RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Healthy Start Program model was initiated in 1985 by the Department of Health (DOH) as a pilot project to reduce child abuse and neglect through early identification of at-risk families; and

WHEREAS, the pilot program involved hospital-based screening and home visits for identified families to provide services aimed at improving family functioning and child development through age five; and

WHEREAS, between 1988 and 1990, DOH expanded the program model to 11 separate Healthy Start Program sites operated by seven nonprofit agencies at a cost of $3,500,000 in general funds; and

WHEREAS, by 1994, there were a total of 12 Healthy Start Program sites operating within the State supported by $8,300,000; and

WHEREAS, by 2000, the Legislature funded Healthy Start to provide services statewide; and

WHEREAS, these program sites are situated in urban and rural communities identified as high-risk areas and screen Hawaii's pregnant women for risk factors that would identify them for home visiting services; and

WHEREAS, DOH administers the Healthy Start Program within its Maternal and Child Health Branch; however, chapter 350, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS), assigns responsibility for assessing reports of child abuse and neglect to the Child Protective Services Program (CPS) within the Department of Human Services (DHS); and

WHEREAS, while CPS may not have sufficient evidence under the requirements of chapter 350, HRS, to make a determination of child abuse and neglect, many families under its jurisdiction could be eligible for services under the Healthy Start Program; and

WHEREAS, high-risk families, such as those families whose parents are substance abusers or who have been incarcerated, are often not identified as needing prevention and intervention services, yet they become part of the system once neglect and abuse have occurred; and

WHEREAS, because of the fragmentation of the State's efforts in assessing and providing services to at-risk families, this "gap group" of families are falling through the cracks; and

WHEREAS, because of limited resources within the Healthy Start Program, families with children from ages zero to three are receiving more services, but families with children from ages three to five are being eliminated from the program to focus on post-natal and infant services; and

WHEREAS, it would be beneficial for both DOH and DHS to begin a dialogue about the families that are receiving services and how to better coordinate assessment and treatment services; and

WHEREAS, better coordination and collaboration would result in more effective use of limited resources and thus allow more families to receive services; 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 Governor is

requested to establish a statewide interagency task force to develop an implementation plan for the coordination and expansion of services provided to young children and their families; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interagency task force shall include, but not be limited to, representatives from DOH, DHS, the Judiciary, Healthy Start, Alliance for Health and Human Services, Child Protective Services Citizen Review Panels, current or former clients of the Healthy Start and Child Protective Services Programs, Child Welfare Services Advisory Councils, Good Beginnings Alliance, Like A Child, Hawaii Children's Trust Fund, Blueprint for Change, CARE Project, and Counsuelo Foundation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall appoint a chair from among its members to coordinate the meetings and seek assistance from agency and program staff, as necessary and appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force submit a report of its findings and recommendations and its four-year plan, to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the 2004 Regular Session; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Director of Human Services, Administrative Director of the Courts, Healthy Start Program Coordinator, Alliance for Health and Human Services, the Chairs of the Child Protective Services Citizen Review Panels, the Chairs of the Child Welfare Services Advisory Councils, President of the Good Beginnings Alliance Board of Directors, Like a Child, Chair of the Hawaii Community Foundation, Executive Director of Blueprint for Change, Director of the CARE Project, and Director of the Consuelo Foundation.