THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            114
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONTINUE THE DOMESTIC
    VIOLENCE WORKING GROUP ESTABLISHED IN 1999 BY THE HAWAII
    STATE LEGISLATURE AND EXPAND THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE GROUP.



 1        WHEREAS, domestic violence is among the most critical
 2   issues impacting the lives of the people of Hawaii, affecting
 3   their health and economic viability and endangering their lives
 4   and the lives of their children; and
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, pursuant to H.C.R. 65, H. D. 1, adopted by the
 7   1999 legislature, the Domestic Violence Working Group, (Working
 8   Group) was established to review the policies and procedures of
 9   the criminal justice system as they relate to domestic violence
10   among adults; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, the Working Group submitted to the Twentieth
13   Legislature a report entitled, "Domestic Violence and the
14   Criminal Justice System in Hawaii," that identified problematic
15   areas within the criminal justice system as it relates to
16   domestic violence and proposed recommendations for future
17   action; and
18   
19        WHEREAS, some of the recommendations of the Working Group
20   proposed improvements to the system that require neither
21   funding nor changes to the law; and
22   
23        WHEREAS, the Working Group finds that there is a need to
24   monitor and assess the implementation of these recommendations;
25   and
26   
27        WHEREAS, a coordinating body is necessary to undertake the
28   that task, and the Domestic Violence Working Group has direct
29   knowledge of the bases of those recommendations; and
30   
31        WHEREAS, the membership of the original Domestic Violence
32   Working Group was limited, and therefore, was unable to examine
33   those crucial issues surrounding children and adolescents
34   involved in domestic violence situations as witnesses or
35   victims of partner abuse; 
36   

 
Page 2                                                     
                                  S.C.R. NO.            114
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1        WHEREAS, the 1999 Domestic Violence Working Group found
 2   that representatives necessary to that discussion, such as
 3   private and government representatives of child and adolescent
 4   services, were not involved; now, therefore,
 5   
 6        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
 7   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of 
 8   Representatives concurring, that the Attorney General is
 9   requested to establish a 2000 Domestic Violence Working Group
10   which will oversee the implementation of the recommendations
11   made in the "Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice System in
12   Hawaii" report, act as the coordinating body for the
13   monitoring and assessment of that process, and further, to
14   coordinate an examination of practices and procedures as they
15   relate to children and youth involved in domestic violence
16   situations as witnesses or victims of partner abuse in the
17   civil and criminal justice system; and
18   
19        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 2000 Domestic Violence
20   Working Group include those same representatives as the 1999
21   Domestic Violence Working Group in order to continue that work,
22   and also be charged with the inclusion of input from the
23   relevant child and adolescent service community, including but
24   not limited to:
25        (1)  The Hawaii Youth Services Network;
26        (2)  Youth service providers;
27        (3)  A representative from the Department of Human
28             Services;
29        (4)  A representative from the Office of Youth Services;
30        (5)  A representative from the Department of Health; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Attorney General submit
33   the findings and recommendations of the 2000 Domestic Violence
34   Working Group to the Legislature no later than twenty days
35   prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2001; and
36   
37        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
38   Resolution be transmitted to the Attorney General, the
39   Executive Directors of the Hawaii State Coalition Against
40   Domestic Violence and the Hawaii State Commission on the Status
41   of Women, the Director of the Department of Health, the
42   Director of the Department of Human Services, the Director of
43   Office of Youth Services, the Prosecuting Attorney of the City
44   and County of Honolulu, the Chief of Police of the City and
45   County of Honolulu, and the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme
46   Court.
47 
48 
49 
50                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________
51 
52 
53 
54                                      ____________________________