October 03, 2002
Thursday - 2:15 pm

Citing recent improvements in Alaska's child protection laws and programs and strongly urging new investments for continued improvements, the 17-member Commission on Child Protection has delivered its final report to Gov. Tony Knowles.

The 29-page report includes findings based on comments from a variety of state and federal officials and agencies, child protection workers and advocates, foster parents,

"Every candidate in this year's elections needs to take a close look at this report and Alaskans should demand answers from them about their views on child protection."... Gov. Knowles

parents and grandparents of children in foster care, and others. The report, sent to Knowles this week, presents 35 recommendations for additional improvements to systems and services that support the child protection system.

"We'll give these recommendations thorough review as we prepare next year's budget package for the next governor, but it should come as no surprise this administration believes continued investments are necessary to keep improving the system," Knowles said. "The task force has done a thorough job on a short time line, and I thank each of the members for their hard work and commitment to improving child protection in Alaska.

"Every candidate in this year's elections needs to take a close look at this report and Alaskans should demand answers from them about their views on child protection," the Governor said.

"I believe this report, along with the recently released federal review, confirms much of what we already knew about the strengths and weaknesses of the child protection system," said Jay Livey, commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services. "But more importantly, this report provides the next Administration, the next Legislature and the courts with a roadmap for additional improvements needed to better protect Alaska's children."

"Our recommendations say Alaska needs more social workers, more foster homes, more mental health and substance abuse programs to help distressed families, and we need a better information system to help us manage this complex job," Elmer Lindstrom, deputy commissioner of Health and Social Services and the commission chairman, said.

Lindstrom said the commission structured its recommendations around three goals:

• Alaska must intensify its focus and investment in our child protection system to assure the safety of Alaska's children and to assure timely and wise disposition of cases.
• Improve prevention and support services for children and families.
• Improve care and stability for children removed from their homes.

"There can be no pause in the push we began five years ago that resulted in the stronger child protection system we have today," he said. "We set the bar higher with these goals, and reaching them will require everyone's energy and attention for years to come. More resources will create better outcomes for Alaska's children."

Child Protection Commission conclusions and recommendations include:

• For social workers to be most successful with the children and families they serve, their caseloads must be reduced by increasing the number of professional and paraprofessional workers. Recommendation 1 says the state must require that social worker caseloads not exceed nationally accepted standards, that caseloads be capped and that supplemental funding be sought when caseloads exceed standards. Recommendation 19 says foster care rates must be increased.
• It is essential to maintain the current level of funding and the range of services being provided to children and their families while also making substantial new investment in the child protection system. Recommendation 5, for instance, says the state needs to increase the number of Alaska State Troopers to investigate the most serious reports of child abuse.
• At the same time, the services necessary to heal families must be significantly increased so that they will be available when the family is ready to participate, especially alcohol treatment and mental health services. Recommendation 8 calls for reorganized and better funded alcohol and mental health programs.
• A comprehensive quality assurance program needs to be developed that ensures client and stakeholder participation in identifying areas needing improvement and making recommendations for ways to achieve improvements that will better protect the safety of each child.
• Complete implementation of a new statewide automated child welfare information system (ORCA) is essential to provide information that workers need to make sound case decisions about children and their families, and that managers need to assess and refine programs and services.
• Commissioners and senior managers must continue to work together to reduce barriers to effective service to children at risk for child abuse and neglect and their families.
• The State made substantial progress increasing the safety and permanence of Alaska's children through clearer statutes that set time frames based on the child's needs and a concerted effort to find permanent homes for children who had been in the system too long.
• The state developed a solid working relationship with tribes and tribal organizations, improving the capacity of both partners to provide appropriately for at-risk Alaska Native children and their families.

Related Information:

Commission on Child Protection Final Report (pdf).

Source of News Release:

Office of the Governor
Web Site

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