RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Healthy Start program model was initiated in 1985 by the Department of Health 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, the Department of Health expanded the program model to eleven separate Healthy Start program sites operated by seven non-profit agencies at a cost of $3.5 million in general funds; and

WHEREAS, by 1994, there were a total of 12 Healthy Start program sites operating within the State supported by $8.3 million; and

WHEREAS, by 2000, the State 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 over 52 percent of Hawaii's pregnant women for risk factors that would identify them for home visiting services; and

WHEREAS, although the Department of Health administers the Healthy Start program within it's Maternal and Child Health Branch, Chapter 350, Hawaii Revised Statutes, assigns responsibility for assessing reports of child abuse and neglect to the Child Protective Services program within the Department of Human Services; and

WHEREAS, while the Child Protective Services program may not have sufficient evidence under the requirements of Chapter 350, Hawaii Revised Statutes, 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 where parents are substance abusers or have been incarcerated, are often not identified as needing prevention and intervention services, yet become part of the system once neglect and abuse have occurred; and

WHEREAS, due to 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 in order to focus on post-natal and infant services; and

WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to both the Departments of Health and Human Services 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 Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the House of Representatives 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 the Departments of Health and Human Services, the Judiciary, Healthy Start, the Alliance for Health and Human Services, the 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, and Blueprint for Change; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall appoint a chair from among it's 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 twenty 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, the Administrative Director of the Courts, the Healthy Start program, the 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, the Good Beginnings Alliance, Like a Child, Hawaii Children's Trust Fund, and Blueprint for Change.

Report Title:

Healthy Start Program Expansion Task Force