RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, a recent study estimates that there are more than three thousand persons currently incarcerated in Hawaii who are parents to nearly six thousand five hundred children, and nearly one-quarter of the State's felons are sent to mainland prisons and a number of inmates are incarcerated on an island that is different from their family's home; and

WHEREAS, recent studies on the children of incarcerated parents affirm the negative impact of parental incarceration on their children, because when a parent is incarcerated, a child is at significantly greater risk for abuse and neglect, and the range of potential problems for the children is broad including physical and mental problems, school difficulties, aggressive behavior, and even an increased likelihood of criminal behavior by the child; and

WHEREAS, incarcerated parents require support to maintain family relationships and integrate effectively and efficiently into society after their release, and accurate information about the number of incarcerated parents and their children and families must be gathered before these problems can be addressed; and

WHEREAS, the problems of children whose parents are in prison must be addressed for humanitarian reasons and to break the cycle of crime and violence; and

WHEREAS, because the child welfare and criminal justice systems encounter many of the same families, it is imperative that they collaborate to maximize opportunities for the families and work together to develop a system to identify these children; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Human Services are requested to establish a task force to identify and develop appropriate programs and services for children of incarcerated parents and to provide support for incarcerated parents, where appropriate; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be comprised of the Director of Public Safety or a designee; the Deputy Director of the Corrections Division of Public Safety; the Administrator of Intake Service Centers of the Department of Public Safety; the Institutions Division Administrator of the Community Correctional Centers; the Director of Health or a designee; the Director of Human Services or a designee; the Executive Director of the Office of Youth Services or a designee; a representative of the Family Court of the First Circuit Court; the Director of the Children's Justice Center of Oahu; the Superintendent of Education or a designee; the Attorney General or a designee; a representative of Child Protective Services; a representative of the law enforcement community; a public member representative of incarcerated parents; a public member with experience in working with children of incarcerated parents; and public members with advocacy experience in working with children of incarcerated parents including Blueprint for Change, Child and Family Services, Community Alliance on Prisons, Good Beginnings Alliance, Hawaii Juvenile Justice Project, Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers, Neighborhood Place of Puna, and Neighborhood Place of Wailuku; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Human Services and the Director of Public Safety are requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

Report Title:

DPS; Establish a Task Force for Children of Incarcerated Parents