STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1288

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 825

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 825, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CAREGIVING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to extend the Joint Legislative Committee on Family Caregiving to June 30, 2008; expand the focus of the committee to include exploring the possibility of a Paid Family Leave Program; and providing a broader definition for "family caregiver".

     The Hawaii County Office of Aging, the City and County of Honolulu Department of Community Services, the Kauai County Offices of Community Assistance Agency on Elderly Affairs, the Maui County Executive on Aging, the Hawaii Aging Advocates Coalition, Kokua Council, Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Alzheimer's Association, the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, Catholic Charities Hawai‘i, the Hawai‘i Alliance for Retired Americans, the Moiliili Community Center, Project Dana, AARP Hawaii, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and five individuals submitted testimony in support of this measure with proposed amendments.  The Department of Health submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure with proposed amendments.

     Your Committee finds that, due to a shortage of care providers in Hawaii, family caregiving has become a critical element of our health and long-term care system.  By 2020, more than one in four individuals is expected to be sixty years old or older.  The need for personal care assistance due to physical, sensory, cognitive, and self-care disabilities increases with age.  As Hawaii's population ages, many more families will be providing higher levels of long-term care to frail and disabled older adults at home.  A comprehensive public policy to strengthen support for family caregivers is essential.

     The national Family Caregiver Support Program under the reauthorized Older Americans Act includes grandparents of grandchildren age eighteen years and younger, as well as grandchildren age nineteen years and older with physical or cognitive limitations.  They experience similar support needs and costs of caregiving with family caregivers who provide unpaid, informal assistance to older adults with physical or cognitive disabilities.  Therefore, your Committee finds that this population should be included in the definition of "family caregiver," as well.

     It is the Committee's intent to strengthen the support of family caregivers.  Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the definition of "family caregiver" to mean:

          (A)  A person, including a non-relative such as a friend or neighbor, who provides unpaid, informal assistance to a person age sixty and older with physical or cognitive disabilities; and

          (B)  A grandparent who is a caregiver for a grandchild who is age eighteen years or younger or who is nineteen years of age or older with physical or cognitive limitations;

     (2)  Requiring the Executive Office on Aging to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the needs of care recipients who are age sixty and older with physical or cognitive disabilities and the needs of their family caregivers;

     (3)  Appropriating unspecified sums:

          (A)  For the Executive Office on Aging to conduct the aforementioned needs assessment and a comprehensive assessment of the issues facing, and the needs of, grandparents raising grandchildren in Hawaii;

          (B)  To expand the Kupuna Care Program's in-home and access services for qualified care recipients;

          (C)  To provide direct services to family caregivers;

          (D)  For the operation and delivery of the Sage PLUS Program on the neighbor islands; and for the recruitment, training, and sustaining of volunteers to augment the Sage PLUS Program staff, and for operating costs of the neighbor island Sage PLUS Program staff;

          (E)  To the Executive Office on Aging for the Caregiver's Resource Initiative Project, including the continuation of its efforts to coordinate a statewide system of family caregiver policies and support services; and

          (F)  To the Executive Office on Aging to provide analyses of two different approaches to helping family caregivers with their financial needs; and

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     Your Committee notes that while the appropriation amounts are unspecified, they recommend that the following be considered:

     (1)  $120,000 for fiscal year 2007-2008, for the Executive Office on Aging to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the needs of care recipients who are age sixty and older with physical or cognitive disabilities and the needs of their family caregivers;

     (2)  $24,000 for fiscal year 2007‑2008, for the Executive Office on Aging to conduct an assessment of the needs of grandparents raising grandchildren in Hawaii;

     (3)  $750,000 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, to expand the Kupuna Care Program's in-home and access services for qualified care recipients;

     (4)  $300,000 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, to provide direct services to family caregivers;

     (5)  $104,000 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, for the operation and delivery of the Sage PLUS Program on the neighbor islands;

     (6)  $64,500 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, for the recruitment, training, and sustaining of volunteers to augment the Sage PLUS Program staff, and for operating costs of the neighbor island Sage PLUS Program staff;

     (7)  $80,000 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, to the Executive Office on Aging for the Caregiver's Resource Initiative Project, including the continuation of its efforts to coordinate a statewide system of family caregiver policies and support services; and

     (8)  $80,000 for fiscal years 2007‑2008 and 2008‑2009, to the Executive Office on Aging to provide analyses of two different approaches to helping family caregivers with their financial needs.

     Your Committee requests that the Committee on Ways and Means consider making the suggested appropriations for the Kupuna Care Program, the Executive Office on Aging for the Caregiver's Resource Initiative Project, and the Sage PLUS Program part of the base budget.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 825, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 825, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Public Housing,

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair