REPORT TITLE:
Appropriation; Respite Care


DESCRIPTION:
Makes an appropriation to the Department of Health to fund
respite care services to families providing home care for a
family member with special needs.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2567
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR RESPITE CARE SERVICES FOR FAMILIES OF
   INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that families are the
 
 2 greatest resource for their children and are the major providers
 
 3 of care and support for them.  Children with or without
 
 4 disabilities need families and enduring relationships in a
 
 5 nurturing environment.  For families of individuals with special
 
 6 needs, providing daily care in their own homes includes
 
 7 additional challenges such as higher financial outlays, physical
 
 8 and emotional stress, and isolation.
 
 9      The last major appropriation for respite care was made in
 
10 1990 for $1,000,000 to help families who provide home care to
 
11 their sons or daughters with special needs, by providing them
 
12 with support services and training.  The legislature further
 
13 finds that the respite care budget has not increased since 1990,
 
14 although several budget cuts have been made over the years that
 
15 significantly reduced the funds for respite care.  For fiscal
 
16 year 1999-2000, $624,128 was allocated for respite care,
 
17 resulting in fewer families being served and in less money for
 
18 each family.
 
19      The legislature also finds that there are approximately five
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2567
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 thousand five hundred families who are in need of respite care
 
 2 services to maintain their sons or daughters at home rather than
 
 3 institutionalizing them.  However, because of budget cuts, only
 
 4 about eight hundred ninety-seven families could be served in
 
 5 1999-2000.  For many families, the department of health's respite
 
 6 program is their only source of support.  The respite program
 
 7 allows families to choose their own care providers.
 
 8      The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds for respite
 
 9 care services to families providing home care for a family member
 
10 with special needs.
 
11      SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
12 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $1,300,000, or so much
 
13 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, for the
 
14 provision of support services and training to families and
 
15 caregivers who provide home care to individuals with
 
16 developmental disabilities and mental illness, and for the
 
17 establishment and development of respite care services to
 
18 families providing home care for family members who are:
 
19      (1)  Infants or toddlers (from birth through three years of
 
20           age) with a developmental delay;
 
21      (2)  Adults with a mental illness;
 
22      (3)  Children or adolescents with emotional disabilities;
 
23      (4)  Children with serious or chronic illness; or
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           2567
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (5)  Children or adults with developmental disabilities.
 
 2      SECTION 3.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
 3 department of health for the purposes of this Act.
 
 4      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2000.
 
 5 
 
 6                       INTRODUCED BY:  ___________________________