Governor Mike Dunleavy introduced $10 million to advance his public safety priority by supporting the People First Initiative, and assisting children, youth, and families through the Office of Children’s Services. The budget amendment is part of a package of the FY 2023 budget amendments introduced to the Alaska State Legislature. Governor Dunleavy introduced $7.2 million in undesignated general funds and $2.77 million in federal matching funds for the Office of Children’s Services, among other operating budget amendments.
The People First Initiative is an effort using a mix of statutory changes, new personnel, administrative orders, technology, and focused resources to address five areas where Alaska’s most vulnerable are at risk or harmed. The major topics of the initiative includes:
- Domestic violence and sexual assault
- Human trafficking
- Missing and murdered Indigenous persons
- The foster care system
- Homelessness
The funds will add support to the Office of Children’s Services to:
- Invest in frontline employees to promote recruitment and retention
- Expand support positions to broaden services
- Support foster youth and families
- Support youth with complex trauma
- Invest in evidence-based program development
- Develop vocational opportunities for youth
- Offer programs that manage traumatic stress for child welfare workers
An additional budget amendment introduced continues to restore the governor’s efforts to restore the Alaska State Troopers to staffing levels before 38 positions were cut in 2015-2016, according to DPS Commissioner Jim Cockrell, who previously said that the Governor’s FY23 budget proposed the single largest funding increase to public safety in over 30 years. The amendment funds eight trooper positions and eight other positions including court services officers and civilian support staff from the Governor’s FY21 budget. The funding for these employees would increase the budget by $171,000 to fully fund all 16 positions.
For a full list of the FY 2023 budget amendments click here.