RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility (HYCF) was originally built in 1995 to house only the most violent and dangerous youthful offenders who are threats to the community; and

WHEREAS, of the one hundred fifty-six new youth admitted to the HYCF in fiscal year 2003-2004, eighty-seven (56 percent) were admitted for short-term commitments (less than 365 days); and

WHEREAS, evaluations of youth committed to the HYCF indicate that approximately 54 percent of the youth would be more appropriately provided services in community-based programs instead of incarceration; and

WHEREAS, delinquent youth with mental health, substance abuse, and behavioral problems are often incarcerated because there are a limited number of programs in the community to treat them and they end up in highly secure and expensive settings for low-risk behavior that could be more efficiently treated with good community-based care; and

WHEREAS, of the one hundred fifty-six new youth admitted to the HYCF in fiscal year 2003-2004, eleven youth were age 14, twenty were age 15, forty-seven were age 16, fifty-three were age 17, and twenty-five were over 17; and

WHEREAS, younger and more vulnerable youth, while at the HYCF, are often in close association with older, more criminally experienced youth and are often released from the facility with more criminal knowledge or a closer gang association than when they arrived; and

WHEREAS, sixty-eight of the one hundred fifty-six new youth admitted to the HYCF on Oahu in fiscal year 2003-2004 were from the counties of Maui, Hawaii, or Kauai and many families were unable to visit their children on Oahu; and

WHEREAS, maintaining close relationships with their families is important to support the youth in sustaining positive changes and improvements when they return to their home environments and communities; and

WHEREAS, research has demonstrated that community-based programs and services are more appropriate and cost-effective than institutional care or incarceration for the majority of troubled, abused, and neglected youth who are better served in a less restrictive environment that can provide individual and intensive services that are conducive to their growth and development; and

WHEREAS, more active involvement of communities and local governments in assessing the needs of their at-risk youth and families is needed to ensure the development of programs, services, and strategies to address their needs; 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 City and County of Honolulu, the County of Hawaii, the County of Maui, the County of Kauai, the Family Courts in all circuits, the Department of Health's Mental Services Division, the Department of Education, the Department of Human Services, the Hawaii Youth Services Network, and the Hawaii Juvenile Justice Project, led by the Office of Youth Services, are requested to collaborate on the development of an action plan that assesses the needs of their at-risk youth, identifies programs, services, and strategies to address their needs, and provides safe alternatives to incarceration for youth on each island, and that they cooperate on removing barriers to developing safe alternatives to incarceration for youth on each island; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Office of Youth Services is requested to submit the action plan to the Legislature, no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, the Mayor of the County of Maui, the Mayor of the County of Kauai, the Head Family Court Judge for the First Circuit Court, the Head Family Court Judge for the Second Circuit Court, the Head Family Court Judge for the Third Circuit Court, the Head Family Court Judge for the Fifth Circuit Court, and the Executive Director of the Office of Youth Services.

Report Title:

Request counties, courts, agencies and organizations to assess at-risk youth