02/08/2013 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
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| Presentation: Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force | |
| SJR6 | |
| Adjourn |
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| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | SJR 6 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 8, 2013
1:31 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator John Coghill, Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Lesil McGuire, Vice Chair
Senator Donald Olson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
REPORT: ALASKA CHILDREN'S JUSTICE TASK FORCE
- HEARD
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6
Urging the United States Congress not to relinquish to the
office of the President of the United States the legislative
duty to safeguard our most fundamental right; and urging the
President of the United States to refrain from any further
efforts to restrict ownership of firearms.
- MOVED SJR 6 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SJR 6
SHORT TITLE: OPPOSE EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON GUN CONTROL
SPONSOR(s): SENATOR(s) DYSON
01/25/13 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/25/13 (S) JUD
02/04/13 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
02/04/13 (S) Heard & Held
02/04/13 (S) MINUTE(JUD)
02/08/13 (S) JUD AT 1:30 PM BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
WITNESS REGISTER
JAN RUTHERDALE, Attorney
Civil Division
Child Protection Section
Department of Law; and Chair
Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in the Alaska Children's
Justice Act Task Force presentation.
CATHY BALDWIN-JOHNSON, MD., member
Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in the Alaska Children's
Justice Act Task Force presentation.
THOM JANIDLO, Vice-Chair and attorney member
Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in the Alaska Children's
Justice Act Task Force presentation.
GAYLE GARRIGUES, Assistant District Attorney
Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL); and member
Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Participated in the Alaska Children's
Justice Act Task Force presentation.
BRYCE WRIGLEY, representing himself
Delta Junction, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 6.
BOB NEELEY, representing himself
Gakona, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of SJR 6.
SCOTT HAMANN, representing himself
Kenai, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in strong support of SJR 6
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:31:06 PM
CHAIR JOHN COGHILL called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:31 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Dyson, Wielechowski, and Chair Coghill.
^Presentation: Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
Presentation: Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
1:31:27 PM
CHAIR COGHILL announced the first order of business would be a
presentation from the Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
(Alaska CJATF).
1:32:07 PM
JAN RUTHERDALE, Chair, Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force
and Attorney, Civil Division, Child Protection Section,
Department of Law, provided an overview of the presentation. She
said she would introduce the Alaska Children's Justice Act Task
Force followed by Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson who would talk about
child maltreatment in Alaska, and Thom Janidlo, an attorney in
private practice in Anchorage who represents parents in
children's cases. She directed attention to the pamphlet in the
packets and the overview of the Alaska CJATF that talks about
its history, mission, and projects. She noted that the packets
also contained some proposed legislation, an amendment to the
proposed legislation, and a summary of the Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACE) Study. She introduced the members of the task
force who were present.
MS. RUTHERDALE reminded the members that the legislation that
the Alaska CJATF recommended last year became part of Senate
Bill 210. She expressed appreciation to Senators McGuire, Dyson,
and Wielechowski as primary and co-sponsors, and noted that it
passed unanimously.
1:38:44 PM
CATHY BALDWIN-JOHNSON, MD. and member, Alaska Children's Justice
Act Task Force, delivered an update on the research on Alaskan
children in danger. She reviewed data from Alaska Office of
Children's Services statistics for 2012; Kids Count data
collections for 2011-2012 - Alaska and nationwide; and the
Prevent Child Abuse America publication on the costs of child
maltreatment in the United States.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON explained that maltreatment includes
physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and other forms of
endangerment for children. In 2012, more than 16,000 children in
Alaska were reported as victims of at least one type of
maltreatment. This translates to about 44 children a day. About
25 of the reports were for neglect, 7 for mental injury (this
includes exposure to domestic violence), 5 for physical abuse,
and 2 for in-home sexual abuse. This is likely a gross
underestimate because it does not include the episodes of out-
of-home sexual abuse. Those cases are screened out and go
directly to law enforcement. However, even law enforcement
statistics are a gross underestimation, because many cases of
child sexual abuse are not reported at all.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON relayed that the overall statistics place
Alaska at 171 percent of the national average, which is an
improvement from previous years. She explained that the
consequences of child maltreatment may be physical,
psychological, behavioral, societal, short-term, or long-term.
Clearly, the consequences continue throughout a person's
lifespan.
One of the short-term health effects of child maltreatment is
death. Approximately 1 of every 5 deaths of Alaskan children (up
to age 9) is related to maltreatment. Nearly 3 out of 4
maltreatment-related deaths occur in infants.
1:41:42 PM
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON said the statistics for child and teen
deaths show that the Alaska rates are far above the national
average. Homicide continues to be about the fourth leading cause
of death for Alaskan children. The statistics for violent death
(homicide, suicide, and accident) of teens show that Alaska is
above the national average in this category, too. A particular
concern is that Alaska's rates of teen and young adult suicide
are very far above the national average.
She discussed the direct and indirect costs of child
maltreatment, both of which are expensive. Direct costs include
the care for injured children. Indirect costs include the child
protection system, the juvenile and adult criminal justice
systems, future earnings and productivity, and medical and
mental health care costs that can be short term or long term.
Current estimates indicate that this costs the country about
$220 million a day, or $80 billion per year. Not surprisingly,
the cost of child maltreatment significantly contributes to the
rising overall health care costs in the country.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON described the landmark Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACE) Study. It was a collaborative study between
researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Kaiser
Permanente, a large health maintenance organization in
California. The first publication, "Turning Gold into Lead,"
talked about healthy and full of promise young children who
didn't have good outcomes after being exposed to abuse. The
initial study had more than 17,000 participants, all of whom
received insurance through their employer from Kaiser
Permanente. An equal number of males and females participated
and the majority was white and middle aged and had at least some
college education. They didn't appear to be high risk.
Each of the participants was asked about different categories of
abuse or family dysfunction they may have experienced during the
first 18 years of life. They were asked if they had a history of
verbal abuse, sexual abuse, or physical abuse. They were asked
about family dysfunction and if there was substance abuse in the
home, violence or threats of violence, a mentally ill parent, or
if their parents were divorced or separated. The second wave of
the study added questions about various kinds of neglect.
For each category of abuse or family dysfunction that a person
experienced, the person received an ACE score of 1. The
researchers found that a lot of people have bad things happen in
childhood. More than a quarter of participants reported that
they had been a victim of physical abuse and that there had been
substance abuse in the home. Nearly a quarter of participants
reported that their parents were either divorced or separated. A
little over one-third of participants never experienced any of
these things, which means that two-thirds of the participants
had adverse experiences. Twelve and one-half percent of the
participants experienced four or more categories of abuse or
dysfunction when they were children.
1:46:51 PM
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON explained that when the researchers looked
at the participants' adult health, they found that the higher
the ACE score the more likely it was that the person would
suffer common, chronic ailments. For example, a person with a
high ACE score was much more likely to have started smoking when
they were young, to be smoking now, and to be a heavier smoker.
Similarly, a person with a high ACE score was more likely to be
an alcoholic and to have injected intravenous drugs. The study
found that over half of the participants with an ACE score of 4
or higher suffered from depression. Of those who had an ACE
score of 7 or more, over one-third had attempted suicide at some
point in their lifetime.
ACE scores also correlated with other health concerns. Twelve
percent of the people that had very high ACE scores were
morbidly obese and 26.6 percent of the people that had higher
ACE scores were sedentary. When the researchers looked at
chronic disease, they found links with all kinds of cancer,
stroke, diabetes, hepatitis, and sleep problems. They found a
significant correlation with chronic lung disease that persisted
even when they controlled for smoking. For heart disease, there
was a stronger correlation with the ACE score than traditional
risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, or high
cholesterol.
1:49:12 PM
Links were also identified with reproductive health, mental
health problems, auto-immune diseases, skeletal fractures, being
a future victim, being a future perpetrator of violence, work
absenteeism, and work productivity.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON highlighted that studies both before and
after confirm the landmark ACE study findings. The following is
a sample of the confirmatory research:
· Child Abuse Neglect 2008: CSA & CPA increased risk later
depression, anxiety, conduct/antisocial personality
disorder, substance abuse, suicide attempts.
· American Journal Public Health 2009: 30 year prospective
study - child physical & sexual abuse increases risk for
STIs in adults.
· Cancer 2009: significant & stable association between child
physical abuse and cancer even adjusting for other risk
factors.
· Obesity 2009: 30 year prospective study - child physical
abuse predicted significantly higher BMI in adulthood even
controlling for other factors.
· Riggs et al; Journal of Pediatrics 1990 found that children
that had been physically abused were 5 times more likely to
attempt suicide and teenagers that had been sexually abused
were 3 times more likely to attempt suicide.
· CAN 2008: lifetime re-victimization study found the
childhood victimization risk for future physical & sexual
abuse/assault, kidnapping, stalking, having family friend
murdered or commit suicide.
· Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 2008: family substance abuse
predictive of earlier, more severe methamphetamine
dependence.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON summarized the evidence from the ACE study.
It suggests the need to view adverse childhood experiences as
one of the most basic causes of health risk behaviors, illness,
disability, premature death, and health care costs.
Current research is looking at why these links occur, but it's
likely multifactorial. It is known that toxic stress affects how
the brain develops and learns to respond to the environment.
Some of it has to do with the effect of toxic stress on the
immune system and some of it may have to do with underlying
genetics. Current findings indicate that some of it has to do
with epigenetics - how the genes are expressed or modified due
to toxic stress. Addressing the question of what to do with the
information, Dr. Baldwin-Johnson said it's very clear that when
bad things happen to children, bad things will continue to
happen into the future. The abused child will be adversely
affected as an adult and society will, too.
1:52:56 PM
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON displayed a stratified pyramid to illustrate
the mechanisms by which adverse childhood experiences influence
health and wellbeing throughout the lifespan. Traditionally,
child protection, medical, mental health, law enforcement, and
court system resources are spent at the top of the pyramid when
it's clear that effort should be concentrated at the bottom on
prevention of adverse childhood experiences and early
interventions. Sometimes interventions have to do with having a
better legal system to protect children from harm, she said.
1:53:41 PM
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON reviewed the requests of the Alaska CJATF.
· Increased support for child advocacy centers (CACs) in
Alaska.
She explained that these child-focused, community based centers
bring the services of multidisciplinary agencies to the child.
Forensic interviews and medical evaluations are provided by
trained individuals. Psychosocial evaluations are done directly
or by referral. Mental health, advocacy and support services,
and referral for services are provided for the child and family.
CACs coordinate the agencies and resources, collect data, and
track the outcomes.
Alaska now has 10 CACs and 2 satellites that have served nearly
18,000 Alaskan children since the first CAS opened in 1996.
Since 2008, the funding has been flat despite significant
increases in utilization. Most CACs have also increased the
types of services they provide. A good example is that many CACs
have expanded their capacity to provide mental health services
to children and their non-offending caregivers.
The CACs submitted a request for $520,109 and the governor's
current budget allocation is $400,000.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON discussed the second request.
· Support for HB 73 and SB 22.
Many provisions in these bills will benefit children. They
relate to sex trafficking, investigations of child abuse images,
sentencing provisions regarding three judge panels and child
sexual exploitation images, expanded admission of evidence of
prior bad acts, and revisions to the mandatory reporting
statutes.
CHAIR COGHILL advised that SB 22 was currently in the
committee's jurisdiction.
1:58:02 PM
THOM JANIDLO, Vice-Chair, Alaska Children's Justice Act Task
Force, said he was a private attorney in Anchorage representing
parents whose children have been removed by OCS. He described
the first legislative recommendation the Alaska CJATF believes
would further protect children.
· Update the current statute concerning medical evaluations
of suspected child abuse.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON explained that the problem with AS 47.17.064
is that it is not current with regard to diagnostic testing. It
refers to x-rays and photographs when there are a number of
newer technologies that do a better job of helping to
differentiate between abuse and non-abuse conditions. She
suggested replacing the reference to "radiological examination"
with the phrase "imaging studies or other diagnostic testing."
Parent notification of the testing would continue.
2:00:43 PM
CHAIR COGHILL asked if that recommendation was in the document
titled "CJATF Proposed Legislation."
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON affirmed that was in Section 5 of that
document.
MR. JANIDLO described the second legislative recommendation.
· Add a new section to the criminal code regarding children's
exposure to domestic violence (DV).
Although research shows that children that are exposed to
domestic violence have the same negative outcomes as children
that directly experience abuse, it is not a crime under state
law to expose a child to domestic violence. Mr. Janidlo noted
that the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) criminal code does list
DV exposure as a crime, but the perpetrator cannot be prosecuted
under state law. The Alaska CJATF proposes patterning state law
after the MOA criminal code.
2:02:02 PM
SENATOR DYSON inquired why perpetrators can't be prosecuted
under municipal law.
MR. JANIDLO answered that they can, but if the abuse occurs
anywhere outside the municipal boundary it's not a crime. He
described the third legislative recommendation
· Add victim protections to criminal laws and child in need
of aid (CINA) laws.
MR. JANIDLO explained that the problem is that during the
discovery process the interviews of children and their physical
and mental health evaluations often end up in the wrong hands,
and the child is re-victimized. The solution is to make
unauthorized publication of a victim's protected material a
crime; modify the rules of discovery in criminal and CINA cases
regarding redistribution of protected materials; and protect the
mental health records of a victim.
He described the fourth legislative recommendation.
· Revise the mandatory reporting statute.
MR. JANIDLO reviewed the history of mandatory reporting and the
current law under AS 47.17. The standard for reporting is having
reasonable cause to suspect that a child has suffered harm as a
result of child abuse or neglect. AS 47.17.290 provides a
definition of "child abuse" and AS 47.10.014 provides a
definition of "neglect."
2:11:15 PM
MR. JANIDLO said that even with the current mandatory reporters,
research shows that child abuse is still underreported.
Furthermore, there is confusion in Alaska about who must report.
The Alaska CJATF suggests, at a minimum, filling the gaps and
requiring reporting from: first responders, social services
personnel, veterinarians, animal control officers, clergy,
coaches, and other volunteers with regular contact with
children.
However, the best solution is to require all adults to report
when they have a reasonable cause to believe that a child is a
victim of abuse. He said this is the national trend with more
than one-third of the states and Puerto Rico currently requiring
every person to report abuse when they have reasonable cause to
believe it is occurring.
SENATOR DYSON commented that he knows of divorce lawyers that
tell their clients to file a DV charge or accuse their spouse of
child abuse. He requested a follow up conversation about how to
protect those who are fraudulently accused.
MR. JANIDLO said that happens, but the truth generally comes out
in the course of the investigation.
2:15:00 PM
MR. JANIDLO summarized the Alaska CJATF's requests and
recommendations:
· Support increased funding for CACs
· Support HB 73 and SB 22
· Update AS 47.17.64
· Make it unlawful to exposure a child to DV
· Protect children from re-victimization in the discovery
process
· Make all Alaskans understand they have a responsibility to
report reasonable suspicions of child abuse or neglect.
CHAIR COGHILL asked how a child's sensitive and private
information gets out during the discovery process.
2:17:34 PM
GAYLE GARRIGUES, Assistant District Attorney, Criminal Division,
Department of Law (DOL), Fairbanks, Alaska, explained that in
these sex crimes the state's attorney is required to give the
defendant's attorney copies of the DVD, medical records, and
photographs. The problem arises when council for the defense
gives copies of the information to their client, because it
sometimes is redistributed inappropriately.
The Alaska CJATF is requesting the process be tightened. The
defense attorney could show the information to their client, but
it could not be redistributed without a good reason. A good
reason could be that the defense wants to hire an expert. The
intention of this recommendation is to keep the client from
using the information for personal gratification or sharing it
with their friends.
2:19:45 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked for a discussion of the root causes
of child abuse in Alaska.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON offered her belief that the causes are
multifactorial. For many Alaskans there is historical trauma.
There is a great deal of social isolation in the state, and that
is a contributing factor. There is a lot of substance abuse in
the state, particularly alcohol. When children are exposed to
alcohol in utero, they are at higher risk for becoming future
victims and future perpetrators because they have poor impulse
control. Furthermore, intergenerational problems build on each
other and cause a ripple effect of bad things happening now and
in the future. Dr. Baldwin-Johnson said that's why she firmly
believes that better primary prevention, better early
intervention, and better support for families is so important.
Referring to the pyramid she described earlier, she emphasized
that it is more cost effective to work at the bottom.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if she had suggestions for ways to
break the cycle.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON said there are a number of programs in
existence or under development that need additional support.
They look at prenatal care, early childhood development, and
ways to help parents be better parents to their very young
children. The best time to teach better parenting skills is
during pregnancy and when the child is very young.
CHAIR COGHILL asked if some of the programs in use have already
been evaluated.
DR. BALDWIN-JOHNSON explained that some of the nurse/family
partnership programs have supporting research showing that their
interventions work. Some interventions based in primary care
practices have been used in other areas of the country and are
being evaluated for introduction in Alaska.
CHAIR COGHILL discussed the budget process.
MS. RUTHERDALE stated support for the line item projects in the
Governor's budget that relate to increasing housing for families
affected by DV and the Strengthen Families Program.
CHAIR COGHILL questioned the practical application of making
everyone a mandatory reporter, and expressed concern about the
unintended consequences and potential harm it could cause a
family that needs help.
MS. RUTHERDALE suggested that it's a question of balancing that
potential against the good that can come when there is a valid
report of harm.
2:31:08 PM
CHAIR COGHILL discussed the responsibility and potential
drawbacks of making everybody a mandatory reporter, and pointed
out that all the current mandatory reporters have been part of
the problem.
MR. JANIDLO acknowledged that it will take time and effort to
educate the public, but the national campaign that "We are all
responsible for all our children." is something that should be
promoted.
CHAIR COGHILL reiterated his concern about mandatory reporting
and that it may chill a person's willingness to help somebody.
SENATOR DYSON agreed with Mr. Janidlo that there is a human
responsibility to report reasonable suspicions of abuse. The
welfare of children should be at the forefront, because not
helping a child that's being hurt will have a huge, negative
ripple effect.
CHAIR COGHILL observed that suspicions of child abuse can be
very subjective.
MS. RUTHERDALE directed attention to the amendment to the
proposed legislation. It provides an alternative that says that
any adult that sees a child being sexually abused has an
obligation to report.
2:37:50 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI said he can see both sides of the reporting
issue, but he continues to believe that to effectively target
child abuse it's important to address the root cause. The
education system should be involved, which means the state has
to figure out its goals for education. Kids need to learn math,
science, and reading, but they also have to be taught how to be
good citizens and how to break the cycle of abuse.
MR. JANIDLO agreed with the foregoing sentiments.
2:40:34 PM
CHAIR COGHILL thanked the presenters and the members of the task
force.
2:40:56 PM
At ease
SJR 6-OPPOSE EXECUTIVE ORDERS ON GUN CONTROL
2:42:11 PM
CHAIR COGHILL reconvened the meeting and announced the
consideration of SJR 6. He opened public testimony.
2:43:26 PM
BRYCE WRIGLEY, representing himself, Delta Junction, Alaska,
testified in support of SJR 6. He said some people question why
anybody would need an assault rifle or large magazine for
hunting or enjoyment of shooting sports, but the Second
Amendment was not put in place to protect hunting or skeet
shooting. It was to protect the citizens against those who would
take away their freedoms. George Washington made this clear when
he said, "A free people ought not only be armed and disciplined,
but they should have sufficient arms and ammunition to maintain
a status of independence from any who may attempt to abuse them,
which would include their own government."
MR. WRIGLEY said he supports the resolution, but would prefer
less timid language and more fire and brimstone.
CHAIR COGHILL said the sponsor was listening.
2:45:56 PM
BOB NEELEY, representing himself, Gakona, Alaska, testified in
support of SJR 6. He said he is an Alaskan Indian and military
veteran, and in his culture you're not a man if you don't own
your own gun. He lives off the land using his gun and he
supports protecting the Second Amendment.
CHAIR COGHILL thanked him for his service and testimony.
2:47:39 PM
SCOTT HAMANN, representing himself, Kenai, Alaska, testified in
strong support of SJR 6 as a lifelong Alaska who has lived
around guns all his life. He believes the state is under attack
from Washington, D.C. and he supports everything that the people
of Alaska can do to say no.
CHAIR COGHILL said he knows those sentiments are felt by a lot
of people. Finding no further testimony or discussion, he
solicited a motion.
2:49:12 PM
SENATOR DYSON moved to report SJR 6 from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note(s).
CHAIR COGHILL stated that SJR 6 was reported from the Senate
Judiciary Standing Committee without objection.
2:49:50 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair Coghill adjourned the Senate Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting at 2:49 p.m.
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