RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services Branch is committed to strengthening families and helping parents by providing a safe family home for their children when children are reported to have been abused, neglected, or are simply at risk for abuse or neglect; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the Child Welfare Services Branch is to ensure the safety and permanency of children in their own homes, and when a child cannot be safely returned to the family home within a reasonable time frame as defined by state and federal laws, the Child Welfare Services Branch is mandated to find an alternate permanent placement through adoption, legal guardianship, or other long-term substitute care; and

WHEREAS, it has been reported that due to an increased awareness of the issue of child abuse and neglect, more stringent reporting laws, and an increase in the use of crystal methamphetamine, there has been an increase in reports and caseloads which often leave those in less severe situations without assistance; and

WHEREAS, it would be beneficial to the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services Branch, Department of Health, and various domestic violence prevention agencies 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-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services Branch, Department of Health, and the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence are 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 dealing with domestic violence; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the interagency task force include representatives from the Department of Human Services Child Welfare Services Branch, the Department of Health, and the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force 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 is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations and its four-year plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services, the Director of Health, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Report Title:

REQUESTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A STATEWIDE INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO DEVELOP A PLAN FOR COORDINATION AND EXPANSION OF SERVICES PROVIDED THROUGH CHILD WELFARE SERVICES TO YOUNG CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES.