STAND. COM. REP. NO.  724

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2007

RE:   H.B. No. 541

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 541 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILDREN,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds for the healthy start program, including the enhanced healthy start program, hiring additional program staff, and training.

     Your Committee finds that the healthy start program is an important resource for preventing child abuse and neglect and promoting child health and development in newborns of families at risk for poor child outcomes.  The success of this program has led to enhancements that incorporate a multi-disciplinary team to serve families at risk as well as children.  The continued success of these programs would be served by an appropriation to address budgetary shortfalls and implement improvements to the healthy start and enhanced healthy start programs.

     The Good Beginnings Alliance, Parents and Children Together, Catholic Charities Hawaii, Family Support Services of West Hawaii, and Hawaii Family Support Institute submitted testimony in support of this measure.

     The Department of Human Services submitted comments.

     The Department of Health submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.

     Your Committee appreciates the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect and supporting the development of healthy children and families.  Your Committee also recognizes the practicality of the budgetary effects of an appropriation to fund improvements to the healthy start program and enhanced healthy start program.  Accordingly, your Committee recommends exploring alternative methods of funding these improvements, particularly, through the use of federal funds from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

     Your Committee has changed the effective date of this appropriation to January 1, 2050, to facilitate further discussion on this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 541, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 541, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

JOSHUA B. GREEN, M.D., Chair