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THE SENATE                           S.R. NO.              S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  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
35   
36        WHEREAS, the discussion draft incorporates in one,
37   comprehensive statute provisions drawn from state and federal
38   laws and portions of the Department of Human Services'
39   regulations and policies; and
40   
41        WHEREAS, the discussion draft, that was broadly circulated

 
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                                  S.R. NO.              S.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1   to governmental and private groups interested in the child
 2   protection statutory framework, was intended to be a work in
 3   progress, and to be later refined and modified into a final
 4   product that will receive broad agency, judicial, and community
 5   support; and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, there lacked sufficient time during the 1999
 8   legislative interim to craft a final product reflective of the
 9   Roundtable and community's current values and intentions; now,
10   therefore,
11   
12        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
13   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, that Hawaii
14   Appleseed is requested to continue discussion and seek input in
15   its comprehensive assessment of reviewing and conforming
16   current state child protection statutes; and
17   
18        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the discussion drafts of the
19   proposed new Child Protective Act, distributed to the
20   Roundtable and the broader community during the 1999
21   legislative interim, be used as the foundation for Hawaii
22   Appleseed's efforts; and
23   
24        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, in
25   cooperation with the Roundtable, organize a conference and
26   working groups on child protection reform that brings together
27   stakeholders and other interested parties, including the
28   Departments of Health, Human Services, Education, Attorney
29   General, and the Judiciary, for the purpose of massaging the
30   discussion draft into a final product; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, with the
33   assistance of the Roundtable, report the findings,
34   recommendations, and any statutory changes to the Legislature
35   no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
36   Session of 2001; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
39   Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of Hawaii
40   Appleseed, the Roundtable, Director of Human Services, Director
41   of Health, Superintendent of Education, Attorney General, and
42   Chief Justice.