THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            38
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        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

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

 
 
 
 
 
 
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 1        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 2   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director
 3   of Hawaii Appleseed, the Roundtable, and the Director of Human
 4   Services.
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 6 
 7 
 8                         OFFERED BY:______________________________