STAND. COM. REP. NO.747-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2500

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2500, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to facilitate the adoption of special needs children by:

(1) Appropriating funds for the Department of Human Services (DHS) to contract with the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii (LASH) to provide legal assistance to adoptive families of special needs children;

(2) Requiring the Department of Education (DOE) to provide LASH access to certain information to assist in the application for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits;

(3) Requiring DHS to make information available to LASH to identify claims for dually eligible Medicare and Medicaid recipients; and

(4) Appropriating funds to maximize federal benefits available to Hawaii residents who are dually eligible for benefits under Medicaid and Medicare.

DHS submitted comments on this measure.

Your Committee finds that it has been difficult finding prospective adoptive families for special needs children. The State may be eligible for financial incentives if more adoptions occurred. LASH has proven itself successful in obtaining SSI reimbursements.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

(1) Removing specific reference to LASH as a contractor;

(2) Removing the unspecified appropriation of funds to match federal assistance payments for nonrecurring adoption expenses incurred by adoptive families;

(3) Deleting the requirement that the DHS contract provider must provide legal assistance to at least 130 adoptive families adopting special needs children;

(4) Removing the provision that requires DOE to provide LASH with children's information;

(5) Removing the set amounts paid to LASH for each successful adoption application, reconsideration review, and appeal to obtain SSI benefits;

(6) Changing the appropriation amounts to $1 for purposes of continued discussion; and

(7) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity 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 of S.B. No. 2500, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2500, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

 

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

 

____________________________

MICHAEL P. KAHIKINA, Chair