HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THE TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE
INTERIM OF 2018
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES |
Rep. John M. Mizuno, Chair |
Rep. Bertrand Kobayashi, Vice Chair |
Rep. Della Au Belatti |
Rep. Andria P.L. Tupola |
Rep. Lei R. Learmont |
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AMENDED NOTICE OF INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING
The briefing will be rescheduled at a later date
DATE: |
Friday, June 1, 2018 |
TIME: |
11:05 a.m. |
PLACE: |
Conference Room 329 State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street |
A G E N D A
The
State Department of Human Service’s Child Welfare Services (CWS) programs
include family strengthening and support, child protection, foster care,
adoption, independent living and licensing of resource family homes, group
homes and child-placing organizations. Services are available on Oahu, Hawaii,
Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Lanai, with 36 units/sub-units and a staff of over
500.
Recommendations
by CWS to family court or family members may be affected by interviews with
teachers, parents, grandparents, foster parents, children, friends, police,
doctors, nurses, social workers, non-profits, attorneys, and the guardian ad
litem. The Briefing will review the procedures used to determine the "best
interest" of the child and seek to ensure transparency for proper and
timely decisions made for the safety and best interest of the child and
well-being of the family members.
Due
to the great recession in 2008, hundreds of positions throughout the State
Departments were either cut or never filled upon retirement of State employees.
For the Child Welfare Services branch, they have approximately 46 vacancies,
many which directly relate to intake, review, investigations, and
determinations of child abuse reports. Recently the branch had a backlog of
over 300 cases of alleged child abuse or neglect. The failure to timely
investigate such cases could be fatal to the abused and would lead to sanctions
by the courts for failure to investigate a child abuse case.
The
purpose of this Briefing will be to allow the Child Welfare Services branch,
its’ employees, their Union, and the advocates for the children and families to
present recommendations and share concerns to the Legislature to address to
current backlog.
An
Informational Briefing was held on April 4, 2018 on the issue of the
significant case loads and concerns with the high vacancies for the Child
Welfare Services branch and plans to address the large case-loads and hiring
and retention of CWS employees were discussed. A positive result from that
Briefing was the passage of House Bill 2277, HD1, SD2, CD1 by the Legislature
which establishes the East Hawaii
Child Welfare Services Section Pilot Project within the Department of Human
Services to increase staff by four (4) full-time positions in the East Hawaii
Child Welfare Services Section. For the purposes of this Briefing, the actual plan of
action by the Department of Human Services will be shared with the Legislature
and the public.
At
the end of the Briefing – The HHS Committee will summarize a short-term
solution to immediately or in a feasibly expedited manner address the backlog
of cases and concerns with expedited hiring and a long-term solution to ensure
retention of CWS employees and to ensure cases and investigations are conducted
in a timely manner pursuant to the law. Moreover, the possibility of a cap on
the number of cases per CWS worker will be discussed. Some of the
recommendations may be administratively addressed and some may be by way of
service providers, CWS, and family court working to coordinate and enhance
efficiency. Finally, some recommendations may be proposals for bills for the
2019 Legislative Session.
The following have been
invited to participate at the Briefing:
Department of Human
Services – Child Welfare Services
Family Court
Representative relating to Child Welfare Services and Hearings
The Attorney General's
Office
Hawaii Government
Employees Association – HGEA
Hawaii Community
Foundation
Service Providers and
non-profits working with Child Welfare Services
Family and Children
affected by Child Welfare Services
No
public testimony will be accepted.
If
you require special assistance or auxiliary aids and/or services to participate
in the informational briefing (i.e., sign language interpreter or wheelchair
accessibility), please contact the Committee Clerk at 586-6050 to make a request for arrangements at
least 24 hours prior to the briefing. Prompt requests help to ensure the
availability of qualified individuals and appropriate accommodations.
For
further information, please call the Committee Clerk at 586-6050.
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|
________________________________________ Rep. John M. Mizuno Chair |
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|
________________________________________ Rep. Scott K. Saiki Speaker of the House |