SB 295-LICENSING:DISCLOSURE OF MINORS RECORDS  MS. WENDY HALL, staff to Senator Pete Kelly, sponsor of SB 295, explained that this measure addresses a concern within the Department of Health and Social Services. State and federal laws require all child and adult day care licensing authorities to review criminal history reports of every individual aged 16 and older who is seeking either a care license, employment with the care provider, or residing in the home of a care provider seeking licensure. Current law does not explicitly authorize release of delinquency information when a juvenile is 16 or 17 years of age and is residing in the home where care services will be provided and the juvenile will not be an employee of the license holder. Therefore, the state is requiring the licensing authorities to review the criminal background of anyone living in the home, yet the department is unable to release that information unless that individual will be an employee. SB 295 will authorize DHSS to release that information so that a scenario does not arise in which an applicant is given a license even though an adolescent who is a convicted child molester is living in the home. CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if SB 295 only pertains to minors since similar legislation was enacted that applies to adults. MS. HALL said that is correct. MR. ROBERT BUTTCANE, Juvenile Probation Officer at DHSS, stated that over the past few years, various state and federal laws have been enacted that require licensing agencies to access delinquency records information as part of their license review process. As the Department of Education and Early Development (DOEED) was working on procedures to license child daycare centers in Alaska, DHSS was unclear about its authority to give DOEED information about juveniles who reside in the home of the day care license applicant but are not employees. In some situations, those juveniles have delinquency records that brought into question the safety of providing services in that home. DHSS worked with the Department of Law and Senator Kelly and came up with SB 295, which adds a section to DHSS's confidentiality laws that gives explicit authority to release that information to care providers, whether for senior care, foster care, or child care. He stated support for SB 295. 2:22 p.m. SENATOR WARD asked if this came about because of an applicant who had a dangerous youth living at the home. MR. BUTTCANE said it did not actually happen but the scenario was raised. DHSS was able to construct a strong enough justification to release the information to DOEED, according to the assistant attorney general. TAPE 02-16, SIDE B CHAIRWOMAN GREEN asked if criminal background information can be accessed on other adults living in the home. MR. BUTTCANE said the information contained in APSIN (the Alaska Public Safety Information Network) for all adult criminal history records is available to licensing agencies now by statute. SB 295 is specific to delinquents because that authority is missing. SENATOR WARD asked if an applicant must disclose anything that might be dangerous to clients on the application. MR. BUTTCANE said he is not familiar with every licensing application process, but on some that is a requirement. Applicants sign authorizations for the licensing agency to check APSIN so that if the information is not disclosed on the application, it would be available in APSIN. CHAIRWOMAN GREEN acknowledged that in the case of juveniles, agencies cannot access that information. She noted she has no problem moving this bill to the Judiciary Committee where it can address infringement issues. SENATOR LEMAN moved SB 295 from committee with individual recommendations and its accompanying zero fiscal note. There being no objection, the motion carried.