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Alaska2026Passed Legislature

SB123

SB123: Reestablishing Citizen Review Panels for Children in State Custody

Last scannedSep 12, 2026, 4:46 AM

In one sentence

This bill reestablishes a state-level Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning and sets rules requiring the department to notify local review panels when children are removed from their homes or committed to state care.

What it does

  • Reestablishes the Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning within the Department of Administration.
  • Requires the department to notify appropriate local citizen out-of-home care review panels within 60 days after removing a child from home.
  • Requires the department to inform parties about local review panels when a court orders a child committed to state care or at permanency hearings.
  • Allows confidential case information to be shared with local citizen out-of-home care review panels established under AS 47.10.421.
  • Sets rules for governor appointments, including bans on appointing people who have committed felonies or violated specific laws regarding child abuse reporting.
  • Requires the state panel to meet at least twice a year and adopt policies governing local panels.

Who it affects

  • Children in need of aid (CINA) cases involving removal from home or commitment to state care.
  • The Department of Administration, which houses the new Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning.
  • Local citizen out-of-home care review panels established under existing law.
  • State officials including the governor, attorney general, public defender, and chief justice who serve on the panel.

Limits and unknowns

  • The official text provided ends before listing all annual reporting requirements for the new panel.
  • The specific effective date when these rules begin is not listed in the source material, though a sunset provision mentions June 30, 2032.

Plain language

Terms to know

Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning
A state-level group created in the Department of Administration to oversee local review panels and set policies regarding children in state custody.
Local citizen out-of-home care review panel
Groups established under AS 47.10.421 that review specific cases where a child is living away from home under state supervision.

Official record

Sources

Validated
Official bill pageIntroduced textCurrent bill text

Official summary

CINA: CITIZENS' REVIEW PANELS An Act relating to citizen review panels for certain children in state custody; reestablishing the Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning; and providing for an effective date.

Official activity

Bill history

  1. (S) Heard & HeldText
  2. (S) HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES at 03:30 PM BUTROVICH 205Text
  3. (S) REFERRED TO HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES442
  4. (S) HSS, JUD442
  5. (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS442