STAND

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1305-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.C.R. No. 9

H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services and Housing, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 9 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE THE OPENING OF CHILD WELFARE FAMILY COURT PROCEEDINGS TO THE PUBLIC,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request the establishment of an interagency task force to evaluate the opening of child welfare family court proceedings to the public.

The Department of Human Services and several concerned individuals testified in support of this concurrent resolution. Blueprint for Change supported the intent of this measure. Several concerned individuals opposed this measure. The Child Welfare Services State Advisory Council and a concerned individual provided comments.

Your Committee finds that opening family court proceedings to the public may promote more accountability and may be helpful to everyone involved in these cases. Several other states have recently changed their procedures to allow family court cases to be open to the public. Your Committee believes this may help some of the families experiencing difficulties in the child welfare services system.

Your Committee has amended this concurrent resolution by:

(1) Adding three members of the public to the task force, including a member of the clergy, a family advocate, and a family member of an individual impacted by the child protective services system, all of whom to be appointed by the Chair of the House Committee on Human Services and Housing;

(2) Reflecting the change in composition of the task force by referring to the task force as an "integrated" task force rather than an "interagency" task force; and

(3) Changing the title to read: "REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTEGRATED TASK FORCE TO EVALUATE THE OPENING OF CHILD WELFARE FAMILY COURT PROCEEDINGS TO THE PUBLIC."

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 concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 9, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 9, H.D. 1.

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

		____________________________ MICHAEL PUAMAMO KAHIKINA, Chair