HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.190         
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

REQUESTING A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CHILD PROTECTION LAWS IN
   HAWAII.



 1       WHEREAS, members of the 1998 Legislature convened the Child
 2   Protection Roundtable (Roundtable) following the adjournment of
 3   the 1998 legislative session to gather departmental and
 4   community input on how to refine both the Child Protective Act
 5   and the workings of the Child Protective Services (CPS) system
 6   to better address the problems of child abuse and neglect; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, the Roundtable believes that further modifications
 9   of the Child Protective Act and related statutory provisions
10   are necessary to improve the CPS system; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, the Legislative Auditor conducted an audit of the
13   CPS system, Report No. 99-5, January 1999, and found that
14   certain aspects of the operations of the CPS system should be
15   improved; and
16   
17       WHEREAS, some of the Auditor's recommendations included
18   amendments to the Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS); and
19   
20       WHEREAS, a piecemeal approach to statutory revision may not
21   be effective in addressing systemic problems and may produce
22   unintended consequences; and
23   
24       WHEREAS, legal issues relevant to any proposed statutory
25   modifications are likely to be complex and are deserving of
26   comprehensive analysis prior to consideration by the Roundtable
27   or the Legislature; and
28   
29       WHEREAS, the Hawaii Appleseed Public Interest Law Center
30   (Hawaii Appleseed) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization
31   whose mission is to undertake projects that will achieve
32   systemic changes for a more just, equitable, and sustainable
33   society; and
34   
35       WHEREAS, Hawaii Appleseed relies upon the skills of
36   volunteers from the legal community and other interested
37   parties to improve Hawaii's social problems by promoting
38   systemic reform; and

 
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 1       WHEREAS, Hawaii Appleseed has undertaken a project, with
 2   valuable insight and assistance of the Departments of Human
 3   Services, the Attorney General, and Health (DHS, AG, and DOH);
 4   Family Court; child advocacy groups; and other interested
 5   parties, to review state and federal laws relating to child
 6   protection in Hawaii; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, continuing this project is essential to improve
 9   the State's child protection system; now, therefore,
10   
11       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
12   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
13   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii Appleseed is urged
14   to continue its comprehensive review of Hawaii's laws relating
15   to child protection; and
16   
17       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that DHS, AG, DOH, Family Court,
18   child advocacy groups, and other interested parties are urged
19   to continue to provide input into Hawaii Appleseed's statutory
20   review project; and
21   
22       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed consider
23   modifications to chapter 587, HRS, and related statutory
24   provisions in chapters 346, 350, 350B, 350C, 350E, and 578,
25   HRS, to improve the State's child protection system and better
26   reflect the spirit of recent federal enactments such as the
27   Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and the Child Abuse
28   Prevention and Treatment Act Amendments of 1996; and
29   
30       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that with the goal of reaching
31   consensus on the difficult policy issues involved, that Hawaii
32   Appleseed is encouraged to operate in the spirit of identifying
33   ways in which the State's child protection system, and the laws
34   providing the framework for that system, can be improved; and
35   
36       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that where consensus is not
37   possible, Hawaii Appleseed is requested to identify the
38   competing viewpoints and associated proposals so that the
39   Legislature may be fully informed and advised of the full range
40   of policy options available to improve the State's child
41   protection system; and
42   
43       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed submit its
44   findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than
45   twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of
46   2000; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.190         
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Directors of Human
 3   Services and Health, the Administrative Director of the Courts,
 4   the Supervisor of the Family Law Division of the Attorney
 5   General, and the Executive Director of Hawaii Appleseed Public
 6   Interest Law Center.
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 8 
 9 
10                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________