Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
03/03/2025 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): the Impact of Direct Service Providers on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | HB 74 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 3, 2025
1:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Andrew Gray, Chair
Representative Chuck Kopp, Vice Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Sarah Vance
Representative Mia Costello
Representative Jubilee Underwood
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): THE IMPACT OF DIRECT SERVICE PROVIDERS ON
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS
- HEARD
HOUSE BILL NO. 74
"An Act establishing the crime of airbag fraud."
- BILL HEARING CANCELED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
BRENDA STANFILL, Executive Director
Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Impact of Direct Service
Providers on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
presentation.
KEELEY OLSON, Executive Director
Standing Together Against Rape
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Impact of Direct Service
Providers on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
presentation.
REBECCA SHIELDS, Executive Director
Kodiak Women's Resource and Crisis Center
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Impact of Direct Service
Providers on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
presentation.
EILEEN ARNOLD, Executive Director
Tunda Women's Coalition
Bethel, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Co-offered the Impact of Direct Service
Providers on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
presentation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:01:00 PM
CHAIR ANDREW GRAY called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. Representatives Underwood,
Costello, Mina, Vance, Kopp, and Gray were present at the call
to order. Representative Eischeid arrived as the meeting was in
progress.
^PRESENTATION(S): The Impact of Direct Service Providers on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
PRESENTATION(S): The Impact of Direct Service Providers on
Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Survivors
1:01:38 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the only order of business would be
the Impact of Direct Service Providers on Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault Survivors presentation.
1:02:05 PM
BRENDA STANFILL, Executive Director, Alaska Network on Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), gave a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "Alaska's Support for those Experiencing
Sexual and Domestic Violence" [hard copy included in the
committee packet]. She began on slide 3 by outlining the
history of the movement that brought services to victims of
domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA) in Alaska. Slide
4 illustrated the impact of safe shelter and support. Slide 5
displayed a graphic on power and control. Slide 6 reflected on
the low reporting rates among adult women who experience
intimate partner violence (IPV) or SA in their lifetime. Slide
7 featured a Venn diagram and slide 8 featured data from the
Alaska Victimization Survey from 2010 to 2020. In response to a
question from Representative Vance, she explained that loss of
money and economic stress were indicators of an increase in DV.
Slide 9 showed a map of ANDVSA's service providers across
Alaska.
1:11:18 PM
KEELEY OLSON, Executive Director, Standing Together Against Rape
(STAR), continued the PowerPoint presentation with an overview
of STAR's services on slide 11, highlighting the crisis line and
the Sexual Assault Response Team (SART). She explained that the
crisis line receives 5,754 calls per year and that no call goes
unanswered with help from trained volunteers in the community
working 5-hour shifts. In addition, STAR provide individual
advocacy services; on scene crisis response via SART, anonymous
victim reports (AVR), and emergency room (ER) callouts; and one-
on-one appointments. In response to a question about
accessibility for English language learners and people with
disabilities, she stated that STAR has a contract with two
American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and works with the
Alaska Institute for Justice's (AIJ) language interpreter
program. The organization also has a language contract for the
crisis line and brochures available in six languages. She
conveyed that there is no time limit on the provision of
services and that a person can work with star at any point in
their lifetime.
1:25:26 PM
REBECCA SHIELDS, Executive Director, Kodiak Women's Resource and
Crisis Center, continued the PowerPoint presentation with a
discussion on legal advocacy in rural Alaska. She said there
are two types of legal advocacy: civil legal advocacy and
criminal justice legal advocacy. She detailed the steps
involved in civil legal advocacy: emergency or long-term
restraining orders, safety planning, systems advocacy, referrals
to legal assistance, and accompanying to civil procedures.
Criminal justice legal advocacy includes SART and the
Coordinated Community Response (CCR) Team, both of which consist
of law enforcement, medical, and advocacy members. She
emphasized that the response is victim centered and the role of
a victim's advocate is to provide constant safety planning and
support throughout the entirety of their case. This includes
support for ongoing needs like housing, food, and appointments.
In response to a question from the chair, she reported that on
average, the Kodiak Women's Center fills 15 beds each month.
When a criminal case ends, all court ordered conditions of
release are dismantled but victims' services and advocates
remain as long as they are needed.
1:37:33 PM
MS. SHIELDS, in response to a question about quantifying
successful casework, she said it's not black and white because
no two cases are alike. Especially with IPV or cases where
children are involved, the threat can reemerge at any time, and
the need to monitor and remain accessible is important for
service providers. She spoke about the transition from victim
to survivor and the positive outcomes she's seen.
1:42:23 PM
EILEEN ARNOLD, Executive Director, Tunda Women's Coalition
(TWC), continued the PowerPoint presentation with a short
history of the TWC, its services, and the SART Multidisciplinary
Team (MDT). The classic services offered by TWC are the
emergency shelter, transitional housing, the MDT, and legal
advocacy. The SART MDT has expanded through Telesafe into three
of five sub regional villages to ensure that people can remain
in their home communities while seeing help. Advocates have
also been trained on strangulation response and two clinical
exam rooms were created for the Child Advocacy Centers (CAC) and
people in shelters. She noted that the exam rooms are income
producing for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC)
because medical forensics lack national funding for SART. The
TWC also provides both Western and traditional healing
activities, many revolving around subsistence activities like
hunting, fishing, food preparation, and sewing traditional
garments. Permanent supportive housing was recently completed
in Bethel with 24 units, 20 of which are filled, called Atsaq
Place, in addition to the Tundra Youth Home. She commended the
stabilization vouchers that were issued during the COVID-19
Pandemic, which offer rental assistance for people with jobs and
help keep the shelters open for people with complex cases. She
explained that the vouchers are distributed by Alaska Housing
Finance Corporation (AHFC) through what she suspected to be
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. She shared her
understanding that the stabilization vouchers would be
terminated by September 30, 2025, and was unsure whether more
would be issued.
1:54:47 PM
th
MS. ARNOLD shared a snapshot from April 7, 2024, to illustrate
what a day at TWC looks like:
-Emergency shelter for 17 women and 24 children
-Transitional housing for three women and six
children,
-Three non-resident adults with three children were
helped with housing vouchers
-One survivor of sexual assault got updates on the
legal case from staff
-Eight youth attended TAAV
-28 Cases were reviewed by MDT members at the CAC case
review.
-A SART call out happened at 5
-Local Law enforcement dropped off a mom with a baby
at the shelter around 11:00 pm
-And 12 full-time staff came to work, eight of whom
are survivors of interpersonal violence.
1:55:33 PM
MS. ARNOLD, in response to committee questions, explained that
medical providers are experiencing burnout on a national level
and that YKHC can't get providers to the subregional clinics.
As a solution, itinerants are being trained on evidence
collection. She agreed that the word "women's" in Tundra
Women's Coalition is a misnomer, as the organization provides
services for victims of all genders. She spoke to the issue of
strangulation, and explained that similar to DV, its about
power and control. She said the state has done a good job
educating and training its response teams, law enforcement, and
the Department of Law (DOL) on this issue. She shared a
personal anecdote and suggested that her community is very
desensitized to strangulation, so more could be done.
2:03:45 PM
MS. STANFILL offered wrap up comments emphasizing the integral
role that ANDVSA plays in the system.
2:04:34 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:04 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska's support for those experiencing sexual and domestic violence.pdf |
HJUD 3/3/2025 1:00:00 PM |
HJUD Domestic Violence Hearing |