STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1397

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 531
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 531, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CORRECTIONS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds for the
operation of the KASHBOX and the Ho`omana drug treatment
programs.

     In addition, this bill requires the Department of Public
Safety, as part of the consideration for the expansion of the
KASHBOX program, to undertake a gender equity assessment of its
current programs to assure that women have the same access to
substance abuse treatment as their male counterparts.

     Your Committee finds that the Waiawa correctional facility's
KASHBOX substance abuse treatment program has been highly
successful since its opening in 1990.  Out of four hundred
ninety-three inmates treated by that program, two hundred ninety-
seven inmates have graduated from the program, with an average
retake rate of thirty-eight per cent.  Your Committee further
finds, however, that the proposed budget for the KASHBOX program
falls short of what the program needs in order to continue into
the next biennium.


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1397
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     In addition, your Committee agrees with the bill's finding
that the situation for incarcerated women is equally critical as
for incarcerated males.  The Ho`omana substance abuse program, at
the women's community correctional center, is as successful and
essential as its male counterpart KASHBOX.  However, the Ho`omana
program is able to serve only a small portion of Hawaii's
incarcerated female population because of severe underfunding.
Increased availability of drug treatment programs will help
female inmates achieve parole expeditiously and reduce the rate
of female inmate recidivism.  Your Committee finds that this bill
will provide needed funding to these important programs.

     To facilitate further discussion on the funding necessary to
carry out the purposes of this measure, your Committee has
amended this bill by replacing the sum appropriated in section 2
of the bill with a blank amount.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
531, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third
Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 531, S.D. 2.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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