Committee hears bill to require earlier court review for foster children admitted to psychiatric hospitals

House Bill 36, introduced and heard in the House Finance Committee on March 12, would require expedited court review for foster children in Alaska state custody who are admitted to acute psychiatric hospitals. Sponsor Representative Andrew Grama said the measure is a legislative response to an Alaska Supreme Court ruling that found lengthy hospital stays without timely judicial review violated due process.

The bill requires the Office of Children Services and other parties to be notified within 24 hours of a foster-child admission to an acute psychiatric facility. A judicial review hearing would be required within seven days of notification; if necessary the court may grant a single seven‑day extension (14 days total) to allow parties to assemble. If the court determines continued hospitalization is necessary, the statute would require a judicial review at least once every 30 days thereafter. The bill also defines "acute psychiatric hospital" in statute and authorizes two‑way video conferencing for hearings to facilitate timely participation by all parties.

Sponsor staff Kyle Johansen explained the bill’s structure to the committee and said the definition of an acute psychiatric hospital was pulled from the court’s framing in prior litigation. He said the bill also amends an annual report to the legislature to add the number of children placed in out‑of‑state residential facilities. The bill includes a direct court-rule amendment that would require appointment of counsel for children in covered circumstances, a step staff and court staff said is already commonly practiced but not always mandatory.

Court official Nancy Mead explained the judiciary believes it can generally meet the proposed seven‑day hearing timeline; video conferencing is already an available tool but requires facility cooperation (suitable rooms, security and equipment). Deputy Director Kim Swisher of the Office of Children Services told the committee the department already notifies parties promptly under existing practice and that the department expects little operational impact from codifying the 24‑hour notification practice.

Fiscal notes: The Alaska Court System submitted a zero fiscal-impact estimate. OCS submitted a fiscal note to cover the Department of Law’s representation costs for additional hearings; OCS estimated approximately 110 hearings per year and used an estimated Attorney General hourly rate in its calculation. OCS staff told the committee Medicaid would likely see savings if hospital stays shorten, but those Medicaid savings would not directly reduce OCS’s legal representation costs and were not included in the OCS fiscal note.

Questions from members included how many acute psychiatric facilities accept child admissions (staff said one facility commonly accepts transfers but the bill is written to cover any facility accepting such admissions), origin of the bill’s timeframes (the sponsor said seven days reflected stakeholder input and nursing staff observations that 72 hours is often too short and 30 days is too long), and whether Alaska retains jurisdiction when children are housed out of state (court staff said Alaska retains jurisdiction for children in Alaska custody).

Next steps: The committee set HB36 aside for further hearings; sponsors indicated they will return with invited testimony and additional materials.