HB 27-DHSS DUTIES;CINA; FOSTER CARE; ADOPTION  4:52:25 PM CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be SPONSOR SUBSTITUTE FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 27, "An Act relating to the duties of the Department of Health and Social Services; relating to hearings on and plans for permanent placement of a child in need of aid; relating to school placement and transportation for children in foster care; relating to foster care transition programs; relating to emergency and temporary placement of a child in need of aid; relating to the confidentiality of information regarding child protection; and amending Rule 17.2, Alaska Child in Need of Aid Rules of Procedure." 4:53:05 PM REPRESENTATIVE LES GARA, Alaska State Legislature, declared that his underlying guideline for foster care was the responsibility that, as we take children out of their homes, we become their legal guardians, essentially their parents. He asked, as parents, would these numbers and statistics for foster youth be tolerated. He stated that the proposed bill attempts to address solutions in a cost effective way. He relayed that 24 percent of foster youth end up incarcerated and 40 percent of foster youth end up either homeless or couch surfing. He directed attention to a recent study which indicated that foster youth have high ACE (adverse childhood experiences) scores because they are separated from their families and, in the foster care system, they bounce between homes. He shared that most states have allowed foster care until age 21, noting that in 12 states non-foster youth, on average, stayed at home until age 25. He explained that a child was emotionally harmed when taken from their parents and then placed in multiple foster homes, and that they were not ready to leave home and succeed at age 18. He reported that one provision of the proposed bill ensured that children were allowed to stay in foster care until age 21 if it was in their best interest. He pointed out that OCS would have to show to the court, at a status hearing, that it was in the child's best interest to release them prior to age 21. He explained that the goal of foster care was to find a permanent home within 12 - 24 months. He declared that Alaska did not do this in many cases, resulting in even more harm to a child from the lack of a stable, nurturing home. He pointed out that one provision of the proposed bill stated that OCS, at the regular status hearings, must show that it had taken reasonable efforts to find a permanent home for a child. He explained that both of these provisions would help reduce the incarceration rates, the homelessness rates, and the ACEs scores. He stated that, under federal law, if a family moved within a reasonable distance, homeless youth were allowed to stay in the same school. He reported on studies which showed that each time youth were taken out of school in the middle of a term they would fall three months behind. He declared that the goal was for graduation from high school. He directed attention to another provision in the proposed bill, which stated that OCS should follow the nationally recognized standard to allow youth to stay in the same school through the end of the term. He addressed a problem as aired by Alaska Native organizations and OCS for the sharing of information when a child needed help even though the situation did not necessitate placement in foster care. This provision would allow OCS to work with the tribes and share its information so that the community could help with the challenges faced by the child. He referenced another provision in state law that declared that foster children were only entitled to a "basic education." As no other children in Alaska were only entitled to this "basic education," the proposed bill would delete this provision from state law. He offered his belief that the term was offensive, and he proposed to insert language recommended by OCS which entitled foster children to education or vocational education. He stated that another goal for foster children was to help them succeed. He noted that other provisions of the proposed bill requested that OCS work toward placing children with a relative, when this was the best placement possible. He pointed out that in many communities and cultures in Alaska the extended family was "almost like the immediate family and treated and revered as such." He explained that OCS was currently federally required to do a diligent search for placement with family or friends within 30 days of taking a child from their home. He said that, as there was not any legal requirement for continued search for family placement after that 30 day period, or any requirement for family placement in lieu of any emergency placement, that this was now a provision in the proposed bill. He offered to explain the reasoning in much more detail, as there was a lot of evidence in support. He declared that none of these provisions would cost a lot of money. He directed attention to an issue that OCS was also researching, "what do you do with a child who actually is succeeding, who comes out of foster care, so no longer is entitled to this daily reimbursement rate..." He offered an example of a child successfully living in a school dorm, but who could no longer afford the cost. He allowed that the daily reimbursement rate could not be paid as they were no longer in custody, and yet we wanted them to succeed. He shared that a provision, since removed, in the proposed bill would have allowed payment up to the daily reimbursement rate to support youth to stay in dorms for job training or higher education. As this provision had a fiscal note of more than $2 million, the provision had been removed, although OCS was continuing to seek a solution. He reminded the committee that there were 2400 foster youth not living with their families, and they were among the most vulnerable children in the state. [HB 27 was held over.]