In his fourth annual State of the Child address, Gov. Tony Knowles today pledged to continue the progress of recent years in protecting Alaska's children and improving public schools by devoting more state resources to both initiatives. Knowles said he will ask the Legislature for more funds to help approximately 1,100 children in foster care, and said he will fully fund public schools and transportation. A child who is sick, neglected or abused can never reach their full potential.
Every Alaskan child has the right to grow up in a safe and loving permanent home.
Fortunately, most Alaskan children experience that. Yet, for those children who are in peril, our responsibility is to ensure they have a safe and loving home. He also called for more funds for residential care homes which house especially troubled children, and to improve background checks and fingerprinting of adults who deal with foster children. The governor praised foster parents and introduced several in his speech, including foster parent organization leaders Mike and Tammy Keech of Anchorage, who often open their home to 14 foster children at a time. Others included Suzette Graham of Kenai, a foster parent in the process of adopting two children affected with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.