SB 37-EXTEND SUICIDE PREVENTION COUNCIL  8:11:14 AM CHAIR LYNN announced that the first order of business was SENATE BILL NO. 37, "An Act extending the termination date of the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; and providing for an effective date." 8:11:39 AM SENATOR ANNA FAIRCLOUGH, Alaska State Legislature, as sponsor, presented SB 37. She stated that SB 37 would extend the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council (ASPC) from 2013 to 2019. She relayed that in 2001, the Alaska State Legislature created the ASPC, which is made up of 17 members: 2 members appointed by the Senate President, 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the House, and 13 members appointed by the governor. She said the duties of the council are outlined in AS 44.29.350, which read as follows: Sec. 44.29.350. Duties. The council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the legislature and the governor with respect to what actions can and should be taken to (1) improve health and wellness throughout the state by reducing suicide and its effect on individuals, families, and communities; (2) broaden the public's awareness of suicide and the risk factors related to suicide; (3) enhance suicide prevention services and programs throughout the state; (4) develop healthy communities through comprehensive, collaborative, community-based and faith-based approaches; (5) develop and implement a statewide suicide prevention plan; (6) strengthen existing and build new partnerships between public and private entities that will advance suicide prevention efforts in the state. SENATOR FAIRCLOUGH reminded the committee that Alaska has the highest rate of suicide in the nation. She said suicide is preventable, and the state can do something about [those statistics]. She said she is honored to have served for over three years as a member of the House of Representatives on the council, and she currently serves on the council as an appointee from the Senate. She reported that the council has done great things with the support of the legislature. She indicated that the council has connections with military personnel, the spiritual community, schools and youth, and with those who have been affected by suicide. She asked the committee to support the proposed extension of the council. 8:14:00 AM CHAIR LYNN stated his support of the proposed legislation and thanked the sponsor for bringing it forward. He said one case of suicide is one case too many. 8:14:10 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES said a constituent is involved in a program that goes into schools and offers a dramatization with a message of hope, and she encouraged Senator Fairclough to familiarize herself with the program, which is called, "Carry the Cure." 8:14:56 AM REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON talked about another group called, "This Generation Ministries," which is from North Pole, Alaska. He asked how actively the council pursues connections to the various groups working on suicide prevention throughout the state. SENATOR FAIRCLOUGH answered that there is a web site, which connects all the resources throughout the state. She deferred to the executive director of the council for further details. 8:15:51 AM KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, Division of Behavioral Health (DBH), Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS), told Representative Isaacson that one of the council's major roles is to "act as a clearing house to connect community-driven suicide prevention and partners." She said the council has allotted funds from its limited travel budget to conduct outreach trips to three rural areas of the state: two members went to Nenana two weeks ago, a trip to Bethel and a small village outside of the Bethel hub has just been planned, and the council will coordinate rural outreach in Kivalina with one of its members there, pastor Lowell Sage. She said the council has met with members of [This] Generation Ministries and many other community-driven suicide prevention efforts in an attempt to connect everyone together. She relayed that [stopsuicidealaska.org] is the council's state suicide prevention portal and the primary way people are connected. 8:17:27 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked what efforts the council makes in curbing substance abuse, which she said is often linked to suicide. MS. BURKHART answered that the council's five-year plan includes a strategy to ensure Alaskans have access to mental health and substance abuse treatment services when they ask for it. She said substance abuse prevention and suicide prevention coalitions in communities are often separate, and the council encourages them to come together as a wellness coalition or at least to become partners. 8:18:04 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES talked about the alarming rate of suicides by soldiers returning from war. She asked if that statistic has increased in Alaska and if the council is doing anything about the issue. MS. BURKHART returned to the issue of substance abuse to say that two years ago, the Department of Health & Social Services "co-located" the ASPC with the Advisory Board on Alcoholism & Drug Abuse and the Alaska Mental Health Board; therefore, the council has coordinated its efforts around behavioral health and suicide prevention to create "one big movement forward." Returning to Representative Hughes' question regarding soldiers, Ms. Burkhart said she cannot speak to what the Veterans Administration is doing to address suicide prevention, other than what is reported to her from its representative. She said the Veterans Administration has developed services and supports for returning veterans who choose to engage in those services. She said the State of Alaska has prioritized resiliency and protective factors as part of the foundation for all of its prevention efforts. She stated that for more than a decade, the council has been involved with the Alaska Initiative for Community Engagement, as well as efforts to address adverse childhood experiences and to equip children to grow up as healthy adults and avoid addiction and serious mental illness. 8:20:38 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER asked what resources the council desires and which are the areas it sees as in need of improvement. MS. BURKHART referred to six goals of the state plan, most of which can be categorized as things that can be done by Alaskans, by communities, or by the state. For example, she said communities have taken a huge role with or without grant support. She encouraged Representative Keller to read the report just published by the council, which highlights many of those community efforts. She said last year the state appropriated $450,000, which has already been implemented in its alternative schools and will be "a competitive process for other school districts." Ms. Burkhart relayed that 1,800 people were trained last year and the state has appropriated funding for additional programs that are being initiated; however, she said there has not been a lot of research growth. She said there is a lot of interest in adverse childhood experiences, including how they affect Alaskans and how they can be prevented. She indicated that other areas of research are not exciting to others but are in need of resources. MS. BURKHART, in response to Representative Keller, said she has not approached the Institute of Social & Economic Research (ISER). She said the organization with whom the council most closely coordinates is the Center for Alaska Native Health Research (CANHR), at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She spoke highly of the organization and said the council has connected CANHR with other community partners that want to move forward in a participatory research model. She said there is also conversation about "renewing the addiction studies chair" at [the Institute for Circumpolar Health Studies] at the University of Alaska Anchorage, which is under the guidance of David L. Driscoll, PhD, who is interested in research related to adverse childhood experience. 8:24:12 AM MS. BURKHART, in response to Representative Keller, stated that for each strategy in the state plan, there is a specific population measure. She said the first implementation report from the state plan shows that the rate of suicide in 2011 dropped by 23. She said that cannot yet be called a trend, and she noted that data is still being gathered to determine how many suicides occurred in that year by Alaskans living outside the state. She related that the council has seen a large increase in the number of Alaskans who have been trained in an "evidence-based suicide prevention model," such as the applied suicide intervention skills training and mental health first aid, and she reiterated that there has been an increase in community coalitions involved in suicide prevention. 8:25:48 AM REPRESENTATIVE HUGHES asked how Alaska compares to other states. MS. BURKHART answered that the national suicide average is 11-12 per 100,000 people; Alaska's average is 19.5. She said there are other Western states whose numbers are also high, but Alaska has been twice the national average for decades. 8:26:46 AM MS. BURKHART offered an update on how the council responded to a legislative audit. The first recommendation made in the audit was that the council should evaluate its executive director and memorialize the way it does business with its partner boards. She noted that because of the council's limited means, there is a lot of support and sharing from the Mental Health Board and the Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. She reported that the council completed the evaluation in December. She explained that the council has a process for doing [an evaluation] annually in partnership with executive committees of the other two boards. She said the council has memorialized the way it does business so that its operation will not be affected by any changes in leadership. Ms. Burkhart said the second recommendation from the audit was for the council to monitor attendance and report it to the governor. She said the council has instituted an attendance law the beginning of the present fiscal year and will communicate that information to the Office of the Governor, the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House at the end of each fiscal year. She said the third recommendation from the audit had to do with developing and monitoring performance measures in conjunction with the Office of Management & Budget. She said the council has had performance measures in place for many years, related to individual council members and the performance of suicide performance measures; however, it has not coordinated that with the Office of Management & Budget in the past. She said the council is working with the Department of Health & Social Services to match languages, because "they are not written in the same terms of art," and it anticipates having that done by the end of the fiscal year. 8:28:32 AM CHAIR LYNN closed public testimony. 8:28:40 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER opined that one of the greatest features of the council is that it has the opportunity to engage services from private organizations that exist across the state. He remarked that sometimes the legislature cannot direct its funds that well. 8:29:12 AM REPRESENTATIVE KELLER moved to report SB 37 out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, SB 37 was reported out of the House State Affairs Standing Committee.