STAND. COM. REP. NO. 175-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2509
                                     H.D. 1
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was
referred H.B. No. 2509 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO KINSHIP CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to allow the Department of Human
Services to regulate kinship care services.

     The Department of Human Services testified in support of
this bill with amendments.  The Department of the Attorney
General testified in support of the intent of this bill.

     You Committee finds that encouraging kinship care would
enable children to remain safely and permanently with their
relatives when the children cannot return to their own homes.

     Your Committee has amended the bill by requiring the person
seeking to give kinship care to submit to a criminal record
check, a fingerprinting process, and a fee for the criminal
record check. 

     Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made to this
measure for purposes of consistency and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Human Services and Housing that is attached to this
report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose

 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 175-00
                                 Page 2

 
of H.B. No. 2509, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2509, H.D.
1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Human Services
                                   and Housing,



                                   ______________________________
                                   DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair