Foster youth recount long hospital stays as Alaska bill aims to speed judicial review of psychiatric placements

Vice Chair Giesel convened the Senate Health and Social Services Committee in Juneau on Feb. 26 to hear testimony on House Bill 36, which would require earlier judicial review for foster youth placed in psychiatric facilities.

The bill, discussed by Amanda Mativier, executive director of Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA), responds to what advocates call overuse of acute psychiatric placements for youth in state custody. Mativier said federal and state reviews have found foster youth are sometimes hospitalized primarily because there is no alternative placement, not necessarily for clinical need. She told the committee the organization seeks a shorter hearing window to reduce lengthy stays: "What we really want is 72 hours," she said, while acknowledging the current bill text sets a seven-day hearing timeline.

The most direct testimony came from Tali Stone of Anchorage, who said she was placed in North Star four times while in care and "did not get a court hearing to help determine if I truly needed to be in the facility." Stone said each stay lasted longer than a month, that she was isolated from family during hospitalization and that she was nearly sent out of state for long-term treatment she said she did not need.

Senators asked how runaway or "self-placement" cases intersect with law enforcement. Mativier replied that youth on runaway status can be picked up by law enforcement and sometimes placed overnight in detention depending on circumstances and the timeliness of OCS involvement.

Sen. Clayman (transcribed with variant spelling within the record) noted prior work in the Senate Judiciary Committee and said seven days reflected a negotiated compromise to provide more timely judicial oversight. Mativier emphasized recent improvements in court rules that increased notice to youth and mandatory appointment of attorneys in certain circumstances, but she and youth witnesses said delays remain a problem.

The bill has not been voted on by the committee. Committee leadership said the issue remains a priority and expressed hope it could be finalized before the session ends. The committee adjourned and scheduled its next meeting for March 3, when the Office of Children's Services will present the 2025 audit report.

Quotes used in this article are drawn directly from committee testimony and attributed to speakers who appear by name in the hearing record.