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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING CONTINUED DISCUSSION FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF
    CURRENT CHILD PROTECTION LAWS.



 1        WHEREAS, the Child Protection Legislative Roundtable
 2   (Roundtable) is an ad hoc group of service providers and
 3   medical specialists in child protection; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the Roundtable has been instrumental in improving
 6   the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, including the
 7   enactment of its recommendations in Act 134, Session Laws of
 8   Hawaii (SLH) 1998, and Act 271, SLH 1999; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, the Roundtable is continuing to meet and to
11   discuss issues relating to child protection, in the recognition
12   that the CPS system is not perfect and that ongoing
13   communication on a daily basis in detecting, preventing, and
14   treating child abuse benefits all participants in their work;
15   and
16   
17        WHEREAS, although improvements in the CPS system are
18   continually being made, either formally through statutory
19   amendments or informally through collaboration and cooperation
20   among the parties involved in child protection, there still
21   remains specific issues that need to be examined and may need
22   legislation; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Appleseed Public Interest Law
25   Foundation (Hawaii Appleseed) is a participating member of the
26   Roundtable and has provided the kind of assistance necessary in
27   reviewing, analyzing, and making recommendations for statutory
28   revisions relating to child protection laws; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, pursuant to S.C.R. No. 77 (1999) that requested
31   Hawaii Appleseed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of state
32   child protection statutes, Hawaii Appleseed had distributed to
33   the Roundtable during the 1999 legislative interim a discussion
34   draft of a proposed new Child Protective Act; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        WHEREAS, the discussion draft incorporates into one
 2   comprehensive vehicle, statutory changes based on an
 3   examination of state and federal laws and portions of the
 4   Department of Human Services' (DHS) regulations and policies;
 5   and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, the discussion draft that was broadly circulated
 8   to governmental and private groups interested in the child
 9   protection statutory framework was intended to be a work in
10   progress and to be later refined and modified into a final
11   product that will receive broad agency, judicial, and community
12   support; and
13   
14        WHEREAS, there lacked sufficient time during the 1999
15   legislative interim to craft a final product reflective of the
16   Roundtable and community's current values and intentions; now,
17   therefore,
18   
19        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
20   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
21   of 2000, the Senate concurring, that Hawaii Appleseed is
22   requested to continue discussion and seek input in its
23   comprehensive assessment of reviewing and conforming current
24   state child protection statutes; and
25   
26        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that public and private agencies,
27   including the Department of Health, DHS, the Department of
28   Education, the Department of the Attorney General, the
29   Judiciary, and the respective county police departments,
30   participate in the discussion; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the discussion drafts of the
33   proposed new Child Protective Act, distributed to the
34   Roundtable and the broader community during the 1999
35   legislative interim, be used as the foundation for Hawaii
36   Appleseed's efforts; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, in
39   cooperation with the Roundtable, organize a conference and
40   working groups on child protection reform that brings together
41   stakeholders and other interested parties for the purpose of
42   massaging the discussion draft into a final product; and

 
 
 
 
 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, with the
 2   assistance of the Roundtable, report the findings,
 3   recommendations, and any statutory changes to the Legislature
 4   no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
 5   Session of 2001; and
 6   
 7        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 8   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director
 9   of Hawaii Appleseed, the Co-conveners of the Roundtable, the
10   Director of Human Services, the Director of Health, the
11   Superintendent of Education, the Attorney General, the
12   Administrative Director of the Courts, and the chiefs of police
13   of the county police departments.