Budgets, Boats, & Behavioral Health Budgets, Boats, & Behavioral Health February 13, 2023 Dear Friends and Neighbors, Last week was so busy the newsletter is late. I would have put it out this weekend, but I spent an entire day at a fascinating early childhood education summit hosted by the Hunt Foundation. Or at least, that's the excuse I'm using. (I may also have gone snowshoeing out the road yesterday...) I was honored to present a Legislative citation in memory of Pat Wellington. Pat was Juneau's police chief for many years, Commissioner of Public Safety, head of the State Troopers, and more. He was a true public servant. Why Aren't the Kids Home Yet Wednesday in the Senate Judiciary meeting we dug into a report by the US Department of Justice outlining the ways Alaska is failing children with mental and behavioral health issues—to the point of violating their rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act. We just don't serve these kids where they live. And too often we don't help them in culturally appropriate ways. Because the services they need often don't exist, even in hub communities, children end up getting hospitalized at state facilities in Anchorage, or worse, being sent as far Outside as Texas and Missouri to specialized treatment facilities. Even when the children do come home, the support services they need aren't there, so they too often go back. We have to do better. One of the DOJ's killer conclusions said "the needs of children with behavioral health disabilities in Alaska who receive services in institutions are not materially different from those of other children who are thriving in community-based settings in other states." Translated, that means we put kids behind locked doors, away from their families, who do not need to be there. A panel of brass from Alaska's Departments of Health and of Family & Community Services brought us up to date on their efforts to do better. I'm pleased to say there were very few excuses and a lot of talk about how to make progress. Unfortunately, it's not a new problem. We've been talking about it at least since the 1990s. In fact, most of the steps they talked about were part of the Bring the Kids Home effort from roughly 2004-2014. That effort got us to where we are today. It reduced the number of children in Outside facilities from about 750 at a time to just under 200. And it pushed services in the child's own home and community. But it hasn't put crisis intervention and stabilization services in rural Alaska. Nor has it built services for Alaska Native children that don't separate them from their culture. For privacy reasons the report can only give cold, sanitized versions of what happens to those kids—devoid of detail. It still made me cry more than once. Alaska kids deserve better. They have federal rights to better. Since the state closed the old Harborview Institution in Valdez in the 1990s we've been promising to treat children's mental health and behavioral health needs in their homes and communities so they can live their best, fullest lives and get the best medical outcomes. We're not there yet. Last week's hearing was just the start of our work. Blake & I had a great conversation about the Coast Guard Cutter Storis (modeled in both wartime and peacetime configurations) at the Marine Exchange of Alaska on Monday! Marine Exchange I had the pleasure last week of hosting tours of the Marine Exchange of Alaska. The MXA is a great organization that tracks ships in Alaska’s waters using an Automatic Identification System. They use it to let mariners know what sensitive areas to avoid. They're experts in identifying problems at sea before they become crises. They can even push out better weather data to ships and captains. MXA shortens the Coast Guard's response times by giving an exact location of the ship in distress. They’re an incredible group of people who work hard to keep others safe, and they do it all from Juneau! The tours this week (coordinated by my former staffer Edric Carrillo) were informative, well-attended, and a lot of fun. It was great to see so many legislators and staff come learn about just one of the great organizations in the capital city! Last Monday I hosted a lunchtime get-together with this year's University of Alaska/Ted Stevens Foundation Legislative Interns. Legislators and interns got time to meet and chat. We even included some legislators who went through the program themselves! A Better Budget This week the Senate Finance Committee announced which budget subcommittees each of us will chair. Your first question is likely to be what on earth a Finance Subcommittee is. And doesn’t the Legislature have enough committees already? Budget subs do very specific work. They don’t hear bills. They make recommendations about each department's operating budget to the full Finance committee. We have one per Executive Branch department, plus one each for the University, Judicial Branch, and the Legislature. Focusing on the budget of just one department lets committee members dive deep into the governor's proposal and find stuff to fix. Then subcommittee recommendations get rolled together into a new version of the budget at the full Finance Committee. From there, the budget heads to the floor and over to the other legislative body. I'll chair the budget subs for the Departments of Administration, Corrections, and the Judicial Branch. (I’ll serve on the subcommittees for Fish & Game and the University too.) I’m excited to dig into all of them. While I have quite a few ideas, I need your perspective too. I'd love to get your thoughts on these budgets, along with questions or topics to probe in subcommittee. Please help me produce the best budget for our region and our state. All my best, Did someone forward you this newsletter? Did you fall into it through the series of tubes? Want more? SUBSCRIBE Events & Happenings Around District B Skagway Story Time Remember story time with Ms. Anna! It's perfect for kids up to age 3—a fun romp with songs, books, and more. Each Wednesday at the library, 10:30am. Skagway Late Night Library Friday nights at 6pm, come to the library for a different activity each week! Crafts, games, and more for ages 10-18! Gustavus Fiberpaloosa Learn from and work with fellow fiber artists on Feb. 18th at 2 pm and on Feb. 19th at 10am! Come to the Community Center & work on unfinished projects, swap materials, upcycle, and potluck! Haines Trivia Night at the Library Battle in this no cost, prize filled, competition of knowledge! Don’t have a team? No worries, the library will help find you one! Be at the library on Feb. 16th at 6:30 pm! Haines Story Time Stories and songs for the children and child-at-hearts! Every Mondays and Fridays in the library at 11:00 am. Is there an event in our district I should know about? Please call or email! Snail Mail? Alaska State Capitol Room 419 Juneau, AK 99801 Call: 800 550 4947 907 465 4947 Email Me! ‌ ‌ ‌ Contact My Staff, the people who power the work: Aurora Hauke 907 465 5051 [email protected] Caleb Yabes 907 465 4947 [email protected] Ella Adkison 907 465 6419 [email protected] Cathy Schlingheyde 907 465 6827 [email protected] Senator Jesse Kiehl | Alaska State Capitol, Rm. 419, 4th Avenue & Main Street, Juneau, AK 99801 Unsubscribe [email protected] Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]