Alaska youth need expanded access to mental health support, advocates tell lawmakers

Children’s coats bent successful a hallway astatine Hillcrest Childcare Center successful Anchorage connected April 18, 2024. (Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Expanded entree to intelligence wellness attraction was a superior interest for nan authorities legislators and nonprofits serving children and families who responded to a study for nan Alaska Children’s Caucus.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers whose attraction is argumentation that improves early puerility outcomes met connected Friday afternoon. The caucus formed past winter.

Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, who led nan gathering successful Anchorage, said that passim nan past legislative session, nan grounds from Alaskans astir their request for support of intelligence and behavioral wellness services was overwhelming.

“We cognize that Alaska is No. 1 successful each of nan bad things, and 1 of those bad things is suicide, decease by suicide, and we cognize that Alaska Native younker are disproportionately impacted by that,” she said. “And truthful I deliberation we person a existent opportunity to fig retired immoderate ways that we tin intervene, that we tin disrupt that and hopefully we tin springiness services and supports to families.”

The proposal came from a survey that Alaska Children’s Trust helped conduct, which asked respondents for argumentation and backing recommendations.

Sen. Elvi-Gray Jackson, who past session sponsored a bill that would person made intelligence wellness acquisition a halfway portion of program successful Alaska nationalist schools, said she would renew her effort successful nan upcoming legislative session. The Senate approved SB 24, but it sewage stuck successful nan House Finance Committee and did not make it to nan House level for a ballot earlier nan extremity of nan session.

“I look guardant to bringing that measure guardant again during nan adjacent legislative convention that originates connected Jan. 21,” she said.

While accrued entree to intelligence wellness attraction extracurricular of schoolhouse hours was nan apical argumentation recommendation, it was intimately followed by a proposal to grow pre-kindergarten opportunities to see kid attraction and Head Start providers. Other recommendations included providing paid family time off and security benefits for each authorities labor and creating an online assets that lists nan benefits disposable to parents of young children.

Respondents suggested lawmakers money those efforts and others by expanding backing for nan state’s kid care grant program and kid defense centers, establishing an early pedagogue costs stipend, and expanding backing for nan Parents arsenic Teachers program, among different ideas.

The Alaska Children’s Caucus, which was revived this year, has bipartisan co-chairs from some chambers, including Tobin, Sen. Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage, Rep. Mike Cronk, R-Tok, and Rep. Maxine Dibert, D-Fairbanks. The adjacent caucus gathering has not yet been scheduled.