On Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the House Energy Committee held a hearing focused on rural energy concerns in Alaska. Key participants included Ben Mallott, the AFN President; Andrew Guy, President of Calista Corporation; Wayne Morgan, Special Projects Coordinator for the Aniak Traditional Council; and Amanda Toerdal, Community Planning and Development Program Director for Kawerak.
Additionally, Ben testified before the House Health and Social Services Committee to express AFN’s support for House Bill 52, titled “Minors and Psychiatric Hospitals.”
House Bill 52 aims to implement three significant reforms:
- Reduce the risk of abuse.
- Strengthen family connections.
- Improve the transparency of Alaska’s psychiatric hospitals.
It is crucial that these reforms are enacted to protect our children who require care in psychiatric hospitals and to inform families. This issue was highlighted in a December 2022 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, which investigated Alaska’s Behavioral Health System for Children:
“In Alaska, children with behavioral health disabilities are institutionalized at high rates and for extended periods because the State does not ensure that community-based services are available and accessible. Each year, hundreds of children, including a significant number of Alaska Native children, receive treatment in institutional settings within Alaska, often far from their homes and communities. Hundreds more are sent to segregated facilities in states as distant as Texas and Missouri.”
We must also recognize that community-based services in Alaska are insufficient. We hope that the state legislature and administration will explore more ways to enhance these services across the state. Our children deserve better, and all efforts should be made to ensure they can remain close to home and their families.
“Alaska’s system of care is heavily biased toward institutions, and key services and supports are frequently unavailable to children in their communities. As a result, many children with behavioral health disabilities who would benefit from community-based services are forced to endure unnecessarily lengthy admissions to psychiatric hospitals and residential treatment facilities. This unnecessary segregation violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).”
