REPORT TITLE:
Youth Services Master Plan


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes, within the office of the governor for administrative
purposes, a temporary task force to develop a master plan for the
office of youth services (OYS).  Requires the auditor to conduct
a management and program audit of all operations of the OYS.
Sunsets the task force on 6/30/2001.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           1451
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO YOUTH SERVICES.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that:
 
 2      (1)  The State of Hawaii has the responsibility to provide
 
 3           its youth a fair and full opportunity to reach their
 
 4           full potential and become law-abiding citizens of our
 
 5           community by providing and encouraging services, which
 
 6           will strengthen their physical, emotional, social,
 
 7           educational, and moral development;
 
 8      (2)  There is a need for a strong state commitment to the
 
 9           needs of youth and families.  Of particular concern are
 
10           those youth who come into conflict with the laws of our
 
11           community.  To achieve this commitment, there is need
 
12           for statewide planning and system coordination;
 
13           oversight of activities and services; and evaluation
 
14           and monitoring of the effectiveness of these services;
 
15           and
 
16      (3)  The office of youth services was created in 1989 to
 
17           serve as a central intake agency, and to coordinate the
 
18           delivery of services, and provide a continuum of
 
19           programs to eliminate gaps and provide a clear sense of
 

 
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 1           responsibility and accountability for youth services.
 
 2      The legislature also finds that a policy for youth was
 
 3 established for the State in 1989 when the office of youth
 
 4 services was established.  This policy states:
 
 5      (1)  It shall be the policy of this State to concentrate on
 
 6           the prevention of delinquency as an important strategy
 
 7           which can be planned and implemented on behalf of youth
 
 8           and their families.  The State shall encourage
 
 9           community involvement in the provision of services for
 
10           youth including, as an integral part, local government,
 
11           public and private voluntary groups, public and private
 
12           nonprofit groups, and private for-profit groups in
 
13           order to encourage and provide innovative strategies
 
14           for these services.  To maximize resources and services
 
15           to youth in need of services, agencies shall develop
 
16           standards of care, methods to coordinate services, and
 
17           evaluate and monitor these activities.  For youth with
 
18           special needs, the furtherance of this policy requires
 
19           all agencies to recognize that their jurisdiction in
 
20           meeting these youths' needs are not mutually exclusive
 
21           and that they will work jointly under the coordination
 
22           of the office of youth services;
 
23      (2)  When youth at risk or their families request help,
 

 
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 1           state and local government resources shall be utilized
 
 2           to complement community efforts to help meet the needs
 
 3           of youth by aiding in the prevention and resolution of
 
 4           their problems.  The State shall direct its efforts
 
 5           first to strengthen and encourage family life as the
 
 6           most appropriate environment for the care and nurturing
 
 7           of youth.  To this end, the State shall assist and
 
 8           encourage families to utilize all available resources.
 
 9           For youth in need of services, the State shall secure
 
10           those services as are needed to serve the emotional,
 
11           mental, and physical welfare of youth and the best
 
12           interests of the community, preferably in the youth's
 
13           home or in the least restrictive environment possible.
 
14           When youths must be placed in care away from their
 
15           homes, the State shall ensure that they are protected
 
16           against any harmful effects resulting from the
 
17           temporary or permanent inability of parents to provide
 
18           care and protection for their youth; and
 
19      (3)  This policy for youth shall be implemented through the
 
20           cooperative efforts of state and county legislative,
 
21           judicial, and executive branches, as well as other
 
22           public and private resources.  Where resources are
 
23           limited, services shall be targeted to those youth in
 

 
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 1           greatest need.
 
 2      The legislature further finds that the strategic plan for
 
 3 the office of youth services will be ten years old in 2001, and
 
 4 that the office's operations have not been subjected to the
 
 5 scrutiny of a management and program audit.
 
 6      SECTION 2.  The auditor shall conduct a management and
 
 7 program audit of all operations of the office of youth services.
 
 8 The auditor shall submit its findings and recommendations to the
 
 9 legislature not less than twenty days prior to the convening of
 
10 the regular session of 2000.
 
11      SECTION 3.  (a)  There is established within the office of
 
12 the governor for administrative purposes a task force to develop
 
13 a master plan for the office of youth services.
 
14      (b)  The task force shall consist of the lieutenant governor
 
15 and ten members appointed by the governor from lists of nominees
 
16 submitted by the director of health, the director of human
 
17 services, the superintendent of education, the president of the
 
18 University of Hawaii, the director of labor and industrial
 
19 relations, the attorney general, the director of public safety,
 
20 and the chief justice.  Each list shall contain at least one
 
21 nominee from the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai,
 
22 and Hawaii, three of whom shall be from private agencies and
 
23 three of whom shall be from government agencies other than the
 

 
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 1 agency making the nominations.  In appointing the membership of
 
 2 the task force, the governor shall ensure that each island listed
 
 3 in this section is represented on the task force, and that the
 
 4 gender and ethnic composition of the task force reflects--as
 
 5 nearly as possible--the gender and ethnic composition of the
 
 6 State.  Not less than three members of the task force shall be
 
 7 from private agencies.  The task force shall be chaired by the
 
 8 lieutenant governor.
 
 9      (c)  The members of the task force shall serve without
 
10 compensation but shall be reimbursed for expenses, including
 
11 travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.
 
12      (d)  The office of youth services, within the limits of its
 
13 resources, shall provide administrative, technical, and
 
14 professional support to the task force.
 
15      (e)  The task force shall submit a progress report to the
 
16 governor and the legislature not less than twenty days prior to
 
17 the convening of the regular session of 2000, and shall submit
 
18 the completed master plan to the governor and the legislature not
 
19 less than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular
 
20 session of 2001.
 
21      (f)  The task force shall cease to exist on June 30, 2001.
 
22      SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
23 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        , or so much
 

 
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 1 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 1999-2000, and the
 
 2 sum of $        , or so much thereof as may be necessary for
 
 3 fiscal year 2000-2001, to carry out the purposes of this Act.
 
 4 The sums appropriated shall be expended by the office of the
 
 5 governor for the purposes of this Act.
 
 6      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 1999.
 
 7 
 
 8                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________