Report Title:

$ Child Sup. Enf. Agency

 

Description:

Makes an appropriation for increased staffing for the child support enforcement agency.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

103

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR THE CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the child support enforcement agency needs to increase its staff to adequately manage its tremendous caseload. Although the agency hired an additional twenty caseworkers in 1999, the agency averages about five hundred cases per worker, which is above the national average of one caseworker per three hundred fifty cases.

The legislature also finds that agency is responsible for processing child support payments. If processing is delayed, then payments get delayed. Last year a lawsuit was filed against the agency for late payments to 10,000 children. Parents of these children report that they cannot get through to the agency when they call about late payments. Child support payments are crucial to a child’s well-being and that of the child’s family, which is mostly single-parent households.

The legislature further finds that while the new computer system of the child support enforcement agency has improved payment rates and collections, there is room for more improvement because many parents feel that the payments still arrive too late.

The purpose of this Act is to make an appropriation to the child support enforcement agency to hire more caseworkers.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii, the sum of $900,000, or so much thereof, as may be necessary for fiscal year 2001-2002, for the child support enforcement agency to hire twenty-four additional caseworkers (known as customer service personnel) and one supervisor.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of the attorney general.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2001.

INTRODUCED BY:

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