STAND. COM. REP. NO. 105

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 106

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 106 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AGING,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Establish and fund a position for an Alzheimer's disease and related dementia services coordinator within the Executive Office on Aging; and

 

     (2)  Appropriate funds for programs and services that support the State's elderly population.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Aging, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, County of Hawaii Office on Aging, Maui County Office on Aging, City and County of Honolulu Department of Community Services, PABEA, AARP Hawaii, Westside Service Provider Network, PHOCUSED, Lanakila Pacific, Hawaii Alliance for Retired Americans, Community Alliance for Mental Health, Healthy Aging Partnership, International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142 Hawaii, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Project Dana, and eighty-three individuals.

 

     Your Committee finds that census projections indicate that the senior population in Hawaii will almost double between 2010 and 2020, with the highest percentage increase occurring in those over the age of eighty-five.  In order to minimize the potential financial strain of the burgeoning aging population on the State, proactive efforts are required now.  Keeping seniors healthy and at home is the most cost-effective manner to address the needs of one of Hawaii's most valuable societal resources.  The increasing numbers of the aging population will also mean that the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders will rise.  In order to effectively plan and implement statewide services to seniors and caregivers, coordination at the state level is necessary to maximize resources.

 

     Your Committee further finds that aging and disability resource centers are intended to streamline access to long-term supports and services for older adults, persons with disabilities, and caregivers.  The centers are a navigational tool that connects individuals to appropriate long-term care options.  On April 16, 2012, the Maui County Office on Aging was the first county in the state to implement the fully functioning aging and disability resource center model.  Since then, the Maui County Office on Aging has successfully improved operations through standardization of tools and performance standards, ensured that older adults and persons with disabilities can make informed choices about how to meet their long-term care needs, received a fee-for-service award from federal initiatives, and helped Maui residents keep their loved ones in the community by building programs that support the spirit of ohana.

 

     Your Committee also finds that despite these efforts, Hawaii ranks forty-first in ability to access long-term care through an aging and disability resource center.  The vision of the Executive Office on Aging is to establish aging and disability resource centers in every community that serve as highly visible and trusted places where people with disabilities of all ages can find information on the full range of long-term support options and can access a single point of entry to public long-term support programs and benefits.  The aging and disability resource centers need to be properly resourced and funded to make the centers an effective single point of entry for individuals seeking information on their long-term care options.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 106 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

 

 

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair