SCR 12-FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS DAY  1:33:46 PM CHAIR DAVIS announced consideration of SCR 12. SENATOR ELLIS joined the meeting. 1:34:16 PM SENATOR MEYER, sponsor of SCR 12, said that this resolution proclaims September 9, 2010 as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day; FASD Awareness Day is observed internationally on that date. This is a reminder on the ninth day of the ninth month that during a woman's nine months of pregnancy she should not drink alcohol. He said Alaska has the highest known rate of FASD in the United States. It is caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol and can cause permanent brain damage, birth defects, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and most tragically, the loss of individual potential. That, he said, has been the most difficult thing for him in working with these children; they try as hard as anyone else, but are frustrated by the limitations of their condition. It is even more frustrating because this disease is totally preventable. SENATOR MEYER continued to say that the lifetime cost of medical and residential services for 15 children born in Alaska with FAS can be up to $47 million according to the 2005 update prepared by McDowell Group on the economic costs of alcohol and other drugs. 1:36:32 PM In conclusion, he reiterated that this is totally preventable. He referred to the strides that have been made through education about the dangers of drinking and driving and of tobacco use; the more people are educated about FASD, the greater the chances of turning the tide on this problem as well. 1:37:23 PM SENATOR DYSON said he suspects it was during Chair Davis's professional career when a medical professional in the Seattle area recognized a remarkable number of persons coming out of Alaska who had certain distinctive facial features in common, and started the research that finally identified what is now known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Alaska has not only been hugely impacted, but has played a significant role in that research, leading the nation in identifying children with FASD. He stated that he has friends who are social workers and child advocates working in western Alaska, who think there are some communities in which as much as two-thirds of the adult population has prenatal alcohol poisoning issues. For those affected people who do not have the identifying physiological features, there are still neurological patterns that are not there and never will be there. These people have great difficulty in reasoning between cause and effect; they often have problems with empathy; they can't take a long view when making decisions; they are easily victimized and will require a great deal of structure all of their lives. 1:40:28 PM SENATOR DYSON referred to successes in the fight against FASD such as the bill that requires posting warning signs in bars, and noted that Alaska now has one of the better programs in the nation and is making some progress. He ended by saying that Senator Davis, Senator Ellis and others who are here deserve credit for that. This resolution is another step in the educational progress, and he said he would be privileged to move this bill. 1:42:43 PM JEANNE GERHARDT-CYRUS, Kiana, Alaska, said she is a parent to children with prenatal alcohol exposure, a professional who conducts training in FASD, a Parent Training and Information (PTI) Navigator with Stone Soup Group, and a case manager with Maniilaq Association. FASD is an issue that crosses entities; it belongs to all of us in every community. It impacts schools, corrections, and behavioral health. It is preventable, but there is no prevention without intervention. Those who are affected by FASD now, need to get services so they do not develop the characteristics that come from a poor fit with the environment. Not everyone who is affected has the physical indicators, and those who don't look as if they have a disability often don't get the help they need to be successful. A lot of people with prenatal alcohol exposure end up in the correctional system and, sadly, get the 24 hour per day supervision and structure they need in a correctional facility. That support needs to be provided in the community where people can become viable members and make a contribution to community life. 1:45:57 PM MS. GERHARDT-CYRUS concluded that most of these people do not qualify for developmental disability services, although the FASD waiver program will help a great deal. As a youth she once worked with told her, she said, they shouldn't have to get in trouble to get services. 1:46:49 PM BARBARA KNAPP, Manager, Treatment & Recovery Section, Division of Behavioral Health, Juneau, Alaska, spoke on behalf of Melissa Stone, Director, and the Division of Behavioral Health, in support of all of the families who struggle on a day-to-day basis with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. They support SCR 12 proclaiming this day FASD Awareness Day. 1:47:59 PM SHANNON CROSS, Mental Health Clinician, Division of Behavioral Health, Anchorage, Alaska, said she also supports SCR 12. 1:48:26 PM SENATOR DYSON asked how Alaska is doing on the availability of diagnostic capacity for parents and in the Department of Corrections population. MS. KNAPP answered that she cannot speak to the Department of Corrections, but the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) has diagnostic teams located all around the state, where families can go through a battery of testing with professionals who can make that diagnosis. They are working on getting more services out to those families. She said she and Shannon Cross represent what is called the Residential Psychiatric Treatment Center/FASD Waiver, which provides home and community-based services to children who live in their home communities instead of receiving treatment in an institution. 1:50:11 PM TRAVIS HEDWIG, Project Coordinator, Family to Family Health Information Center, Stone Soup Group; PHD Candidate in Medical Anthropology, Anchorage, Alaska, said he has been involved in disability organizations in Alaska for the last decade and has most recently become interested in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. He supports any and all intervention and prevention services for this population in Alaska. He knows first-hand that diagnostic accessibility is a problem here, but that is changing; there is a new diagnostic team that has opened up at Assets Inc. Prior to that, there was only one diagnostic team in Anchorage, affiliated with Southcentral Foundation and only available to beneficiaries, so it is a very positive development. He reiterated his support for SCR 12. 1:52:01 PM KATE BURKHART, Executive Director, Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Alaska Mental Health Board, Juneau, Alaska, said she had not intended to testify, but has the answer to Senator Dyson's question. She said they have been working with the Department of Health and Social Services and the Prevention and Early Intervention unit within the Division of Behavioral Health, because they have recommended some funding for services. The most recent data they have received is that there are active diagnostic clinics in the following communities: Bethel - YKHC Sitka - SEARCH Kenai - Frontier Community Services Juneau - Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indians Fairbanks - Southcentral Foundation Palmer - Mat-Su Family Services Anchorage - Assets Inc. Over the past three years, these clinics have been actively diagnosing two to three people per month in each clinic that meets about once per month. So for example, in Bethel they diagnosed 16 individuals in 2009, which may not sound like many, but it is a very intensive all-day process. In Sitka they diagnosed 10 in 2009; in Kenai they diagnosed 34 last year; in Juneau they 23 diagnoses in 2009 and 11 by February of 2010. Fairbanks diagnosed 22 last year and 16 so far in 2010. Southcentral is by far the most active, with 35 in 2009 and 52 so far in 2010. She added that, after receiving a diagnosis, if people don't have access to the services they need, the diagnosis is not going to be of any help. That is one of the benefits of having an awareness day like this one, which addresses the opportunity to educate the public about the unique needs of individuals with FASD and the services they need to thrive. MS. BURKHART thanked Senator Meyer and the committee for bringing attention to this issue. 1:55:12 PM SENATOR DYSON commented that he appreciates Ms. Burkhart's testimony, but she is wrong to say that knowing the diagnosis is not helpful. For people who are affected, just knowing it is not their fault is very helpful, and there is a lot of literature available now that friends and families can access to find the resources they need to help children. 1:56:15 PM KATE BURKHEART thanked him for pointing that out; she did not mean to minimize in any way that it is important for people to understand it is a medical issue and an issue of disability, not one of blame or fault. She admitted that she did mis-speak and said she meant to convey that they have heard public comment from around the state expressing frustration from educators and family members about the supportive services that are needed. 1:56:43 PM MICHAEL BALDWIN, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, said he has worked as a behavioral health clinician over the past two decades in a number of different settings and with those affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. He is thankful that Senator Meyer has proposed this resolution. As others have testified, it is important to keep this in people's awareness. Echoing Ms. Gearhardt-Cyrus's comments, he said, the impact goes far beyond the affected individuals, affecting many of our systems and communities across the state at significant emotional and financial cost. 1:58:57 PM CHAIR DAVIS closed public testimony. SENATOR THOMAS joined the committee. 1:59:40 PM SENATOR DYSON moved to report SCR 12 from committee with individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note(s). There being no objection, the motion carried and SCR 12 moved from the committee.