STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 975
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 503
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2021
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 503, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:
Director of the
Department of Human Services
G.M. No. 503 |
CATHERINE BETTS, for a term to expire at noon on 12-05-2022, |
begs leave to report as follows:
Your Committee
reviewed the personal history, resume,
and statement submitted by Catherine Betts
for service as the Director of the Department of Human Resources.
Your
Committee received testimony in support of the nomination from the Office of
the Governor; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Human Resources Development;
Department of Health; Department of Transportation; Department of Agriculture;
Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Taxation; Department of
Defense; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Accounting
and General Services; Hawaii Public Housing Authority; Department of Public
Safety; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department
of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; Workforce
Development Council; Department of Human Services, Benefit, Employee, and
Support Services Division; Hawaii State Energy Office; Hawai‘i
State Commission on the Status of Women; Hawai‘i State Youth Commission; Department of
Human Services, Workforce Development Council; Domestic
Violence Action Center; Hawaii Medical Service Association; Hawaii Family
Caregiver Association; Hina Mauka; Hawaii Children's Action Network, Harm Reduction
Hawaii; Healthcare Association of Hawaii; East Hawaii Region of Hawaii Systems
Corporation; Hawai‘i Primary Care Association; PHOCUSED;
Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii; Parents and Children Together;
Hawai‘i
Women Lawyers; AlohaCare; YWCA Oahu; One Shared Future, Child and Family Service;
and forty individuals.
Your
Committee finds that Ms. Betts, who has served as Acting Director of Human
Services since September 2020, has demonstrated a deep understanding of the leadership
needed to guide the Department of Human Services through the unique challenges
presented by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. It is notable that, as Deputy Director from
October 2017 until September 2020, Ms. Betts worked alongside former Director Pankaj
Bhanot on all substantive matters, including budget preparation, legislative
reviews, meetings with community stakeholders, review of litigation, ongoing
re-organizations of the Department's staff, offices, and divisions, and development
of the Department's first strategic plan.
Therefore, she has acquired valuable and practical experience especially
relevant to the position for which she is nominated. Your Committee finds that in her testimony,
Ms. Betts shared her deeply held belief that "economic justice,
gender justice, and racial justice are intricately interwoven, and that no
oppression can be undone without taking a hard look at the myriad ways
individuals, families, and communities are undervalued and marginalized,
thereby affecting their social determinants of health, wellbeing, and their
ability to thrive."
Your Committee further finds that after litigating complex child
abuse and neglect cases for the attorney general and practicing family law, in
December 2011, Ms. Betts was named Executive Director of the Hawaii Commission
on the Status of Women, where she served until September 2017. During her tenure, Ms. Betts spearheaded progressive
legislation for women, including requiring emergency rooms to provide emergency
contraception to sexual assault victims, providing for a bill of rights for domestic
workers (including minimum wage and overtime protections), and strengthening Hawaii's
equal pay law. Demonstrating her ability
to engage with public and private partners, your Committee also finds that Ms.
Betts chaired multiple task forces and working
groups, and she convened county and state agencies and community stakeholders on
issues such as domestic violence response, sexual assault evidence collection kit
backlog, pregnancy discrimination, and breastfeeding in the work place laws and
regulations.
Your Committee notes
the testimony received in support of Ms. Betts' nomination, which
indicates that she has earned the trust and respect of colleagues with whom she
has engaged over many years. Therefore,
your Committee concludes that Ms. Betts' extensive background and experience in
law, policy, management, and leadership, as well as her passion for serving the
public, especially children and vulnerable adults, qualify her for the position
of Director of the Department of Human Services.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,
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____________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair |
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