreme Court
crossed a line in 1987 when it enacted Alaska Civil Rule 90.3
because the Alaska Constitution does not allow the courts to
make substantive laws; they can make procedural and
administrative rules and decide individual cases. He opined that
the court thought it was making a temporary fix because the
state was in danger of losing substantial federal funding if it
didn't enact some sort of guidelines. Unfortunately, the
Legislature hasn't introduced a bill on the subject until now.
MR. KIRK said the problem with the current process is that the
review committee receives input from agencies and the public but
it doesn't make the decision. It's the Supreme Court that makes
the decision even though it never hears from anybody. Sometimes
the court ignores what the committee proposes; sometimes it
makes changes that the committee never proposed; and sometimes
it substantially alters the proposals. This is very different
than the very democratic legislative process. He added that
given the choice there are small things he would change in the
guidelines, but the system is basically good and it's familiar.
He informed the committee that changing the word "court" to
"tribunal" comes from the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act,
which in Alaska is AS 25.25, and it recognizes that the rules
will be applied by the court in some situations and by the Child
Support Services Division in other situations. The word
"tribunal" refers to both.
1:49:44 PM
MR. KIRK opined that changing to a different model of child
support guidelines is worth consideration, but right now it's
more important to pass this law. He pointed out that most states
have what is called the income shares approach while Alaska has
the percentage of income approach. Basically, Alaska bases child
support on the non-custodial parent's income only, whereas the
income shares approach distributes responsibility between both
parents.
CHAIR DAVIS said she isn't interested in making any changes to
this bill due to the urgency to get something into statute, but
later on she will be interested in looking at child support in
general.
1:52:36 PM
STACY STEINBERG, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Collections
and Support Section, Civil Division, Department of Law (DOL),
said they represent the Child Support Services Division (CSSD),
and she worked with the sponsor to ensure that the legislation
would meet the legal requirements.
Referencing Mr. Kirk's testimony, she pointed out that the
Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that the guidelines and [Civil
Rule 90.3] are not unconstitutional. Furthermore, the
Legislature at any time is able to make changes to the court
rule if it perceives problems or believes that changes to the
rule should be made on setting child support awards.
CHAIR DAVIS asked her to review the amendments she's proposing.
1:54:34 PM
MS. STEINBERG clarified that her office isn't proposing the
amendments, but she has worked with the sponsor to address legal
issues she spotted.
CHAIR DAVIS asked Ms. Steinberg to tell the committee what she
suggested to the sponsor.
MS. STEINBERG provided the following information:
· Page 5, line 13: The $100,000 child support cap should be
$105,000 because the Supreme Court increased the income cap
to $105,000 on April 15, 2009.
· Page 7, lines 23-26: This adds language that the child
support guidelines affidavit should be accompanied by
documentation verifying the income and that the statement
should be filed in superior court proceedings.
· Page 8, line 20: This section deals with tribal expenses
and the suggestion was to change "tribunal" on line 20, to
"superior court" because CSSD doesn't allocate travel
expenses between the parents.
· Page 9, line 29: This section deals with child support
order forms and the suggestion was to change the word
"tribunal" to "superior court" because these are forms that
the court has and it doesn't address CSSD. Alternatively,
this section could be eliminated.
· Page 10, line 4: This too deals with the court forms and
the suggestion is to change "tribunal" to "superior court."
· Page 10, line 5: This deals with the dependant tax
deduction and the suggestion is to change "tribunal" to
"superior court" because CSSD doesn't allocate the
dependant tax deduction between the parties when it sets
the child support award.
· Page 6, line 21: Make a new subsection (b) following the
word "means." that continues until after the word
"insurance." on line 28. The language following that would
be a new subsection (c). Renumber subsequent subsections.
· Page 7, line 17: Replace the word "means" with "includes".
· Page 8, line 28: after "insurance" add the phrase "and cash
medical support". Following that sentence insert "A child
support award may be modified to require cash medical
support during periods when neither party has purchased
health insurance for the children whether or not health
insurance is available to either parent at a reasonable
cost."
MS. STEINBERG said she also informed the sponsor that federal
regulations require that the section on healthcare expenses has
to define the reasonable cost of health insurance, the
accessibility of health insurance, and "cash medical support".
She noted that these aren't currently addressed in Civil Rule
90.3, but that is being addressed.
2:02:25 PM
CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony and held SB 46 in committee.
At ease from 2:03 p.m. to 2:04 p.m.
^Anchorage Urban League - Seeds of Change
CHAIR DAVIS announced the next order of business is a
presentation by the Anchorage Urban League.
2:04:50 PM
ELEANOR ANDREWS, Chair, Anchorage Urban League (AUL), said AUL
is the newest affiliate of the National Urban League, the second
oldest civil rights organization in the nation. Its purpose is
to provide direct services to African Americans and other people
of color in the community to empower them to secure economic
self-reliance and parity. She said she is emphasizing economic
self-reliance and parity today because people have to be able to
support themselves in their communities in order to enjoy all
the rights of citizenship. The Anchorage Urban League seeks to
help in this endeavor. She introduced Michael Sobocinski as the
person who brought the Seeds of Change program to the AUL and as
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this is their charter program.
2:06:27 PM
MICHAEL SOBOCINSKI, PhD., Assistant Professor of Human Services,
University of Alaska Anchorage, stated that they are interested
in helping to support youths coming out of the foster care
system, institutional care, and juvenile justice systems
transition into the community as young adults. This group of
young adults is very vulnerable and at risk for bad outcomes in
life. They tend to struggle during the transition with
homelessness, difficulty finding employment that earns a livable
wage, and unsafe living conditions. It's likely that they'll
drop out of school and never go on to further education or
training and get involved with the criminal justice system as
young adults.
MS. ANDREWS highlighted the social enterprise aspect of the
Alaska Seeds of Change program with the explanation that she
wanted to use the skills she learned in government to build a
nonprofit that ran like a business. To that end, they have a
hydroponic greenhouse where kids that have emotional,
psychological, and educational problems will learn how to work
and grow vegetables year round in an energy-efficient way. The
kids will be able to work at the greenhouse and then take their
skills into the community.
2:10:30 PM
MR. SOBOCINSKI said that by the time institutionally raised kids
reach age 18 they want a voice and the opportunity to practice
skills they learn in non-institutional or real-world settings.
They've noticed that these young adults participate less in
mental health services and substance abuse services and perhaps
it's because the programs are set up for older adults. Also,
there are funding issues because there are eligibility
differences between children's services and adult services.
Sustainability of funding for youth and young adult programs has
been a major challenge nationwide. But what is important in this
program is that if youth are seen as resources, not just
problems, there is great potential for them to realize what they
can be as adults and contribute to the community. That's a major
part of what the Alaska Seeds of Change program is built on, he
said.
2:12:18 PM
MR. SOBOCINSKI explained that Alaska Seeds of Change is a
transitional behavioral health program that partners with
behavioral health providers in the community to provide
traditional services onsite to youth. This includes case
management, skill development, and other supports that these
youth need. They know that giving these young adults the chance
to work with an adult in an employment setting is the best way
to learn and practice skills to become employable. It's much
more effective than classroom work. He related that he is a
faculty member at the University of Alaska Anchorage and the
College of Social Welfare is interested in using Seeds of Change
as a practicum internship for students who are interested in
learning how to work with transition age youths and young
adults. They have been working with a national organization at
the University of South Florida that has demonstrated
effectiveness with this age group using an evidence-supported
practice. This will be implemented at Seeds of Change. It leads
to functional outcomes; you measure daily whether it's making a
difference in terms of employability, staying in school, and not
getting involved in the criminal justice system. They believe
this is an opportunity for youth to play a leadership role in
developing the local food system and contributing something of
value to the community.
2:14:24 PM
MS. ANDREWS displayed an architect's rendering of what the
facility will look like; it includes a greenhouse, program
space, educational space, and offices. The youths will be
involved in the greenhouse, facilities maintenance and
operations, administration tracking crop rotations, yield, and
sales. Hopefully their involvement and the skills they learn
translate to other types of job opportunities. They also plan to
have an education completion program that's sponsored by the
Anchorage School District. The superintendant is very
enthusiastic about working with a group of kids whose needs
haven't been met by the system.
2:16:30 PM
MR. SOBOCINSKI highlighted the following goals and outcomes:
· Higher rates of permanent employment and job retention.
· Increased high school graduation rates.
· Increased participation in vocational training.
· Safe and stable housing arrangements.
· Reduced reliance upon public support.
· Reduced involvement with the legal system.
· Creation of jobs that provide meaningful skills and work
experience.
· Decreased reliance on public support.
· Reduce the impact of mental health and substance abuse
problems on daily functioning.
· Reduce the victimization rate for this age group as they
come out of care and transition to young adulthood.
· Help this age group to become engaged and participate in
the community.
· Working in and running the farmers market stands.
· Donating food they grow to hunger reduction efforts like
Kids Café will benefit other children and thus the
community.
· Building on the statewide interest in using waste heat
these young adults can become involved in disseminating
best practices for hydroponic growing and energy reduction
technologies.
2:18:52 PM
MS. ANDREWS informed the committee that she attended hydroponic
growing school last October. She added that marketing in the
Anchorage area indicates that restaurants and stores would
readily purchase locally-grown hydroponic produce.
She and Mr. Sobocinski have been working on the Seeds of Change
project for about two years. After the project was
conceptualized the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority provided
pre-development funding because they could see that this program
would meet the behavioral health needs of this age group that's
basically been "lost in the shuffle." The Foraker Group has been
similarly supportive and provided predevelopment services. This
included help formulating a business plan for the Denali
Commission; an engineer review; architectural services; and a
quality marketing study. But, she said, what really makes this
project work is the public/private partnership between the
Municipality of Anchorage and Alaska Seeds of Change. She
displayed an overhead view of the municipal power generation
plant and explained the process for getting warmed water to the
hydroponic greenhouse where vegetables will be grown year round
using radiant heat. This means reduced electrical costs.
2:23:24 PM
MS. ANDREWS displayed a slide showing the project fiscal plan as
follows:
Cost of greenhouse and program space $5,321,000
Proposed source of funds
DHSS BTKH funds 1,400,000
Private foundations 1,750,000
Private corporate grants 900,000
Legislative appropriation 1,000,000
Other contributions 300,000
Total $5,350,000
Equity
Estimated municipal land value $823,000
The arrangement for the DHSS/BTKH funds is that they will be
matched by the Denali Commission. Last Friday the new federal
co-chair of the Denali Commission asked for additional
information, but she doesn't foresee this as a problem. She is
similarly hopeful about the other proposed sources.
2:26:34 PM
Alaska Seeds of Change major partners are as follows:
· Municipality of Anchorage
· Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority
· Foraker Group
· State of Alaska
· Division of Juvenile Justice
· Division of Behavioral Health
· Office of Children's Services
· University of Alaska Anchorage
· College of Health & Social Welfare
· NeighborWorks of Anchorage
· Denali Family Services
· Casey Family Foundation: CFF has pledged to reduce the
nationwide foster care population by 50 percent by 2020 and
they have identified Alaska Seeds of Change as a new idea
to help break the cycle so these young people don't become
the next generation that has kids they can't support and
don't know how to work.
· Facing Foster Care in Alaska
· University of Alaska Fairbanks
· Cooperative Extension Services
2:30:01 PM
MR. SOBOCINSKI said they've been approaching community
organizations like the Denali Family Services with the message
that Alaska Seeds of Change is filling a gap in the service
continuum. It's designed as a program to help young adults who
have been successful in care but need a little support in order
to make the next step to successful independence in the
community. He mentioned the work that Amanda Metivier has done
with Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) and said working with
her group fits with their model, which relies heavily on peer
supports and mentors, both informal and formal.
He mentioned the last partner on the list and related that a
colleague is touring hydroponic growing facilities in Arizona
with an eye towards a number of Alaska projects including Seeds
of Change. It's exciting to see the connections between
different sectors and the intersections in this project, he
said. He thanked the committee for the opportunity to present
the project.
CHAIR DAVIS expressed enthusiasm about the project.
2:32:22 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked if the existing labor laws might be an
impediment to putting kids to work.
MS. ANDREWS replied the youths who work will be over age 16 and
they'll be paid the Alaska minimum wage.
SENATOR DYSON asked where she is in the process of getting the
$1,000,000 appropriation from the Legislature.
MS. ANDREWS replied this is the first step.
SENATOR DYSON observed that they are late to the process this
year and they need an influential champion on one or both
finance committees.
MS. ANDREWS said she hopes there are champions who haven't yet
announced themselves.
SENATOR THOMAS asked what age group is involved.
MR. SOBOCINSKI replied they're looking to serve youths between
the ages 17 and 22, primarily age 18 to 21.
SENATOR THOMAS said he assumes they'll track these youths when
they leave the program and hopes they'll be used to help
influence other youths. He also hopes they'll track the
potential savings that were created by this program.
2:35:22 PM
MR. SOBOCINSKI said a major goal of this project is to
demonstrate those kinds of changes. One reason they're
interested in working with the University of South Florida is
that they've been measuring functional and practical outcomes of
programs nationwide since about 1996.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked how many youths they expect to
participate, how long they would participate, and would they
potentially come from other areas of the state.
MR. SOBOSINSKI replied they anticipate serving youths from
across the state who happen to be aging out when they're in
Anchorage. Several treatment programs are located in Anchorage
but they draw from the entire state. Many youth in this
situation may want to return to other communities but they may
or may not be ready to do so once they reach age 18 and leave
children's services. Once Seeds of Change is up and going the
capacity will be 20 youths. The program will be individualized
so youths will leave the program when they're ready to move into
permanent employment, but they anticipate a timeframe between 9
and 18 months. Youths who graduate from the program will have
the opportunity to return as youth leaders and mentors for
summer programming.
CHAIR DAVIS thanked the participants.
^ Division of Pioneer Homes: Planning for Tomorrow
2:38:03 PM
CHAIR DAVIS announced the final order of business is a
presentation by the Division of Pioneer Homes.
DAVE COTE, Director, Division of Alaska Pioneer Homes, stated
that his purpose today is to articulate concern about the number
of baby-boomers who very soon will be entering the system. He
related that he engaged a contractor to look at the Pioneer Home
System and the senior demographics and provide recommendations
on how to properly serve this population.
He displayed Table 1 that clearly demonstrates that the senior
population is growing and will continue to grow over the next 20
years. These numbers make it clear that it's time to shore up
the entire service array for seniors, he said. There's need for
more home and community-based services, private sector assisted
living homes, more pioneer home capacity, and perhaps additional
nursing homes.
MR. COTE displayed Table 2 that shows that there are 508
licensed beds in the six pioneer homes in the state. Table 3
shows that 462 or 92.2 percent of those beds are occupied. He
added that the system has operated at more than 90 percent
capacity for some years. Table 4 demonstrates the three levels
of care: Level 1 independent; level 2 semi independent, and
level 3 dependent care. In all 6 locations over 50 percent of
the occupants require level 3 care. He said he attributes that
to the success of the home and community-based services. People
aren't presenting until they're in their 80s and their service
needs are more acute. Table 5 demonstrates this age demographic.
Table 6 illustrates that all 6 homes have long wait lists.
People on the active wait list must be ready to admit
him/herself to a pioneer home within 30 days of a tendered
offer. He noted that Juneau, for example, has a four year wait
list. He briefly explained that tables 7-12 give the population
by age bracket by community for each of the 6 pioneer homes.
MR. COTE said table 13 illustrates the projected demand for new
beds, 2015-2030, based on the contractor's analysis. They
estimate these additional needs:
· 98 additional beds by 2015
· 131 additional beds by 2020
· 202 additional beds by 2025
· 298 additional beds by 2030
· Total additional bed capacity needed by 2030 is 729.
MR. COTE said he isn't entirely sure he agrees with the numbers,
but he can see the need to do something and do it today because
waiting too long will leave seniors with no place to go. He said
he's come to the following conclusions:
· There is a clear need to expand the entire service array
for seniors over the next 20 years.
· Pioneer homes have a place in this service array. He
proposes to add bed capacity in a phased approach.
· Conduct a study looking at the feasibility of adding
capacity where land is already available.
· In Fairbanks they already have 16 acres
available.
· The Juneau Pioneer Home was designed to
have another wing.
· Focus on adding level 3 capacity because that's where the
demand is.
2:48:07 PM
SENATOR ELLIS asked how much the feasibility study will cost.
MR. COTE replied he doesn't know, but he realizes that he's
missed the opportunity for 2011 money.
CHAIR DAVIS suggested he gather the information and perhaps the
committee could move forward next session.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked how long a person can be on the inactive
wait list.
MR. COTE answered forever as long as they live in Alaska. He
explained that to get on a pioneer home wait list you must be
age 65 or older and be a resident of Alaska for one year.
2:51:48 PM
SENATOR ELLIS said he appreciates the positive remarks about
home and community-based services because it's the best level of
care to keep folks from needing to go a pioneer home. He said
for years he's followed the increasing level of acuity of people
entering pioneer homes. When he first entered public service
pioneer home residents were active community participants and
now a lot of the people are in critical nursing care. He noted
that the Senate last year passed legislation for annual rate
reviews for home and community-based services the same as
hospital and nursing homes receive annually, and if the House
passes it and the governor signs it there'd be a more secure
foundation to deal with the coming tsunami of seniors needing
help in later years.
2:53:47 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Davis adjourned the meeting at 2:53 p.m.
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