HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

126

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the University of Hawaii and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to conduct a review, by county, of the State's workforce requirements for professional and paraprofessional ELDER care partners for the next decade in order to address THE NEED FOR CARE OF Hawaii's rapidly growing elderly population.

 

 


     WHEREAS, Hawaii's older adult population is growing between two and three times the national average; and

 

     WHEREAS, the need for long-term care and family caregiver support services will continue to grow exponentially with the rapid increase of older adults in the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, the preparation of a competent professional and paraprofessional workforce that can address the needs of the growing elderly population is critical over the next ten years; and

 

     WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Manoa has various programs addressing the needs of older adults such as the John A. Burns School of Medicine's Geriatric Department, School of Nursing, School of Law's Elder Law Program, School of Social Work, Center on Aging, Center for Disability Studies, Center on the Family, and the Kapiolani Community College's Kupuna Education Center, among others, that are attempting to address these needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite the efforts of the aforementioned programs, minimal overall planning has been accomplished; and

 

     WHEREAS, in November 2013, the Legislature's Kupuna Caucus requested that the University of Hawaii report on its plans for addressing the workforce needs of the growing older adult population in the next decade, and a preliminary report was prepared by the University's Center on Aging and the Kapiolani Community College's Kupuna Education Center; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature considers the needs of Hawaii's kupuna to be a priority in the 2014 legislative agenda; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature affirms the importance of planning for the growth of the State's older adult population; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that the need to increase the State's elder care workforce will require creative initiatives and closer collaboration between the State's schools and higher education programs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the University of Hawaii and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations are requested to conduct a review, by county, of the State's workforce requirements for professional and paraprofessional elder care partners for the next decade; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii and Department of Labor and Industrial Relations are requested to submit their findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2015; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Labor and Industrial Relations, President of the University of Hawaii System, Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and Chancellor of Kapiolani Community College.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Kupuna; Professional and Paraprofessional Workforce; University of Hawaii