STAND. COM. REP. 3373

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.C.R. No. 127

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 127 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A MANAGEMENT AUDIT OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DIVISION AND THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY APPEALS REFEREES' OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Auditor to conduct a management audit of the Unemployment Insurance Division and the Employment Security Appeals Referees' Office of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Prior to holding a public hearing on this measure, a proposed S.D. 1 was prepared and made available for public review. The purpose of the proposed S.D. 1 is to request the Hawaii congressional delegation to urge the United States Congress to amend the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 to allow for increased funding to specified areas and provide increased services for individuals living at or below the living wage standard.

Testimony in support of the proposed S.D. 1 was submitted by the Department of Community Services of the City and County of Honolulu and the ILWU Local 142.

The National Association of Social Workers, Hawaii Chapter submitted comments on the measure, wherein it requested that the contents of the measure be replaced with language requesting the Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD) to delay implementation of the elimination of the social work series.

Your Committee finds that Hawaii is in the midst of a social worker shortage which has and will continue to result in the denial of the provision of social services or the provision of services by lesser qualified individuals. The shortage of social workers within the State is attributed to a lack of interest in social work, as well as low pay scales for social workers, particularly for government social workers. In 2003, in an effort to address the issues of the proper classification of civil service positions, the increasing demand for human services, the finite number of social workers within the State, and a lack of alternative occupational options to meet the demand, DHRD conducted a study on the occupation of social work. As a result of that study, DHRD determined that the social worker series of positions should be eliminated and replaced with reclassified positions entitled human services professionals, child protective specialists, adult protective specialists, clinical social workers, or probation officers, effective May 1, 2004.

Your Committee determines that DHRD conducted this study without the benefit of input from the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers or the Schools of Social Work of the University of Hawaii, Brigham Young University at Hawaii, and Hawaii Pacific University. Your Committee is concerned by the accelerated nature of the implementation of the reclassification, in light of the lack of input from the foregoing educational and training authorities within the State. Therefore, your Committee believes that the reclassification should be delayed at least until the reclassification plan and its ramifications have been reviewed and analyzed by all of the interested parties.

Accordingly, your Committee considered the need for amendments to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and determined that, although important, the same result could be achieved by other means. Instead, your Committee finds that this measure should be utilized as a vehicle for addressing a more pressing issue regarding the reclassification of social worker positions within the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by deleting its contents and replacing it with language that:

(1) Requests that DHRD delay implementation of the elimination of the social work series until examination, consultation, and coordination by the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and the Schools of Social Work of the University of Hawaii, Brigham Young University at Hawaii, and Hawaii Pacific University; and

(2) Provides for the consideration of input from the Departments of Education, Health, Human Services, and Public Safety, or any other affected department or agency, with regard to the reclassification of social worker positions.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 127, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 127, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

BRIAN KANNO, Chair