REPORT TITLE:
Children and families


DESCRIPTION:
Creates the Department of Children, Youth, and Families

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                            272         
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that government agencies
 
 2 serving children and families have been criticized for failing to
 
 3 deliver effective, holistic services.  Departments are held
 
 4 responsible for administering a patchwork system of categorical
 
 5 services in which each piece is supposed to solve a specific
 
 6 problem.  Unfortunately, the different pieces don't always fit
 
 7 together.  In some cases, efforts are duplicated, or children and
 
 8 families slip through the cracks completely.
 
 9      The result is a chaotic, fragmented system that doesn't
 
10 really help children and families.  Families who are struggling
 
11 wind up going door-to-door and program-to-program to get help
 
12 with food, housing, childcare, health care, and job training.
 
13 Families talk to numerous case managers, complete dozens of
 
14 forms, and endure long waiting lists without ever getting what
 
15 they really need.
 
16      The purpose of this Act is to ensure better organization and
 
17 coordination to deliver services to children and families in ways
 
18 that better reflect the complex reality of their lives by
 
19 creating the department of children, youth, and families.
 

 
Page 2                                         272         
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      This Act creates the new department by:
 
 2      (1)  Establishing a partnership planning team to plan the
 
 3           implementation of the new department; and
 
 4      (2)  Establishing procedures to implement the transition of
 
 5           programs and functions to the new department.
 
 6      SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a partnership planning
 
 7 team in the office of the governor to plan the implementation of
 
 8 a new department of children, youth, and families.  The purpose
 
 9 of the department of children, youth, and families is to:
 
10      (1)  Improve the well-being of children and families by
 
11           coordinating programs and services;
 
12      (2)  Focus on prevention; and
 
13      (3)  Enhance local decisionmaking, collaboration, and
 
14           accountability.
 
15      (b)  The partnership planning team shall be composed of:
 
16      (1)  The governor's special assistant for children, youth,
 
17           and families;
 
18      (2)  The director of the department of health or the
 
19           designated representative;
 
20      (3)  The director of the department of human services or the
 
21           designated representative;
 
22      (4)  The superintendent of education or the designated
 
23           representative;
 

 
Page 3                                         272         
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1      (5)  The director of the department of labor and industrial
 
 2           relations or the designated representative;
 
 3      (6)  The attorney general or the designated representative;
 
 4           and
 
 5      (7)  The director of the office of youth services or the
 
 6           designated representative.
 
 7      (c)  The partnership planning team shall:
 
 8      (1)  Analyze a new departmental structure;
 
 9      (2)  Discuss the transfer of the following to the new
 
10           department, including but not limited to:
 
11           (A)  Child welfare services of the department of human
 
12                services;
 
13           (B)  Child care functions, including employment/child
 
14                care benefits and the employment and support
 
15                services division, of the department of human
 
16                services;
 
17           (C)  The office of youth services;
 
18           (D)  The child and adolescent mental health division of
 
19                the department of health;
 
20           (E)  The family health services division of the
 
21                department of health;
 
22           (F)  The health promotion and education division of the
 
23                department of health; and
 

 
Page 4                                         272         
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1           (G)  The Hawaii children's trust fund;
 
 2      (3)  Ensure that its operating functions are aligned
 
 3           according to management analysis;
 
 4      (4)  Develop appropriate transitional plans;
 
 5      (5)  Re-work positions descriptions;
 
 6      (6)  Review personnel classifications;
 
 7      (7)  Develop an organizational structure;
 
 8      (8)  Prepare a proposed budget;
 
 9      (9)  Attend to other administrative details of the new
 
10           department so that the new department can become
 
11           operational on July 1, 2000;
 
12     (10)  Make recommendations regarding the transfer to the new
 
13           department other children, youth, and family functions
 
14           and employees of the State; and
 
15     (11)  Report its findings, recommendations, and proposed
 
16           statutory language for the establishment of and
 
17           departmental transfer to the department of children,
 
18           youth, and families to the legislature no later than
 
19           twenty days prior to the convening of the regular
 
20           session of 2000.
 
21     (d)  To ensure a smooth transition of programs and functions
 
22 to the new department, the following timeline shall be adhered
 
23 to:
 

 
Page 5                                         272         
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1     (1)   The partnership planning team shall convene to plan the
 
 2           implementation of the new department between July 1,
 
 3           1999 - December 30, 1999;
 
 4     (2)   The partnership planning team shall report its
 
 5           findings, recommendations, and statutory language for
 
 6           the establishment of and departmental transfer to the
 
 7           department of children, youth, and families to the
 
 8           legislature no later than December 30, 1999; and
 
 9     (3)   The department of children, youth, and families shall
 
10           become operational and programs and functions shall be
 
11           transferred between July 1, 2000 - June 30, 2001.
 
12     (e)  The office of the governor shall provide staff support
 
13 to the partnership planning team in preparing its report as
 
14 required by this Act.  All departments represented on the
 
15 partnership planning team shall cooperate with the office of the
 
16 governor to facilitate the purposes of this Act.
 
17     (f)  The partnership planning team shall be abolished on June
 
18 30, 2000.
 
19      SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
20 
 
21                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________