Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 8 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Hawaii Appleseed Public Interest Law Foundation (Hawaii Appleseed), in conjunction with the Child Protection Legislative Roundtable (Roundtable), to organize a conference and working groups on child protective reform.

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Human Services, Hawaii Appleseed, and Christian Science Committee on Publication for Hawaii.

The Roundtable is an ad hoc group of service providers and medical specialists in child protection, who have been meeting since 1997 to produce legislation to clarify and update Hawaii's child protection statutes. The Roundtable discussions have also led to improvements in the administration and procedures of child protective services.

Hawaii Appleseed participates in the Roundtable discussions to assist in reviewing, analyzing, and making recommendations for statutory revisions of child protection laws. Hawaii Appleseed produced in 1999 a discussion draft of a proposed new Child Protective Act. However, that draft has not been discussed to obtain a critique and suggestions from the Roundtable and other interested parties. This measure asks Hawaii Appleseed to complete its work on the discussion draft in order to have a finished product for the 2002 Session.

Your Committee has amended this measure to:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 8, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 8, S.D. 1.