Alaska Progress Report

Violent death in Alaska, suicide most common

Grim statistics from the state: "The Alaska Violent Death Reporting System 2003-2008 Summary report provides a detailed summary of six years of data concerning all types of violent deaths collected by the Alaska Violent Death Reporting System."

• In 2003-2008, there were 1347 violent deaths in Alaska, accounting for 7% of all deaths in Alaska and a combined rate of 33.7 violent deaths per 100,000 persons.
• Suicide accounted for the highest rate of violent death (21.7 per 100,000 persons), followed by the combined rates for homicide/legal intervention (6.4 per 100,000 persons) and undetermined intent and unintentional firearm deaths (5.5 per 100,000 persons, respectively).
• Highest rates by age group were found among children aged <1 yearand adults aged 20-29 years (84.0 and 59.9 per 100,000 persons, respectively).

View the entire report for the gory breakdown. Also available, a new report on deaths from firearms: "From 2003–2008, firearm injury hospitalizations and deaths disproportionately affected males, Blacks, AI/AN people, and people living in the Northern and Southwest regions. Firearm injury death rates by intent were consistently highest for suicide, but this was not the case for hospitalization rates. A plausible explanation for this difference is that suicide attempts with a firearm are almost always fatal."

Alaska below average on children's health systems

From Securing a Healthy Future: The Commonwealth Fund State Scorecard on Child Health System Performance, 2011. Alaska is ranked 30th overall on twenty indicators in three broad areas: access and affordability (34th); prevention and treatment (38th); potential to lead healthy lives (40th); and equity (8th).

In the rate of children age 0-18 who are uninsured, Alaska ranks 6th worst with 12.4%. Even though we have the lowest rate of low-birthweight babies in the nation, we're still middle of the pack on infant mortality, and our chubby babies seem to become chubbier children: 34% of Alaska children age 10-17 were overweight or obese in 2007, ranking us 40th among states.

In the only area where Alaska is in the top half, equity, we're ranked 12th on income equity, 7th on insurance coverage equity and 13th on racial/ethnic equity. Given the rate of suicide by Alaska Native youth it's hard to figure how we even managed that.

Therapeutic courts deal with substance abuse, mental health issues

The Spring 2009 edition of the Alaska Justice Forum is online with three articles on the concept of therapeutic justice to deal with substance abuse, mental health and other issues:

"'Anchorage Wellness Court: Challenges' by Ronald S. Everett examines the Anchorage Wellness Court (AWC), which deals with misdemeanor alcohol offenders, including those who drive under the influence (DUI); discusses the concepts of therapeutic jurisprudence and problem-solving courts; and examines the challenges to the longstanding need and demonstrated potential for success of the AWC program. The author discusses societal views of DUI drivers and explores the broader issue of “impaired” drivers: those, for example, who drive while talking on cell phones.

"'Therapeutic Jurisprudence' discusses therapeutic jurisprudence and describes therapeutic and problem-solving courts and their common elements. Therapeutic courts currently operating in the Alaska Court System — including addictions (drug and alcohol), mental health, and other therapeutic courts — are described, as well as other programs in Alaska that have been developed to address particular issues falling under the rubric of therapeutic jurisprudence, including community justice centers.

"'Further Reading on Therapeutic Justice' is a bibliography or articles and studies on therapeutic courts and jurisprudence nationally and in Alaska. Most are available online."

Statewide suicide rate rises 4th year in a row

The Anchorage Daily News has a heads-up on grim new suicide data from the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics: "Alaska's suicide rate rose for the fourth year in a row in 2008, according to preliminary numbers from the state Bureau of Vital Statistics. The statewide rate of 24.6 suicides per 100,000 people is the highest in more than a decade and a 25 percent increase since 2005, according to the Bureau's early figures. 'We are seeing an increase. What it's related to, it's anyone's guess,' said James Gallanos, the state Division of Behavioral Health's lead suicide prevention coordinator."