HB 184-REQUIRE TRIBAL CHILD WELFARE COMPACT  3:52:37 PM CO-CHAIR SNYDER announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 184, "An Act requiring state participation in a tribal child welfare compact." 3:53:01 PM CO-CHAIR SNYDER opened invited testimony on HB 184. 3:53:29 PM The committee took an at-ease from 3:53 p.m. to 3:56 p.m. 3:56:20 PM TREVOR STORRS, President and CEO, Alaska Children's Trust (ACT), provided invited testimony in support of HB 184. He said ACT is in strong support of an Alaska tribal child welfare compact, a government-to-government partnership between the State of Alaska and Alaska's 18 federally recognized Native tribes and tribal organizations that would share the tasks of funding negotiated child welfare services and supports. He pointed out that Alaska Native children make up 15 percent of the state's general population but represent about 65 percent of the kids in state custody. These numbers, he stated, are a direct result of colonization, historical trauma, and racism. MR. STORRS said there is no question that the intervention from state government may be well-meaning, but without consultation or coordination with tribal entities it is at best the "white savior complex" and at worst "reinforcing colonization." When historically white institutions impose their practices and policies as the right way even when they are doing harm, they are sending the message of colonization, the message that Alaska Native people can't be trusted to do or know what is best for themselves. A compact, he continued, would be a first step in addressing and changing the systemic racism in the system and taking the long overdue steps towards acknowledgement, accountability, and healing. Coming together to combat child abuse and neglect across sectors works when local and state governments have strong trust and partnership, he stated. Trust is built by acknowledging harm that has been done to communities and taking ownership of the ways colonization has shaped operation of the child welfare system prior to the Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact. 3:58:21 PM MR. STORRS explained that taking children from their families, cultures, and communities to place in foster care and adoption outside their culture has caused multiple generations of historical trauma. He said poor outcomes are seen for Alaska Native children in the child protective system due to complex chronic trauma reinforced by systems that are not built for, or by, them. The impact of institutionalized child abuse and neglect is a cycle of historical trauma that started with the trauma of colonization and continues with personal family trauma, removal of children from families, mental health issues, collective trauma, and more. The basic principles of state child protection, he continued, are that when a family fails to ensure safety and well-being of the child, the state steps in, possibly removes the child, and assumes the system is better than the parent. This model does not work, he charged, especially for Alaska Native children and families. When these situations are identified, who better than the communities themselves to work with the families and the tribe to identify needs and resolve the issues? A key step in healing the historical traumas caused over time, Mr. Storrs stated, is to return power to the tribes to care for their own children in ways that center tribal community knowledge, customs, and values. He pointed out that identified at-risk families receive very few services for poverty reduction, housing, mental health, health, or substance misuse. He stressed the need to reframe how child welfare services are thought about and urged that these services be addressed when talking about child welfare. MR. STORRS stated that now is the time to give self- determination and sovereignty to the communities to determine how best to care for their children and families by giving power back to the tribes. He said a tribal child welfare compact would be a huge step towards ensuring that Native children grow up in safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments. He related ACT's wholehearted support for HB 184. 4:01:36 PM BRITANY MADROS, Director, Tribal Government & Justice Division, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC), provided invited testimony in support of HB 184. She noted that TCC is one of twelve Alaska Native regional nonprofit corporations and provides a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments. She further noted that TCC services all tribal members of the 37 federally recognized tribes within its 235,000-square-mile region, as well as all eligible Alaska Native and American Indians residing within the Fairbanks North Star Borough. MS. MADROS stated that since the early 1980s TCC has assisted the tribes within its region with developing tribal courts, and TCC supports this development through training, technical assistance, and legal support. She said Alaska tribes are confirmed to have clear civil jurisdiction, particularly in domestic relations over children, even in the absence of Indian Country or tribal reservations. In 2020, she conveyed, the TCC region had 191 children in tribal court custody; intervened on 92 state Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) cases; had 23 children transferred from state to tribal court custody; reunified 21 children with one or both parents, resulting in family preservation; had four youth age out of the foster care system; had 10 children granted guardianships with family or extended relatives; had 32 youth still in long-term guardianships; and facilitated over 280 tribal court hearings for child welfare cases. 4:04:43 PM MS. MADROS said solutions are now emerging for multiple ways for tribes and states to work together, including the tribal-state welfare compact being discussed today. She related that TCC has provided services through the diligent relative search scope within the compact, has assisted with approximately 30 cases for ensuring ICWA-preference placements for families, and assisted about seven families with submitting a petition so they could be considered a foster care placement for one of their family members. She shared that TCC is looking to extend its scopes and assist with safety evaluations, safe visitations, and licensing given TCC also has its own tribal care licensing program. However, Ms. Madros continued, due to staff shortages and the amount of time needed to cover so many scopes, TCC is hoping the state continues to work together on negotiations to ensure the provision of these services, whether working with tribal or state workers depending on the needs of those families. MS. MADROS expressed TCC's support for this compact agreement and added that TCC is thankful the state is working with the tribes regarding child welfare. She said it is important to the tribes that the safety and well-being of their children is protected, whether by the state or tribe, because without their children the tribes will not continue to exist. She thanked the committee for considering HB 184. 4:07:25 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX offered his understanding that the state was going to be talking with the tribes and reach an agreement. However, he continued, the previous speaker made it sound like somebody was going to dictate something to the state, and [the legislature] had to go along with it. He asked whether there are examples of what is being talked about in HB 184. CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY answered that the intent of HB 184 is not to dictate but to provide a collaborative partnership to address issues. She said the intention behind a tribal child welfare compact, as highlighted by the testimony of Mr. Storrs, is that it is a collaborative partnership to address the issues of child welfare across Alaska, particularly given that a significant disproportionate percentage of the children in foster care in Alaska are Alaska Native youth. As heard in the testimony of Ms. Madros, tribes are willing, able, and standing to negotiate with the state every year to provide these programs in alignment with the State of Alaska. The bill, she continued, merely says that the state shall participate in a tribal child welfare compact. The particulars related to the negotiations of the scopes of work and the annual funding agreement are negotiated between the tribes and the state every year, she explained. Nothing is dictated in HB 184 beyond that this compact and agreement will be enshrined and protected in statute. 4:09:50 PM REPRESENTATIVE KURKA stated that while he is excited about the progress being made here on the child welfare compact, he is concerned about the requirement that the state participate. He requested further explanation regarding the annual renegotiation process. CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY responded that the current Alaska Tribal Child Welfare Compact is an executive initiative within the governor's office and administration. She related that it began under the Walker Administration and has been continued under the Dunleavy Administration. The compact itself is a legal document and agreement that is outlined between the tribes and the state, she explained, and updates are negotiated annually. They may revisit scopes of work that can be expanded, they might identify issues that were had in implementing certain scopes of work, or they may revisit funding agreements related to those scopes of work. Every year there is an effective and efficient evaluation of the current scopes of work and what is being accomplished to determine if updates need to be made, which is nimbler than statute or regulation. It allows for more local control, she continued, and more opportunity for tribes to provide feedback on what is or isn't working, as well as for the state to provide feedback, and allows an opportunity for those updates to be made annually. 4:13:29 PM REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked who is negotiating the compact on behalf of the state. 4:13:57 PM KIM GUAY, Director, Office of Children's Services (OCS), Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), responded that currently the state has three co-lead negotiators: herself as director of OCS; Clinton Lasley, DHSS Deputy Commissioner, Family, Community and Integrated Services; and John Moller of the governor's office. She noted that the tribal side also has three lead negotiators. REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked whether, from the perspective of the administration, passage of HB 184 as written would tie hands, alter the negotiations that are happening now, or change the tone of the current negotiations. MS. GUAY replied she doesn't know the answer to the question, but that the compact is a legally binding document. She stated that [the administration] is engaged in the tribal compact and has no intention of not engaging in the compact. REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ noted that the first tribal compact was signed in 2017, and both the Walker and Dunleavy administrations have supported the compact. She explained that HB 184 is only nine lines long, is very general and gives the administration a lot of flexibility in how it would be implemented. The bill doesn't say what specific scopes of work must be included and has no fiscal note. She said it is a policy call on the part of the legislature to say that child welfare compacting with tribes is a good thing and the legislature wants the administration to continue to do that. 4:17:36 PM REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY noted that the premise of this whole thing is the protection of children. He asked Mr. Storrs whether there are criteria for what represents child abuse. MR. STORRS replied that it is already outlined, and OCS has criteria that it follows. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY recalled Mr. Storrs' statements about multi-generational patterns within families and communities. He inquired about the differences in criteria for child abuse in tribal areas or villages versus non-tribal areas in Alaska. Responding to Ms. Guay, he confirmed he is asking about the difference of maltreatment between rural communities and more urban communities but added that he is asking this with the paradigm of criteria that are had for the care of all children and making sure no child is abused, and the differentiation that is being seen. MS. GUAY answered that there is a disproportionate number, 60-65 percent, of Alaska Native children throughout the system and that includes the number of children reported to OCS. She said this disproportionate number is consistent on all decision points that happen at OCS the reporting calls that come into OCS, the calls that are subsequently investigated after screening, the ones that end up into maltreatment, and the ones that end up into foster care. 4:22:32 PM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY offered her opinion that the last question is a bit off topic and seems like an implication that Alaska Native families are implicitly more likely to neglect or abuse their children. She requested clarification of the question. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY disagreed with that interpretation. He stated that when doing an equitable review of all the children in Alaska he is asking whether it is disproportionate because of bias, or disproportionate because there is a need that exists and how that need can be reached most effectively. What the ways are to reach that need, he continued, and whether those are being done is the whole question of the bill. MS. GUAY stated that the best option for families is to have tribal members meet the families where they're at to help them access both cultural and modernized resources. She pointed out that tribes can navigate both the tribal world and the state world, so the tribes know how to seek the resources for their families that are in need. Regarding Representative McCarty's first question, Ms. Guay said she doesn't know the answer but thinks it goes into poverty in children as well as bias of people over-representing calling in reports on Alaska Native children. Also, Alaska Native children and families are surrounded with a lot more mandatory reporters than other families, she noted. Alaska Native families are reported for numerous reasons, including historical trauma and other things that equate into why Alaska Natives are disproportionately represented in OCS and amongst other systems. MS. MADROS agreed the question is complex and that there are many variables of why Alaska Native children are disproportionately represented. She said a lot of that has taken years to accumulate to where things are at today, although the 60-65 percent has stayed steady for many years. Due to services being harder to be received or met in isolated communities, she continued, it possibly makes Alaska Native families and communities have more hurdles to either get an investigation closed or if a case is created to get that case closed with reunification. Poverty and isolation play a role in the many hurdles faced by Alaska Native families, she added, along with other more sensitive topics like generational trauma and topics that are heard as buzz words when speaking of child welfare and child protection. 4:27:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE PRAX asked whether the existing compact is available for review. CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY replied that it is on the DHSS website. She further noted that the tribes will make specific elements of the compact available at the request of committee members. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY requested that the committee receive the compact. CO-CHAIR SNYDER noted the request. REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked whether the entire compact is on the website or just parts. CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY responded that the tribes will provide elements at the committee's request and the compact itself is on the DHSS website. 4:29:54 PM KATY GIORGIO, Staff, Representative Tiffany Zulkosky, Alaska State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Zulkosky, prime sponsor of HB 184, answered that the 2017 compact is available on the OCS website. She said Ms. Hensley could provide more details on the annual negotiations 4:30:07 PM CO-CHAIR SNYDER opened public testimony on HB 184, then closed public testimony after ascertaining no one wished to testify. 4:30:28 PM CO-CHAIR ZULKOSKY provided closing comments on HB 184. She said the state and DHSS intend to continue the Tribal Child Welfare Compact, which was related by Ms. Guay. A compact agreement is signed, scopes of work are negotiated, and funding agreements are tied to the different scopes of work. It is very important for the state to meet families where they are at. She pointed out that tribes offer an opportunity to wrap the preventative resources that they receive from the federal government around families; the intention is not to remove children from their families, but to keep them preserved in their families. This work complements the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). All these parts work together, Co-Chair Zulkosky continued, there is not one element of child welfare that is going to turn the tide on the disproportionality. There are multi-faceted components which lead families to crisis, and which lead the state to getting involved, and in this situation the intention is to engender public trust by tribes. Families are more inclined to work with the tribe than the state and better results are seen because of that. The only way to turn the tide on the disproportionality, she opined, is making a policy call that by providing state services as close to home as possible through familiar entities like tribes in Alaska villages is in the best interest of both the state and the tribes. The intent behind drafting the bill's current language is to keep it broad and general to have the most amount of latitude so there is not any tying of hands. If tribes can leverage federal resources, she added, the state will see cost savings. She said HB 184 seeks to protect and preserve the ingenuity of what the Tribal Child Welfare Compact is. 4:34:48 PM REPRESENTATIVE KURKA stated that due to unanswered questions he will not vote to pass HB 184 out of committee. REPRESENTATIVE SPOHNHOLZ stated that child welfare compacting creates opportunity to make big progress in keeping families together and keeping communities together. This compacting has been successful so far by helping to provide higher quality services closer to home at a lower cost, she continued. It has helped to strengthen state services and leverage the resources that tribes bring to the discussion on an issue of shared interest, which has increased public trust in the process; it is a proven strategy that builds on the strengths of communities. She said the sponsor has done a great job of giving the administration lots of flexibility to be able to manage it effectively in partnership with local tribes. She offered her support for advancing the bill. REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS expressed his support for HB 184 as a positive step. 4:38:47 PM REPRESENTATIVE FIELDS moved to report HB 184 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying zero fiscal note. REPRESENTATIVE MCCARTY objected. He allowed there is merit in what Representative Spohnholz has shared and that wrap-around services in the community are best, he stated he needs more information to be able to make an informed decision. A roll call vote was taken. Representatives Spohnholz, Fields, Zulkosky, and Snyder voted in favor of HB 184. Representatives McCarty, Prax, and Kurka voted against it. Therefore, HB 184 was reported out of the House Health and Social Services Standing Committee by a vote of 4-3.