STAND. COM. REP. NO.1003
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2001
RE: S.B. No. 1455
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2001
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 1455, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY PROGRAM,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to broaden the group of child victims or witnesses in the justice system who are served by the Children's Advocacy Program.
This bill renames the Children's Advocacy Program to the Children's Justice Program and clarifies the program's function, purpose, and duties to more accurately reflect the program's mission. Specifically, this measure:
(1) Requires the program to promote interagency sharing of information relating to the child's best interest;
(2) Clarifies that the program's mission, as coordinator, is to reduce unnecessary trauma to child witnesses;
(3) Adds serious physical child abuse to the cases that the program coordinates the interagency investigation and case management of;
(4) Directs the program to facilitate information gathering for court proceedings;
(5) Raises age until which a person can be considered a "child sexual abuse" victim from sixteen to eighteen and defines "serious physical child abuse";
(6) Requires the program director to provide training and education for interviewers of child witnesses and promote interagency cooperation; and
(7) Requires director to recommend plans to assist agencies involved in serious physical child abuse cases.
Currently, the Children's Advocacy Program plays a statewide role in systems reform, case coordination, training, and developing interagency cooperation in child sex abuse cases. This measure extends those benefits of the renamed Children's Justice Program to include victims of serious physical child abuse. Your Committee finds that this bill broadens the group to be served by the program and will reduce and prevent unnecessary trauma to an even greater number of child victims and witnesses in the justice system.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1455, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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____________________________ BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair |
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