05/11/1999 03:03 PM House HES

         HOUSE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL                                                                                     
            SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE                                                                                         
                    May 11, 1999                                                                                                
                     3:03 p.m.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE CALENDAR                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
CHILDREN'S ISSUES GROUP                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
TAPE                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
99-54, SIDE A                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CALL TO ORDER                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON called the House Health, Education and Social                                                                 
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 3:03 p.m.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
PRESENT                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Committee members present were Representatives Dyson, Coghill,                                                                  
Morgan and Kemplen. Representatives Brice, Green and Whitaker                                                                   
arrived at 3:05 p.m., 3:10 p.m. and 3:33 p.m., respectively.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
ELIZABETH FORRER, Executive Director, Anchorage Center for                                                                      
Families, came forward and expressed her concern on the budget                                                                  
issues.  It will negatively impact children.  She urged the                                                                     
committee to invest early to reap the benefits later.  She                                                                      
introduced the other people who came in support of children:                                                                    
Mahla Strohmaier, Kueni Ma'ake, Lupita Alvarez, Cindy Amdur,                                                                    
Elaine Cordova, Janice Tower, Kristin Price and Teresa Narvaez.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MARSHALL "CURREY" COOK, Guardian Ad Litem, Assistant Public                                                                     
Advocate, Office of Public Advocacy (Anchorage), Department of                                                                  
Administration, came forward and expressed his concern of reports                                                               
of harm not being investigated.  He urged the committee to make                                                                 
children the number one priority.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
DAVID LEONE, Executive Director, Resource Center for Parents and                                                                
Children, Fairbanks, came forward and explained that prevention                                                                 
of abuse does pay when they get involved early.  He urged the                                                                   
committee to focus on education and parental support.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
JOY LYON, Executive Director, National Association for the                                                                      
Education of Young Children, Southeast Alaska, came forward and                                                                 
expressed her thanks for the committee's hard work.  She shared a                                                               
vision of what Alaska could be without child abuse.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
COMMITTEE ACTION                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
The committee took no action.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIRMAN DYSON called for an at-ease at 3:40 p.m. in order to                                                                
hear HB 17 and HJR 6. [The minutes for those bills are found in                                                                 
the 3:43 p.m. minutes for the same date.]                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
NOTE:  The meeting was recorded and handwritten log notes were                                                                  
taken.  A copy of the tape and log notes may be obtained by                                                                     
contacting the House Records Office at 130 Seward Street, Suite                                                                 
211, Juneau, Alaska  99801-1182, (907) 465-2214, and after                                                                      
adjournment of the second session of the Twenty-first Alaska                                                                    
State Legislature, in the Legislative Reference Library.