MISSION
The Alaska Citizen Review Panel (CRP) will review the practices, procedures, and policies of the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) and evaluate the same for compliance with federal and state laws, and the state plan. The Panel will make recommendations based on its findings to ensure the safety and well-being of Alaska’s children.
PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS
The Panel has three principal functions– evaluation, public outreach, and advocacy.
EVALUATION
The Panel will evaluate OCS compliance with federal and state laws, examining policies and procedures for consistent statewide implementation while still being responsive to the diversity of needs across the state. The CRP shall evaluate the extent to which OCS is effectively discharging its child protection responsibilities under The State Plan submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under 42 U.S.C. 5106a(b); Child Protection Standards under federal and state laws. The Panel may identify other criteria important to ensuring the protection of children, including the level and efficiency of coordination of foster care and adoption programs in the state. The Panel focuses on systemic issues. Individual cases or particular unique situations will not be reviewed by the Panel.
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The Panel will identify and implement means to gather feedback on procedures and practices in delivering child protection services in Alaska. The information thus collected will be utilized in its evaluation function as specified above.
ADVOCACY
The Panel will conduct appropriate actions that will help improve the child protection services system in Alaska.