Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 803 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to allow the Office of Youth Services (OYS) to obtain criminal history and child abuse record information on employees, prospective employees, and volunteers of its providers and subcontractors in certain positions.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Department of Human Resources Development, the Office of Youth Services, the Honolulu Police Department, the Hawaii Youth Services Network, and Hale `Opio Kaua`i, Inc.

Your Committees find that our youth, particularly at-risk youth, should be cared for and protected. The OYS is an agency that provides a range of services to at-risk youth in Hawaii, including the provision of youth services centers, alternatives to incarceration, intensive supervision of juvenile offenders released into the community, and diversion services for status offenders and non-violent law violators. Many of these services are provided through contracts with private agencies. Your Committees further find that it is in the best interest of the State, our youth, and provider agencies to obtain criminal history and child abuse record information on employees, prospective employees, and volunteers of providers and subcontractors in positions that necessitate close proximity to youth when providing services on behalf of the OYS.

Furthermore, your Committees have concerns regarding the permissive nature of the measure and the fact that a similar measure, SB790, which provides for criminal history record checks for those working with the elderly or the disabled, is more comprehensive in nature, including immunity provisions for state employees relying in good faith upon criminal record checks. Further disparities between this measure and SB790 raise concerns regarding the possibly disparate treatment of different classes of individuals. However, your Committees determine that this measure should continue to proceed throughout the session so as to allow for further discussions and revisions, as appropriate.

Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 803, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 803, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.