HB 305-MANDATORY REPORTERS TO OCS; JUDGES  3:07:54 PM CHAIR ZULKOSKY announced that the first order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 305, "An Act relating to the persons required to report child abuse or neglect or a threat of harm to a child; and providing for an effective date." 3:08:19 PM The committee took a brief at-ease. [Chair Zulkosky passed the gavel to Vice Chair Spohnholz.] 3:09:13 PM REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY introduced HB 305 on behalf of the bill sponsor, the House Health and Social Services (HHSS) Standing Committee. She reminded the committee of the presentation at the 2/13/20 [HHSS Standing Committee] meeting, entitled "Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force," by task force members Pam Karalunas, Gayle Garrigues, and Mike Hopper, PhD, giving a 2020 update on child abuse in Alaska. She relayed that the Children's Justice Act (CJA) Task Force is federally mandated and funded; the CJA Task Force identifies areas needing improvement in the statewide response to child maltreatment - particularly child sexual abuse - and makes recommendations for actions that the state can take to improve the system. She referred to the CJA Task Force's recommendations during the presentation; one recommendation focused on closing gaps in mandatory reporters individuals who must report suspected cases of child abuse which will offer earlier interventions to protect Alaska's children. She stated that by the end of the 2/13/20 committee meeting, there was broad consensus among all committee members to join the CJA Task Force in championing Alaska's children and families. She offered that HB 305 is aligned with the recommendations made to the committee in the 2/13/20 hearing. 3:11:31 PM KATY GIORGIO, Staff, Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of the HHSS Standing Committee, sponsor of HB 305, directed the committee's attention to slide 1, entitled "Section 1. Reporting of Imminent Threat to Child," which read: Section 1. AS 22.35 is amended by adding a new section to read: Sec. 22.35.040. Reporting of imminent threat to child. "A judge of the superior court or district court shall immediately report to the nearest office of a law enforcement agency of the state a threat of imminent harm to a child if the judge has reasonable case to suspect that there is a threat that imminent harm will occur to a child between the time the judge issues a protective order under AS 18.65.850 18.65.870 or AS 18.66.100- 18.66.180 and the time the protective order is served." This section may be problematic (redundant) as the issuance of a protective order is, in and of itself, a report to law enforcement that there exists a threat of harm. There have been recent conversations between representatives of the Alaska Court System, law enforcement, and OCS regarding possible administrative fixes to address gaps related to domestic violence protective orders. MS. GIORGIO explained the administrative fixes would consist of a series of "red flags" for a judge, such as the perpetrator mentioning weapons or harming a person. She offered that in a subsequent version of the proposed legislation, Section 1 may be removed. 3:13:01 PM MS. GIORGIO moved on to slide 2, which read: AS 47.17.020 CHILD PROTECTION/ PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT PERSONS WHO, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THEIR OCCUPATIONAL OR APPOINTED DUTIES, WHO HAVE REASONABLE CAUSE TO SUSPECT THAT A CHILD HAS SUFFERED HARM AS A RESULT OF CHILD ABUSE OR NEGLECT, SHALL IMMEDIATELY REPORT THE HARM TO THE OFFICE OF CHILD SERVICES. AS 47.17.020 CHILD PROTECTION/ PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT HB 305 AMENDS SECTION 2 TO REPLACE THE LANGUAGE "OCCUPATIONAL DUTIES" AND "APPOINTED DUTIES" TO READ: (A) THE FOLLOWING PERSONS WHO, IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE DUTIES ASSOCIATED WITH A POSITION LISTED IN THIS SUBSECTION? MS. GIORGIO explained that Section 2 of HB 305 would reword AS 47.17.020(a) for clarification. 3:13:29 PM MS. GIORGIO turned to slide 3, entitled "Current List of Mandatory Reporters, which read: square4 (1) practitioners of the healing arts square4 (2) school teachers and school administrative staff members of public and private schools square4 (3) peace officers and officers of the Department of Corrections square4 (4) administrative officers of institutions square4 (5) childcare providers square4 (6) paid employees of domestic violence and sexual assault programs, and crisis intervention and prevention programs square4 (7) paid employees of an organization that provides counseling or treatment to individuals seeking to control their use of drugs or alcohol square4 (8) members of a child fatality review team established under AS 12.65.015(e) or 12.65.120 or the multidisciplinary child protection team created under AS 47.14.300 square4 (9) volunteers who interact with children in a public or private school 20 for more than four hours a week MS. GIORGIO relayed that the essence of the proposed legislation is the addition of categories of mandatory reporters. She referred to slide 4, entitled ection 2 Proposed Additions to Mandatory Reporters," which read: square4 (10) priests, ministers, and other individuals who are ordained, anointed, or appointed to perform religious duties square4 (11) individuals who work at public and private animal shelters, whether as paid employees or volunteers square4 (12) individuals who are employees of or volunteers with a fire department of a municipality, including firefighters and emergency medical technicians square4 (13) individuals appointed by a court to act as guardians ad litem for children. 3:14:19 PM MS. GIORGIO moved on to slide 5, entitled "Potential Alignment/Language Clean-up with Mandatory Reporters of Vulnerable Adult Abuse," which read in part: VULNERABLE ADULTS (AS 47.24.010) square4 (1) a physician or other licensed health care provider square4 (2) a mental health professional as defined in AS 47.30.915 and including a marital and family therapist licensed square4 (5) a guardian or conservator square4 (6) a police officer square4 (7) a village public safety officer square4 (8) a village health aid square4 (9) a social worker square4 (10) a member of the clergy square4 (11) a staff employee of a project funded by the Department of Administration for the provision of services to older Alaskans, the Department of Health and Social Services, or the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault square4 (13) an emergency medical technician or a mobile intensive care paramedic MS. GIORGIO pointed out that mandatory reporting for abuse of vulnerable adults - or elder abuse - is also in statute. She offered that after comparing the two sets of statutes, she recognized an opportunity to align the definitions and make improvements to statutory language. She gave an example: (6) a police officer and (7) a village public safety officer under the vulnerable adult mandatory reporters could be combined into one, like (3) peace officers and officer of the Department of Corrections under the child protection mandatory reporters. 3:15:28 PM REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY pointed out that "a member of the clergy" is listed under the mandatory reporters for vulnerable adults but not under child protection mandatory reporters and reiterated there is opportunity for alignment of the two lists. She mentioned a forthcoming committee substitute (CS) for HB 305. 3:16:07 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked what the difference was between the two categories of mandatory reporters - "a member of the clergy" under vulnerable adults [AS 47.24.010] and the proposed mandatory reporter category for child protection under HB 305 - "priests, ministers, and other individuals who are ordained, anointed, or appointed to perform religious duties". MS. GIORGIO responded by referring to slide 6, entitled "Additional Language Fixes & Classes," which read in part: CLERGY (10) priests, ministers, and other individuals who are ordained, anointed, or appointed to perform religious duties replace with: (10) Clergy members, including priests; rabbis; duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed ministers of a church; members of religious orders; or recognized leaders of any religious bodies Language is more inclusive of all types of clergy MS. GIORGIO stated that she researched statutes from other states to draft language that was more inclusive than that in HB 305; in other words, if someone is serving in the capacity of a clergy member, regardless of the religion, he/she would be included in the category. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT agreed with the importance of clearly defining the category. 3:19:10 PM MS. GIORGIO referred to the second part of slide 6, which read: ANIMAL SHELTER WORKERS / VETERINARIANS (11) individuals who work at public and private animal shelters, whether as paid employees or volunteers replace with: (11) individuals who work at public and private animal shelters and veterinarian clinics, whether as paid employees or volunteers To include veterinary workers that may also see abused animals 3:19:35 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN brought up the consideration for internal consistency in Alaska Statutes and mentioned statutes regarding people who perform marriages in Alaska. He asked whether mental health professionals, social workers, and village health aides are practitioners of the healing arts under AS 47.17.020(a)(1). He expressed the importance of consulting veterinarians before adding them to the categories of mandatory reporters. He asked, "How far are we going on some of these?" 3:21:44 PM REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY stated that the intention behind introducing HB 305 was to create a starting point for committee conversation on the issue. She reiterated that there would be a forthcoming CS to address additional concerns. She mentioned that her staff has performed outreach to the veterinary community regarding HB 305. 3:22:30 PM MS. GIORGIO stated that she sent the first draft of HB 305 to members of the veterinarian community, and they expressed concerns. One concern was training of volunteer staff. She said that she very much believes in stakeholder engagement and will ensure that the groups representing the new categories of mandatory reporters are engaged and their points of view considered. She referred to the full list of statutory definition comparisons in the committee packet indicating definition crossovers and opportunities to align definitions and categories. 3:23:54 PM VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked whether "practitioners of the healing arts" was defined in statute. MS. GIORGIO referred to a legal memo listing the categories included under practitioners of the healing arts, and the category includes physicians. She stated that the term is vague, she is not fond of it, but the list helps to define it. VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ expressed the need for more specificity as she did not readily recognize a physician as being in that category. REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY agreed and mentioned that when she hears "healing arts" she thinks of massage therapists, not medically licensed professionals. 3:25:42 PM MS. GIORGIO relayed that several more categories are being considered to add to the list - probation and parole officers, unpaid childcare volunteers, and substitute teachers. 3:26:31 PM GAYLE GARRIGUES, Children's Justice Act (CJA) Task Force, offered her support for HB 305 on behalf of the CJA Task Force. She stated that there is a detailed definition under AS 47.17.290(14), which read: "practitioner of the healing arts" includes athletic trainers, chiropractors, mental health counselors, social workers, dental hygienists, dentists, health aides, nurses, nurse practitioners, certified nurse aides, occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, optometrists, osteopaths, naturopaths, physical therapists, physical therapy assistants, physicians, physician's assistants, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychological associates, audiologists and speech-language pathologists licensed under AS 08.11, hearing aid dealers licensed under AS 08.55, marital and family therapists licensed under AS 08.63, behavior analysts, assistant behavior analysts, religious healing practitioners, acupuncturists, and surgeons; MS. GARRIGUES described the process whereby a mandatory reporter reports that a child has been injured due to abuse or neglect: the reporter calls the 1-800 number for the Office of Childrens Services (OCS) [Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS)]; the reporter answers questions from a protective services specialist; the reporter's name does not have to be disclosed, but if it is, it is kept confidential; the specialist checks the Online Resource for the Children of Alaska (ORCA) for prior reports; the case is screened and a determination made as to whether it should be pursued. For a case that warrants further investigation, it is referred to the initial assessment and investigation unit; an investigation is performed; and a determination is made as to whether the abuse or neglect is substantiated and whether the court system needs to be involved. She explained that what is being asked is that someone with a reasonable suspicion or concern - a low standard of proof - report that some harm occurred to a child resulting from child abuse or neglect. 3:31:19 PM VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ clarified that from her experience filing numerous reports, the reporter does not always speak to someone on the phone. She said that she has never spoken to someone on the phone but has left detailed messages with her name and phone number, and sometimes she gets a call back depending on the action taken. She pointed out that there are several decision points in the process in which an action could be taken or not taken. 3:32:27 PM MS. GARRIGUES offered that her experience is from the court phase of an action and thanked Representative Spohnholz for her clarification. She expressed her support for the broad definition of clergy under HB 305. She reviewed the statutes that refer to clergy: clergy is not defined under reports of harm to vulnerable adults [AS 47.24.010(a)(10)]; there is a list of people who may solemnize a marriage [AS 25.05.261]. She also mentioned the brief definition of clergy under the [Alaska Court System] Rules of Evidence, Rule 506(a)(1), which read: A member of the clergy is a minister, priest, rabbi, or other similar functionary of a religious organization, or an individual reasonably believed so to be by the person consulting the individual. MS. GARRIGUES added that under the rules, the concept of clergy is not so broad as to include self-determined, self-denominated ministers. She said that there is case law regarding communication with a clergy member who is a counselor and the distinction between the two. MS. GARRIGUES offered her concern regarding clergy as protectors of offenders. 3:37:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN referred to AS 47.17.290(14) and pointed out "paramedics" did not appear to be included under the definition of "practitioner of the healing arts". He reiterated the importance of including clergy as mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, which had been lacking in statute. 3:40:07 PM PAM KARALUNAS, Children's Justice Act (CJA) Task Force, expressed her support for HB 305. She mentioned that Dr. B.J. Coopes and Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson are both on the CJA Task Force and both trained emergency medical technicians (EMTs) from around the state. Some EMTs believed they should report child abuse and neglect; others did not believe they were mandated to report because EMTs are not included in statute [as mandatory reporters]. She said that a child who has witnessed a brutal crime or trauma has suffered and must be interviewed as a witness and assessed for needing services. She emphasized that EMTs have a rare opportunity to assist children early. MS. KARALUNAS stated that the connection between animal abuse and child abuse is very well documented. It is not uncommon for animal abuse to be reported before child abuse; the very first child abuse case in the country had to be investigated under prevention of cruelty to animal laws because there were no child abuse laws. She maintained that people who provide services to animals need to be included as mandatory reporters, and there is free online training for that. She mentioned that several states include animal care providers as mandatory reporters and some pair social workers with animal control agents when it is known children are in the home when a report of animal cruelty is investigated. MS. KARALUNAS explained a concern of the CJA Task Force relating to educators. She said that despite educators being statutorily mandated to directly report to OCS, some educators have expressed to her that they are required to report their suspicions of child abuse or neglect to their school principal who in turn would decide whether a report needed to be made to OCS. She stated that some school districts were conducting their own "investigations" before reporting to OCS or law enforcement. She emphasized that school officials were not trained investigators and should not be investigating felony crimes such as child sexual abuse. She stated Ms. Garrigues has drafted language that the committee may want to review that addresses this concern. 3:44:53 PM VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ asked how long the free online training takes. MS. KARALUNAS replied that the training is still in development; it may be about four hours; it is designed to be taken in sections. 3:45:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR suggested that the requirement for training be incorporated into statute and be available on the DHSS website. MS. KARALUNAS concurred with both suggestions. She stated the current training was available on the DHSS website and the new training - when complete - will be there as well. The goal is for the new training to be complete no later than November [2020]. REPRESENTATIVE TARR offered her assistance with drafting language for the provision. VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ invited the representative from OCS to testify. 3:48:53 PM CHRISSY VOGELEY, Community Relations Manager, Central Office, Office of Children's Services (OCS), Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), confirmed the mandatory reporter training was available on the OCS website; OCS also distributed training via flash drives; the training took about one hour and included many videos; and one could print out a certificate upon completion. She agreed there is currently no statute requiring mandatory reporters to provide proof of having completed the training. She suggested consulting legal experts in drafting the legislation regarding the requirement of training for mandatory reporters. 3:50:08 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT asked what the burden is on the mandatory reporter to recognize the abuse or neglect and the liability ramifications of not recognizing it. MS. VOGELEY said she is not a lawyer and not familiar with the ramifications of a mandatory reporter not reporting. She referred to the issues and the question of appropriate consequences regarding enforcement for mandatory reporters. REPRESENTATIVE PRUITT expressed his concern that the people who should be penalized be penalized and not those who have no experience with detecting child abuse and neglect and understandably missing it. 3:53:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON said that the proposed legislation was a good starting point in that it would make the categories of mandatory reporters aware of their responsibility. 3:55:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE TARR cited AS 47.17.068, Penalty for failure to report, which read: A person who fails to comply with the provisions of AS 47.17.020 [child abuse or neglect] or 47.17.023 [child pornography] and who knew or should have known that the circumstances gave rise to the need for a report, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. REPRESENTATIVE TARR pointed out the high standards of knowingly and willingly failing to report; under those circumstances, there would likely be physical signs and indisputable evidence that the child was in harm's way. She offered the goal was to have "more eyes" to keep children safe, not turn people into criminals due to non-reporting. She pointed out there was no civil penalty in statute; the proposed legislation did not appear to add any undue responsibilities that would get [potential reporters] in trouble and was meant to be practical. She maintained requiring a one-hour training was a reasonable ask and will try to put that in statute. 3:58:00 PM MS. VOGELEY mentioned the updates to the training were in response to HB 49 [signed into law 7/8/19]; an earlier version of HB 49 required an annual mandatory reporter training. She offered an annual training might have been considered burdensome; however, for an inexperienced volunteer, annual training could possibly be considered a positive reinforcement. She confirmed for Representative Spohnholz the training was not an annual requirement. 3:59:12 PM REPRESENTATIVE ZULKOSKY reiterated the intent of the original draft of the proposed legislation was to provide a narrow fix to close some of the reporting gaps and to have more "eyes" in the community to ensure that children were kept safe. She mentioned her staff would work with committee members on the next version of HB 305. VICE CHAIR SPOHNHOLZ commented on the unified support in committee for reducing child abuse and neglect. [HB 305 was held over]