NEWS: Sen. Löki Gale Tobin and Sen. Cathy Giessel Organize a Legislative Caucus Focused on the Health and Wellbeing of Alaska’s Children

The first meeting of the Alaska Children’s Caucus will be Thursday, February 22.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 21, 2024

Media Contacts
Mike Mason
Staff to Sen. Löki Tobin
Michael.Mason@akleg.gov

Juneau, AK – On Thursday, the Alaska State Legislature will convene a new legislative caucus with the goal of improving the health and wellbeing of Alaska’s children. The Senate co-chairs Sen. Löki Gale Tobin (D-Anchorage) and Sen. Cathy Giessel (R-Anchorage) and the House co-chairs Rep. Mike Cronk (R-Tok) and Rep. Maxine Dibert (D-Fairbanks) welcome all members of the Alaska State Legislature to join.

“We know that when a child is raised in a healthy and safe environment, receives a high-quality early education, and has caring adults in their life, their future success and wellbeing is almost all but assured. I applaud my colleagues in the Senate and House for prioritizing investing in our future in a bicameral, bipartisan fashion,” said Sen. Löki Gale Tobin, who took the lead in restarting the Alaska Children’s Caucus and will serve as one of the Senate co-chairs of the caucus.

The first meeting of the new Alaska Children's Caucus will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday, February 22. The meeting will be held in the Beltz Committee Room in the Alaska State Capitol building and will be available for streaming on akl.tv. 

“It is my hope that the Alaska Children’s Caucus can bring together lawmakers and stakeholders for some meaningful discussions about how to help children. All too often, one legislative committee will focus on K-12 education while another committee will look at the health of mothers and newborns. Yet another committee might look at the economic factors that go into healthy families. The goal of the Alaska Children’s Caucus is to work collaboratively on ways to improve the lives of children throughout their entire journey to adulthood,” said Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, who will serve as one of the Senate co-chairs of the new caucus.

During the first meeting of the Alaska Children’s Caucus on February 22, caucus members will hear a presentation about how other states have used early childhood caucuses to advance good public policy to benefit children and families. The presentation will be given by representatives from The Hunt Institute, which works with elected officials and policymakers to improve educational outcomes and student success.