Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 467, S.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to provide gender responsive programming and parity for female offenders and female adjudicated youths in relation to their male counterparts.

Your Committee finds that the parity of treatment and social services available to female offenders and female adjudicated youths have been ignored for far too long by Hawaii's criminal justice system. These women must be given access to the same level of care and programs currently provided to men in order to break the cycle of recidivism and enable them to change and rehabilitate their lives for the better.

This measure addresses these concerns by requiring a range of quality custody-based programs for female offenders and female adjudicated youths that establishes standards for programs to ensure the health, psychological, social, economic, and educational needs of female offenders. The bill also institutes a grant-in-aid program to involve private agencies in the development and implementation of these programs and imposes duties upon the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Youth Services (regarding the implementation of the grant-in-aid program), to increase collaboration with advocacy groups and to ensure the success and viability of these initiatives.

Your Committee has amended this measure by making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 467, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 467, S.D. 2.