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

Children’s coats hang in a hallway at Hillcrest Childcare Center in Anchorage on April 18, 2024. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)

Expanded access to mental health care was a primary concern for the state legislators and nonprofits serving children and families who responded to a survey for the Alaska Children’s Caucus.

The bipartisan group of lawmakers whose focus is policy that improves early childhood outcomes met on Friday afternoon. The caucus formed last winter.

Sen. Löki Tobin, D-Anchorage, who led the meeting in Anchorage, said that throughout the last legislative session, the testimony from Alaskans about their need for support of mental and behavioral health services was overwhelming.

“We know that Alaska is No. 1 in all of the bad things, and one of those bad things is suicide, death by suicide, and we know that Alaska Native youth are disproportionately impacted by that,” she said. “And so I think we have a real opportunity to figure out some ways that we can intervene, that we can disrupt that and hopefully we can give services and supports to families.”

The recommendation came from a survey that Alaska Children’s Trust helped conduct, which asked respondents for policy and funding recommendations.

Sen. Elvi-Gray Jackson, who last session sponsored a bill that would have made mental health education a core part of curriculum in Alaska public schools, said she would renew her effort in the upcoming legislative session. The Senate approved SB 24, but it got stuck in the House Finance Committee and did not make it to the House floor for a vote before the end of the session.

“I look forward to bringing that bill forward again during the next legislative session that begins on Jan. 21,” she said.

While increased access to mental health care outside of school hours was the top policy recommendation, it was closely followed by a recommendation to expand pre-kindergarten opportunities to include child care and Head Start providers. Other recommendations included providing paid family leave and insurance benefits for all state employees and creating an online resource that lists the benefits available to parents of young children.

Respondents suggested lawmakers fund those efforts and others by increasing funding for the state’s child care grant program and child advocacy centers, establishing an early educator wage stipend, and increasing funding for the Parents as Teachers program, among other ideas.

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