WHEREAS, in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the federal government adopted the philosophy that it was government's responsibility to help its citizens in need, and so Congress passed the Social Security Act of 1935, which established the Aid to Dependent Children program, a federally supported safety net for the poor and vulnerable populations; and

WHEREAS, in 1962, Aid to Dependent Children was renamed Aid to Families with Dependent Children, and the goal of the program expanded to include strengthening family life and self-support; and

WHEREAS, in 1978, Hawaii based its public assistance grants at a set amount - $100 - as adjusted by a percentage equal to the annual percentage increase in the average weekly wage in covered employment or the consumer price index for Hawaii, whichever was lowest; and

WHEREAS, in 1988, the state Legislature changed the calculation for public assistance grants to a "standard of need" equal to sixty percent of the Federal Poverty Level; and

WHEREAS, in 1993, the state Legislature passed Act 356, which established the standard of need for Hawaii's families at 62.5 per cent of the 1993 Federal Poverty Level; and

WHEREAS, in 1996, while women with dependent children continued to be recognized as among the most vulnerable families in society, Congress and the President dismantled the safety net for these families, instituting in its place a time-limited cash assistance with work mandated program, called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, known as TANF, through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, with program administration being shifted to the states; and

WHEREAS, in 1996, Hawaii obtained a waiver from the TANF requirements and established its Pursuit of New Opportunities (PONO) program; and

WHEREAS, in 200l, there were 19,500 families on assistance, underscoring the continuing vulnerability and financial needs of such families; and

WHEREAS, in 2003, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women, working with the Washington D.C.-based organization called Wider Opportunities for Women and the University of Washington School of Social Work, recognizing that federal poverty guidelines are woefully inadequate in documenting family standards of self-sufficiency, began to prepare a Family Economic Self Sufficiency survey for various family types in Hawaii;

WHEREAS, the State continues to base welfare payments on 62.5 per cent of the 1993 Federal Poverty Level, even though the cost of living continues to rise, with the average cost of rent at $930 for a two or three bedroom apartment, gas prices at almost $2 per gallon, and milk at $7 per gallon; and

WHEREAS, it has been ten years since an adjustment to welfare payments has been made; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the Department of Human Services are requested to study the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women's Family Economic Self Sufficiency Standards study, which will be available in April 2003, and recommend appropriate public policies for the State to use in basing its cash assistance programs for needy families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that these recommendations be transmitted to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2004; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, the Director of Human Services, and the Chairperson of the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women.

Report Title:

Public Assistance, DBEDT and DHS to review payment guidelines