“Have any of you ever had to snake any items out of the toilet that your kids have flushed down?”.

Children are literally our future — they might be only 25% of Alaska’s population today, but they’re 100% of tomorrow’s adults. When we provide our children with safe, stable and nurturing environments in which to learn, play and grow, we build a bright future for Alaska. Creating that tomorrow starts today, and it starts with us.

Child sexual abuse can be a difficult topic to talk - or even think - about. No one wants to consider the idea that their child, or a child they know, was sexually abused. But in Alaska, child sexual abuse is all too common.

It is with excitement and great pleasure for us as a Team to let you, our community members, partners, and advocates, know that this week Alaska Children's Trust has moved to our new home! Our new address is 6591 A Street in Anchorage.

The Office of Children’s Services, or OCS, is often one of the most misunderstood organizations in state government.

Home. It’s a powerful word and an even more powerful feeling. It’s a place to find belonging, where you can be your whole self and feel warm, safe, and accepted. Yet across Alaska, many young people don’t have the feeling, security, and comfort of home or the support of caring adults that can transform a house into a home.

If you had a moment to sit and read the news this summer, you probably saw something about the Legislature. That’s because since the conclusion of the First Regular Session on May 19th, the 32nd Alaska State Legislature has held three special sessions in Juneau – and with a fourth starting October 4th, it’s not quite over yet.

In April 2020, Anchorage residents took a bold step in reimaging our city’s future. Voters not only supported an alcohol sales tax, but one that makes clear investments in early intervention types of prevention. In February, this new tax went into effect.

Alaska Children’s Trust’s annual Champion for Kids Challenge Campaign Kick-off has arrived! Join us for an unforgettable show including the inspiring stories of our Champions for Kids and an opportunity to invest in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

As adults with young people in your lives, you can teach and model healthy habits for mental health just as you would with physical health. Right now as a community we have an extraordinary opportunity to come together to reduce mental health stigma.

One of the greatest joys in life, and easily one of the hardest responsibilities, is being a parent. From learning how to feed them, to sacrificing sleep schedules, it’s a loving, but challenging relationship, and one that doesn’t come with a manual. It’s time to restart the conversation on parental leave, not only at the local level, but statewide and across all public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

“Because of my interest in psychology I knew that it would be wonderful to work at an organization that understands that psychology plays an important role in health issues, abuse, and trauma.”

Creating a stronger and healthier family dynamic takes work- it takes intentionally setting aside time to spend with your kids, doing things that they enjoy, and providing space for them to open up to you. With just a month left before children and youth across Alaska start going back to school, we encourage you to find some of that space in the outdoors!

For centuries, people have used a compass for navigation and orientation, allowing them to confidently move toward their desired destination. For over 30 years, the Alaska Children’s Trust (ACT) has been steadfast in our mission to prevent child abuse and neglect. But how we would achieve that mission was never clear. We were missing our compass.

Alaska Children’s Trust is disappointed and saddened to see less and less investment in our most precious resources – children and youth - while Alaska continually increases our investment in costly and non-impactful services like corrections.

This month, Indigenous people across our continent are in mourning. Wounds from the past have resurfaced due to over 900 children’s graves being uncovered at residential schools in Canada. We at Alaska Children’s Trust firmly stand with Alaska Native people, and all Indigenous peoples, as they go through the pain and start the long healing process that will follow this and future discoveries – discoveries that were already known by Native communities but are finally receiving widespread press and criticism in the news.

This is an excerpted impact story from our Annual Report. Joining together with like-minded organizations across Alaska “not only gave us a good gauge of where we were at in our trauma-informed efforts, but it also provided a space for us to share ideas,” says Cayla Pook of Youth Advocates of Sitka.

This is an excerpted impact story from our Annual Report. “It starts here, it starts now.” Those were the words of a parent finishing Iñupiaq culture-based parenting classes. The classes are hosted by the Maniilaq Association and focus on reintegrating traditional Illitqusait values and family roles into parenting through a program funded, in part, by Alaska Children’s Trust.

This is an excerpted impact story from our Annual Report. Cora and Brianna are two children alike in many ways: both 3-year-old, smiley, responsive toddlers starting to grasp potty training and other key developmental milestones, both immensely loved – but with different situations in life.

Price per barrel of oil. Size of the PFD. Number of natural resource development projects. Our metrics of Alaska’s well-being as a state revolve around economic outcomes – not how our children and families are doing. We need to expand the framework in which we measure our well-being as a state.