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SENATE BILL NO. 123
IN THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA
THIRTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE - FIRST SESSION
BY SENATOR MYERS BY REQUEST
Introduced: 3/6/25
Referred: Health and Social Services, Judiciary
A BILL
FOR AN ACT ENTITLED
"An Act relating to citizen review panels for certain children in state custody; 1
reestablishing the Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planni ng; and providing for 2
an effective date." 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 4
* Section 1. AS 44.66.010(a) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 5
(17) Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning (AS 47.10. 401) 6
- June 30, 2032. 7
* Sec. 2. AS 47.10.080 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 8
(z) Within 60 days after the date the department removes a chi ld from the 9
child's home, the department shall notify the appropriate local citizen out-of-home 10
care review panel established under AS 47.10.421. 11
(aa) Within 60 days after a court orders a child committed to the department 12
under (c) of this section, and at a permanency hearing or review under (f) or (l) of this 13
section, the department shall in form the parties about the loca l citizen out-of-home 14
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care review panel established under AS 47.10.421. 1
* Sec. 3. AS 47.10.093(b) is amended to read: 2
( b ) A s t a t e o r m u n i c i p a l a g e n c y o r e m p l o y e e s h a l l d i s c l o s e a p propriate 3
confidential information regarding a case to 4
(1) a guardian ad litem appointed by the court; 5
(2) a person or an agency requested by the department or the c hild's 6
legal custodian to provide consu ltation or services for a child w h o i s s u b j e c t t o t h e 7
jurisdiction of the court unde r AS 47.10.010 as necessary to en able the provision of 8
the consultation or services; 9
(3) an out-of-home care provider as necessary to enable the ou t-of-10
home care provider to provide appropriate care to the child, to protect the safety of the 11
child, and to protect the safety and property of family members and visitors of the out-12
of-home care provider; 13
(4) a school official as necessary to enable the school to pro vide 14
appropriate counseling and support services to a child who is the subject of the case, to 15
protect the safety of the child, and to protect the safety of school students and staff; 16
(5) a governmental agency as necessary to obtain that agency's 17
assistance for the department i n its investigation or to obtain physical custody of a 18
child; 19
(6) a law enforcement agency of this state or another jurisdic tion as 20
necessary for the protection of any child or for actions by that agency to protect the 21
public safety; 22
(7) a member of a multidisciplinary child protection team crea ted 23
under AS 47.14.300 as necessary for the performance of the member's duties; 24
(8) the state medical examin er under AS 12.65 as necessary for t h e 25
performance of the duties of the state medical examiner; 26
(9) a person who has made a r eport of harm as required by 27
AS 47.17.020 to inform the person th at the investigation was co mpleted and of action 28
taken to protect the child who was the subject of the report; 29
(10) the child support services agency established in AS 25.27 .010 as 30
necessary to establish and collect child support for a child who is a child in need of aid 31
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under this chapter; 1
(11) a parent, guardian, or caregiver of a child or an entity responsible 2
for ensuring the safety of children as necessary to protect the safety of a child; 3
(12) a review panel, including a variance committee establishe d under 4
AS 47.05.360, established by the dep artment for the purpose of reviewing the actions 5
taken by the department in a specific case; 6
(13) the University of Alaska under the Alaska education savin gs 7
program for children estab lished under AS 47.14.400, but only t o the extent that the 8
information is necessary to support the program and only if the information released is 9
maintained as a confidential record by the University of Alaska; 10
(14) a child placement agency licensed under AS 47.32 as neces sary to 11
provide services for a child who is the subject of the case; 12
(15) a state or municipal agency of this state or another juri sdiction 13
that is responsible for delinquent minors, as may be necessary for the administration of 14
services, protection, rehabilita tion, or supervision of a child or for actions by the 15
agency to protect the public safety; however, a court may revie w an objection made to 16
a disclosure under this paragra ph; the person objecting to the disclosure bears the 17
burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that disclosure is not in the 18
child's best interest; [AND] 19
( 1 6 ) a s i b l i n g o f a c h i l d w h o i s t h e s u b j e c t o f t h e c a s e t o a llow the 20
siblings to contact each other if it is in the best interests o f the child to maintain 21
contact; in this paragraph, "sibling" means an adult or minor who is related to the child 22
who is the subject of the case by blood, adoption, or marriage as a child of one or both 23
of the parents of the child who is the subject of the case; a s ibling who is adopted by a 24
person other than the parent of the child who is the subject of t h e c a s e r e m a i n s a 25
sibling of the child; and 26
( 1 7 ) a l o c a l c i t i z e n o u t - o f - h o m e c a r e r e v i e w p a n e l e s t a b l i s h e d 27
under AS 47.10.421. 28
* Sec. 4. AS 47.10.142 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 29
(j) Within 60 days after a court orders a child committed to t he department 30
under this section, the department shall inform the parties abo ut the local citizen out-31
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of-home care review panel established under AS 47.10.421. 1
* Sec. 5. AS 47.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 2
Article 3A. Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning. 3
Sec. 47.10.401. Citizens' Review Pane l for Permanency Planning. (a) The 4
Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning is created in th e Department of 5
Administration. The state panel consists of five voting members appointed by the 6
governor from among present members of local panels established under 7
AS 47.10.421. The governor shall appoint at least one voting st ate panel member from 8
each judicial district. The governor may not appoint a person w ho has committed a 9
felony or violated AS 11.51.130 or a law with substantially sim ilar elements in this or 10
another jurisdiction. The state panel also includes the followi ng five nonvoting 11
members, or their designees, w ho serve ex officio: the commissi oner of family and 12
community services, the director of the office of public advocacy, the attorney general, 13
the public defender appointed under AS 18.85.030, and the chief justice of the Alaska 14
Supreme Court. 15
(b) The voting members of the state panel serve at the pleasure of the governor 16
for staggered terms of three years or until successors are appointed. 17
(c) The voting members of the state panel shall elect from amo ng the voting 18
members a chair who shall serve for one year. Three voting members of the state panel 19
constitute a quorum for the trans action of business. The state panel may not take 20
official action without the affirmative vote of at least three of its members. 21
(d) Members of the state panel are entitled to reimbursement f or actual 22
expenses necessary to perform the duties of state panel members . The reimbursement 23
may not exceed the amount of per diem and expenses authorized f or boards and 24
commissions under AS 39.20.180. 25
(e) The state panel shall meet at least twice annually. Meetin gs may take place 26
electronically. 27
(f) The state panel may employ a program coordinator who shall serve at the 28
pleasure of the state panel. The program coordinator shall employ staff as necessary to 29
carry out the program coordinator's duties under state panel di rectives and to provide 30
clerical assistance to local panels. 31
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Sec. 47.10.411. Duties of state panel. The state panel shall 1
(1) by regulation, adopt policie s and procedures to carry out its duties 2
and to govern the performance of the duties of the local panels established under 3
AS 47.10.421; 4
(2) ensure that local panel members receive at least the minim um level 5
of training necessary to effectively carry out their duties; 6
(3) coordinate and review the activities of the local panels a nd make 7
recommendations to the governor on appointments to the local panels; 8
(4) report annually to the legislature, by the 10th day of eac h regular 9
session, concerning the activitie s of the state panel and local panels during the 10
previous fiscal year; the panel shall submit a written report t o the senate secretary and 11
the chief clerk of the house of representatives and notify the legislature that the report 12
is available; the report must include the number of cases reviewed by each local panel, 13
a description of the characteristics of the children whose case s were reviewed by the 14
panels, the number of children reunited with their families, th e number of children 15
placed in other permanent homes, and recommendations and justifications for program 16
improvement, including recommendations relating to state agenci es and to the panel 17
review system; the report may contain other information on the experience of the local 18
panels. 19
Sec. 47.10.421. Appointment of local panels. (a) The governor shall appoint 20
for each judicial district a local citizen out-of-home care rev iew panel composed of 21
five members and two alternates who are residents of the judici al district. Members 22
shall serve three-year terms. Alternates shall be appointed to three-year terms. 23
Alternates may attend any meeting of the local panel and may re view any material 24
reviewed by the local panel. 25
(b) The governor shall appoint t o a local panel persons who ha ve training, 26
experience, special knowledge, or a demonstrated interest in th e welfare of children. 27
An out-of-home care provider or a person employed by the court system, the 28
department, the office of public a d v o c a c y , t h e P u b l i c D e f e n d e r Agency, or the 29
Department of Law may not serve as a member or alternate member of a local panel. 30
The governor may not appoint a person who has committed a felon y or violated 31
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AS 11.51.130 or a law with substantially similar elements in th is or another 1
jurisdiction. 2
(c) The governor shall ensure that appointments to a local panel are reasonably 3
representative of the various social, economic, racial, ethnic, and cultural groups of the 4
district from which the members are appointed, as determined by regulations adopted 5
by the department. 6
(d) If the state panel determines that additional local panels are necessary in a 7
judicial district because of excessively large or complex casel oads for review or 8
because of the demographics of cases or determines that a local panel is not necessary 9
because of a reduced caseload, the governor may create or disso lve a local panel. The 10
governor may not reduce the numbe r of local panels in a judicia l district to less than 11
one. Appointments to a local panel established under this subse ction are governed by 12
(a) - (c) of this section. 13
(e) When a person is appointed t o serve on a local panel, the person shall 14
swear or affirm to keep confidential all information that comes before the local panel 15
except for nonidentifying case information included in a report to the state panel, for 16
information for reports require d under AS 47.17, or as required by court order for 17
good cause shown. A local panel member may share confidential i nformation with 18
other members of the local panel and staff who serve the local panel. 19
(f) If a member of a local panel is unable to participate in a proceeding, the 20
chair shall designate an alternate appointed under (a) of this section to participate in 21
place of the regular member at the proceeding, and the alternat e shall participate for 22
the duration of that proceeding unless the alternate is unable to participate. A member 23
or alternate member may be excused from participation in a proceeding if 24
(1) the member has a scheduling conflict; or 25
(2) the local panel will consid er a case involving a material decision 26
made by an immediate family member of the member; in this parag raph, "immediate 27
family" has the meaning given in AS 24.60.990(a). 28
Sec. 47.10.431. Meetings; expenses. (a) A local panel may conduct meetings 29
in person or by electronic means. In-person meetings must be he ld in the judicial 30
district in which the panel memb ers reside. The chair may permi t a member to 31
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participate in an in-person meeting by electronic means. 1
(b) A local panel shall elect one of its members to serve as c hair for a term of 2
one year. 3
(c) A majority of the members of a local panel constitute a qu orum. A local 4
panel may not take official ac tion without the affirmative vote of at least three of its 5
members. 6
(d) A local panel member is not eligible for travel expenses, per diem, or other 7
expenses for service on the local panel unless the state panel requires the local panel 8
member to travel to attend a meeting. If the state panel requir es a local panel member 9
to travel to attend a meeting, the local panel member is entitl ed to reimbursement for 10
actual expenses incurred by the m ember in attending the meeting , except that the 11
reimbursement may not exceed the amount of per diem and expense s authorized for 12
boards and commissions under AS 39.20.180. 13
Sec. 47.10.441. Duties of local panels. (a) A local panel shall review the case 14
plan of each child in the custody of the department who is in a placement other than 15
the child's own home under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (3), 47.10.142 , or 47.14.100(c) if 16
the case is under the jurisdiction of a court, including a trib al court, in the judicial 17
district served by the panel. A local panel may request a local panel in another judicial 18
district conduct a review and make a report if that local panel is more convenient for 19
the child and other persons involved. 20
(b) At least 30 days before beginning a review, a local panel shall provide 21
written notice to the following persons that a review will be c onducted and that each 22
person notified may participate in the review: 23
(1) the department; 24
(2) the child or the child's legal representative; 25
(3) the child's parents; 26
(4) the child's guardian; 27
(5) the child's guardian ad litem; 28
(6) the child's out-of-home care provider; and 29
(7) if the case is governed by 25 U.S.C. 1901 - 1963 (Indian C hild 30
Welfare Act), 31
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(A) the child's Indian custodian; and 1
(B) the designated representative of the child's Indian tribe if 2
the tribe has intervened in the case. 3
(c) In reviewing a case, a local panel shall consider the case plan and any 4
progress report of the department or the child's guardian ad li tem, court records, and 5
other relevant information about the child and the child's fami ly. The local panel shall 6
also provide to the following persons an opportunity to be inte rviewed by the local 7
panel in person or by telephone or to provide written material to the panel: 8
(1) the child whose case is being reviewed if the child is 10 years of 9
age or older; 10
(2) the parents, custodians, or other relatives of the child; 11
(3) the child's out-of-home care provider; 12
(4) the child's guardian; 13
(5) the child's guardian ad litem; 14
(6) the case worker or social worker assigned to the case; 15
(7) if the case is governed by 25 U.S.C. 1901 - 1963 (Indian C hild 16
Welfare Act), 17
(A) the child's Indian custodian; and 18
(B) the designated representative of the child's Indian tribe if 19
the tribe has intervened in the case; and 20
(8) other persons with a close personal knowledge of the case. 21
(d) At the discretion of the child's guardian ad litem or, if the child does not 22
have a guardian ad litem, at the discretion of the child's pare nt or guardian, a child 23
under 10 years of age whose case is being reviewed may be prese nt at interviews 24
conducted under (c) of this secti on and during review by the lo cal panel or may be 25
interviewed. At the child's request, the local panel shall allo w a child who is 10 years 26
of age or older to be present at interviews or a review of the local panel that concerns 27
the child's case, unless the local panel determines that for go od cause the child's 28
presence would be contrary to the best interests of the child o r finds other good cause 29
for denying the child's request. 30
(e) During a review under (a) of this section, a local panel shall 31
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(1) determine whether the child has a case plan designed to ac hieve 1
placement in the least restrictive, most family-like setting av ailable in close proximity 2
t o t h e h o m e o f t h e c h i l d ' s p a r e n t s t h a t i s c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e best interests, special 3
needs, and circumstances of the child; 4
(2) evaluate the continuing n ecessity and appropriateness of the child's 5
placement, the extent of the parties' compliance with the child 's case plan, and the 6
extent of progress that has been made toward mitigating the cau ses that necessitated 7
placement away from the child's parents; 8
(3) ascertain the date by which the child is likely to be retu rned to the 9
home or placed for adoption or legal guardianship; 10
(4) determine whether the parties have complied with applicabl e 11
provisions of 25 U.S.C. 1901 - 1963 (Indian Child Welfare Act) and other applicable 12
state and federal laws; and 13
(5) determine whether the requirements of AS 47.10.080(f) and (l) and 14
47.10.142(h) have been met. 15
(f) A local panel shall, within 30 days after reviewing a case , submit a written 16
report to the persons listed in (b) of this section. The report must make advisory 17
recommendations based on the health and safety of the child and must include 18
notification of the right to apply for a permanency hearing und er AS 47.10.080(f). If 19
the court has scheduled the case for review, the local panel sh all submit its report at 20
least 20 days before the hearing. 21
(g) A local panel shall report to the state panel information needed by the state 22
panel to prepare the report required under AS 47.10.411(4). 23
Sec. 47.10.451. Cooperation with state and local panels. The department, 24
Department of Law, public defender, office of public advocacy, and court system shall 25
cooperate with the state panel and the local panels to facilita te timely review of plans 26
for children whose cases are under the jurisdiction of the panels. 27
Sec. 47.10.461. Records; communications. (a) At the request of a local panel, 28
the department, the child's guardian ad litem, and the court sh all furnish to the local 29
panel relevant records concerning a child and the child's family who are the subjects of 30
the local panel review. At the conclusion of a review, or, if n ecessary for the 31
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preparation of the reports required under AS 47.10.441(f) and ( g), upon completion of 1
the reports, a local panel shall destroy all records received b y the local panel. 2
Notwithstanding AS 44.62.310, records and reports of a local pa nel, testimony before 3
a local panel, and deliberations of a local panel are privileged under AS 47.10.093. 4
(b) A local panel member may not reveal to another person, other than another 5
member of the local panel or the staff serving the local panel, a communication made 6
to the member while performing the member's duties under AS 47.10.401 - 47.10.491, 7
except as required under AS 47.17 or as required by court order for good cause shown. 8
A local panel member may share with the state panel communications made during the 9
local panel member's performance of official duties if the loca l panel member omits 10
identifying information. 11
(c) A local panel proceeding is not governed by AS 44.62.310. 12
Sec. 47.10.471. Court review of report. (a) When a report is admissible under 13
court rules, the court may consider the report of a local panel in its review under 14
AS 47.10.080(f) and at other disposition hearings other than he arings related to 15
delinquency proceedings. 16
(b) If the department, the child, or the child's parents, guar dian, or guardian ad 17
litem applies for a permanency hearing under AS 47.10.080(f), t he court may refer the 18
case to a local panel for review. 19
Sec. 47.10.481. Indemnification of panel members. The state shall indemnify 20
a state panel member or local panel member against civil liability for a negligent act or 21
omission by the panel member that occurs in the performance of the member's duties 22
under AS 47.10.401 - 47.10.491 unless the civil liability resul ts from the panel 23
member's violation of 24
(1) AS 47.10.461(b); or 25
(2) the oath or affirmation required under AS 47.10.421(e). 26
Sec. 47.10.491. Definitions. In AS 47.10.401 - 47.10.491, 27
(1) "local panel" means a local citizen out-of-home care revie w panel 28
appointed under AS 47.10.421; 29
(2) "out-of-home care provider" means an agency or a person, o ther 30
t h a n t h e c h i l d ' s l e g a l p a r e n t s , w i t h w h o m a c h i ld w h o i s i n t h e c u s t o dy o f t h e s t a t e 31
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under AS 47.10.080(c)(1) or (3), 47.10.142, or 47.14.100(c) is currently placed, 1
including a foster parent, a relative other than a parent, a person who has petitioned for 2
adoption of the child, or a residential child care facility; 3
(3) "state panel" means the Citizens' Review Panel for Permane ncy 4
Planning established under AS 47.10.401. 5
* Sec. 6. AS 44.66.010(a)(17); AS 47.10.080(z), 47.10.080(aa), 47.10.093( b)(17), 6
47.10.142(j), 47.10.401, 47.10.411, 47.10.421, 47.10.431, 47.10 .441, 47.10.451, 47.10.461, 7
47.10.471, 47.10.481, and 47.10.491 are repealed. 8
* Sec. 7. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 9
read: 10
CITIZENS' REVIEW PANEL FOR PERMANENCY PLANNING; INITIAL 11
TERMS; STAGGERED TERMS. (a) Notwithstanding AS 47.10.401, enact e d b y s e c . 5 o f 12
this Act, the governor shall a ppoint the initial voting members of the Citizens' Review Panel 13
for Permanency Planning so that one member serves a one-year te rm, two members serve 14
two-year terms, and two members serve three-year terms. 15
(b) Notwithstanding AS 47.10.401(a), enacted by sec. 5 of this Act, the initial voting 16
members of the Citizens' Review Panel for Permanency Planning d o not need to be members 17
of local citizen out-of-home care review panels established und er AS 47.10.421, enacted by 18
sec. 5 of this Act. The governor shall appoint initial voting m embers who have training, 19
experience, special knowledge, or a demonstrated interest in the welfare of children. 20
* Sec. 8. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 21
read: 22
LOCAL CITIZEN OUT-OF-HOME CARE REVIEW PANEL; STAGGERED 23
TERMS. Notwithstanding AS 47.10.421, en acted by sec. 5 of this Act, the governor shall 24
appoint the initial me mbers of a local citizen out-of-home care review panel so that one 25
member serves a one-year term, two members serve two-year terms , and two members serve 26
three-year terms. 27
* Sec. 9. Section 6 of this Act takes effect June 30, 2032. 28
* Sec. 10. Except as provided in sec. 9 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2026. 29