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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE 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 into one
37   comprehensive vehicle, statutory changes based on an
38   examination of state and federal laws and portions of the
39   Department of Human Services' (DHS) regulations and policies;
40   and

 
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                                  H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

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

 
 
 
 
 
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                                  H.R. NO.              H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of Hawaii
 3   Appleseed, the Co-conveners of the Roundtable, the Director of
 4   Human Services, the Director of Health, the Superintendent of
 5   Education, the Attorney General, the Administrative Director of
 6   the Courts, and the chiefs of police of the county police
 7   departments.