HB 22-EXTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL  3:05:48 PM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 22, "An Act extending the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing for an effective date." 3:06:33 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR introduced HB 22, as the sponsor of the bill, and stated that the proposed bill was more than simply an extension for the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council. She pointed to the recent 2019 Alaska statistics for suicide prevention which indicated that one person died by suicide every 44 hours. She reported that this was the fifth leading cause of death in Alaska, while being the leading cause of death in ages 15 - 24. She added that Alaska was second in the nation with suicide deaths per capita. She pointed to an increase in the recent rate of suicide, declaring that this was an impact upon too many Alaskans. She emphasized the need for a Suicide Prevention Council, and that even more needed to be done. She pointed to the 20,976 calls during 2018 to the CARE line, an annual increase of almost 30 percent. She reported that the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council was comprised of 14 individuals, which included 4 legislators, as non-voting members. 3:10:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR paraphrased from the sponsor statement [Included in members' packets][original punctuation provided], which read: House Bill 22 would extend the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council to 2027, ensuring another eight years of support for suicide prevention efforts in Alaska. The Council would otherwise be terminated on June 30, 2019. According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Section of Epidemiology, the suicide rate in Alaska increased by 13 percent between 2012 and 2017, making suicide the leading cause of death for Alaskans between the ages of 10 and 64. As a matter of public health, the state has a responsibility to address this disturbing trend and must actively continue to pursue strategies to prevent suicide in Alaska. The Statewide Suicide Prevention Council was created in 2001 and consists of 14 public and private members, including four state legislators. Under AS 44.39.350, the Council is statutorily responsible for: ? Advising legislators and the Governor on ways to improve Alaskans' health and wellness by reducing suicide; ? Improving public awareness of suicide and risk factors; ? Enhancing suicide prevention efforts; ? Working with partners and faith-based organizations to develop healthier communities; ? Creating a statewide suicide prevention plan and putting it in action; and ? Building and strengthening partnerships to prevent suicide. The Council holds public meetings, publishes a 5-Year State Suicide Prevention Plan, and works with schools and community groups to provide resources that educate Alaskans on how to prevent suicide. Last year, the Council partnered with the Alaska Community Foundation and Alaska Children's Trust to continue the GCI Suicide Prevention Grant Program. Nine grants were funded in 2017 across the state, totaling $100,000. The Council also helped secure funding for a 5-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to create the Alaska Native Collaborative Hub for Resilience Research, which will help Alaska Native communities share knowledge, guide research, and identify culturally-relevant suicide prevention strategies in rural Alaska. Terminating the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council would jeopardize the state's efforts at addressing this heartbreaking, but preventable, issue. I respectfully ask for your support of HB 22 this year. REPRESENTATIVE TARR pointed out that there was a recommendation by the Legislative Audit Division to extend the council for eight years. She directed attention to the fiscal note, labeled OMB Component Number 2651 [Included in members' packets] and explained that this included not only the expenditures for staffing, but the bulk was directed for grants to the Department of Education and Early Development. She concluded and pointed to the checklists [Included in members' packets] for families, communities, and individuals which offered ways to make a difference for Alaskans impacted by suicide. 3:15:16 PM REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON asked if the $648,000 requested on the fiscal note was an annual request. REPRESENTATIVE TARR replied, "that's true, yes." She directed attention to the grants and benefits line, noting that this was the bulk of the requested funding and that it was for "really, really important work in the schools." REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON expressed her concern that this money be directed toward education, but instead be directed toward mental services. She offered her belief that investment through the schools may not be the best place to funnel the money as it may be the "last place young people want to talk about it because they will feel ridicule." She declared the need to shift the perspective as the suicide numbers were not coming down. She stated her support for the proposed bill and added that she would be a member of the council. 3:18:32 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR said that she would follow up with her and explained that there was now an understanding for "the trauma informed approach" to be effective. She noted that some of the materials had been developed for educators. She acknowledged that although the program infrastructure appeared to be the same, the actual work completed through these grants was now very relevant and based on what was currently understood as the best practices. She expressed her hope that this was the best and most effective use of the dollars. REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON replied that she would wait to hear from the various organizations. REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered that there could be responses from the testifiers directed toward her concerns. 3:20:28 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN shared his agreement with the expansion to an eight-year renewal, noting that there was a cost to the shorter time frames. REPRESENTATIVE TARR replied that the issues facing the council were very challenging and took time and generational change. 3:21:41 PM LINDA DAY, Audit Manager, Legislative Audit Division, Legislative Agencies and Offices, directed attention to the sunset audit of the Suicide Prevention Council [Included in members' packets] dated August 3, 2018. She explained that the purpose of a sunset audit was to determine whether a board or commission was serving the public interest and whether it should be extended. She declared that the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council was authorized by statute to serve in an advisor capacity to the Alaska State Legislature and the governor regarding suicide awareness and prevention. She reported that it had been found that overall the council operated in the public's interest by actively broadening the public's awareness of suicide prevention and coordinating the efforts of other suicide prevention entities which included state agencies, regional groups, coalitions, and local communities. She added that the council had fulfilled its statutory duty by issuing the 2018 - 2022 Suicide Prevention plan while working closely with the stakeholders to add and refine the plan's strategies, resources, and indicators. She directed attention to page 4 of the audit which listed the schedule of expenditures and funding sources. She noted that the council was funded by general fund appropriations for about $650,000 in FY18, with the majority of its expenditures for suicide awareness prevention programs with the Department of Education and Early Development. She pointed to pages 9 - 10 of the audit which listed a detailed list of the council activities, and she shared two administrative recommendations. On page 12, it was recommended that the executive director develop and implement procedures to ensure that public notice for the meetings was published accurately and in a timely manner. Also, on page 12, it was recommended that the chair of the council develop and implement written procedures to ensure performance evaluations were completed annually for the executive director, as this was required in statute. She concluded by stating that the division recommended an extension for the council termination date of eight years. 3:25:50 PM BEVERLY SCHOONOVER, Acting Executive Director, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, Division of Behavioral Health, Department of Health and Social Services, reported that she had only been acting executive director for two months. 3:26:50 PM BARBARA FRANKS, Chairperson, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, shared her personal story as a mother of a child who died by suicide. She noted that she had travelled more than 700,000 miles in Alaska for trainings to teach the signs for how to help someone. She reported that there had been 2,224,408 calls to the national helpline in 2018. 3:31:09 PM CO-CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ thanked Ms. Franks for sharing her personal experience, stating how important this was, and she shared her own personal experiences with suicide. She pointed out the difficulty for knowing what to say to someone impacted by a suicide and the need for honest, transparent conversations about suicide as the way to address the issue over the long term. 3:32:55 PM NICOLE BORROMEO, Executive Vice President and General Council, Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN), stated the support of AFN for three main reasons: Alaska Natives and American Indians are the only ethnic populations specifically listed as at-risk for suicide by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Since suicide disproportionately affects Alaska Natives and American Indians, the suicide prevention council connects the public to state government resources, raises awareness, increases outreach, and helps secure funding for projects and programs that help our communities develop community and culturally relevant programs to build our collective resilience. She stated support of continuation of the council and support to the Alaska Native Health Board's efforts to expand the membership of the council to include a subject matter expert in prevention who has experience working in the tribal health care system. Finally, AFN was supportive of HB 22 because the council promoted community wellness and used the most current data and research to inform its upstream approach. She stated that there had been too many instances where suicide had reached epidemic levels throughout Alaska and that all Alaskans needed to know that suicide was preventable. 3:35:12 PM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY opened public testimony. 3:35:40 PM BRENDA MOORE, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, reported that she was the representative to the council from the Alaska Mental Health Board. She stated that prevention was primarily about reducing risk and building resilience and that the council worked to coordinate, advocate, and educate. She relayed that the grants were for primary prevention and had touched the lives of more than 200,000 people. These learning modules allowed the public to understand the signs and symptoms of suicide, and the impacts of toxic stress and trauma that create a greater risk for suicide. She explained that a key role for the council was to coordinate among the various local groups. She cautioned that there were other chronic illnesses that also needed prevention. She declared that it was necessary to develop resiliency and deal with trauma and toxic stress, hence the need to start with youth. She emphasized that the work with Department of Education and Early Development was key to addressing primary prevention. 3:41:10 PM SAM TRIVETTE, Juneau Suicide Prevention Coalition, said that there had been a suicide death in Juneau today and shared a personal experience with suicide. He stated his support for HB 22. He said that there had been progress made in many areas around the state, pointing out that, as the CARE line calls had dramatically increased, people were willing to call and connect with experts. He offered his belief that the programs in the schools had "opened up kids, they understand the signs of suicide" and that there were programs that dealt with sources of strength and resilience. He reported that several hospitals and clinics were screening for suicide prevention. He added that the council was developing new programs that were extremely effective and would become best practices. 3:46:01 PM MONIQUE ANDREWS, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, stated that she was a member of the Alaska Army National Guard and she shared how the suicide prevention efforts were working in the military. She reported that the increase of suicides in Alaska was on par with the national and the military increase. She said that although there were a multitude of variables contributing to the increase, the efforts for prevention intervention were not in vain. She pointed out that most military recruiters were working with 15 - 24-year olds, which was the most vulnerable group as they were still physically and emotionally developing. This was also the highest group for suicide. She stated that the Suicide Prevention Council worked in the schools with this age group to teach skills of resiliency and effective communication, and that these skills were taken with them into the military. She pointed out how stressful it was for these young people in the military and the need for these skills. She spoke about the perceptions of prevention, as many people thought that prevention was solely intervention. She declared that prevention happened even before a crisis, while there were still other options and resources available, and that the council provided an avenue to connect with these resources. 3:52:25 PM KRISTINA JAGER shared her personal story as a survivor of suicide and that she had worked in the mental health field with individuals in crisis for the past seven years. She relayed that the council gave hope and provided a consolidated, concerted, strategic plan to "recast the net upstream" as primary prevention was the key. She stated the importance of getting to youth before the at-risk period of their lives so they would have the necessary coping and resilience skills. She declared that it was crucial to continue to provide the grant funding to the Department of Education and Early Development for primary prevention. She stated support for HB 22. 3:55:31 PM PATTY OWEN, Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA), stated support for extension of the council until 2027 and she read from a prepared statement [original punctuation provided]: The Alaska Public Health Association (ALPHA) is a non- profit membership organization with over 150 health members dedicated to improving the health and well- being for all Alaskans. ALPHA is also the state affiliate of the American Public Health Association. ALPHA strongly supports HB 22, to extend Alaska's Statewide Suicide Prevention Council to June 30, 2027. As outlined in Alaska Statute 44.29.350, the functions of the Council are necessary to improve health and wellness throughout the state by reducing suicide and its effects on individuals, families and communities. The Statewide Suicide Council has done a remarkable job of raising awareness; coordinating and improving statewide prevention programs and resources; collaborating with national, state and local stakeholders and resources; and developing, updating, and implementing statewide prevention plans. Reducing suicide rates in Alaska has been one of the goals of the State's Healthy Alaskans 2020 and is also a priority of ALPHA. Unfortunately, despite best efforts, suicide rates in Alaska remain high and still much higher than the national average. It is crucial that the Statewide Suicide Council continue its work and remain the primary entity in Alaska for Alaska's collective approach to preventing suicide. 3:57:31 PM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY closed public testimony. [HB 22 was held over.]