STAND. COM. REP. NO. 109

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1174

       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 Public Safety, to which was referred S.B. No. 1174 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INCARCERATED PARENTS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to maintain and strengthen the bond between a child and the child's incarcerated parent.

     The measure accomplished this purpose by expanding parent‑child programs that teach appropriate interactions and bonding between incarcerated parents and their children at state correctional facilities.  These programs are known to reduce the negative impact incarceration has on the offenders' children, reducing abuse and neglect and decrease the occurrence of recidivism.  The measure also appropriates an unspecified sum to expand the SKIP program.

     The Department of Public Safety, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Child and Family Service, Community Alliance on Prisons, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Keiki O Ka Aina Family Learning Centers, Nurturing Fathers of Hawaii, Strengthening Keiki of Incarcerated Parents Partnership, and four individuals submitted testimony in support of the measure.

     As important as the SKIP program is for the relationship between incarcerated parents and their children, your Committee finds that it is just as important to intervene with nonincarcerated offenders and their children to prevent further deterioration of the parent-child relationship and repetitive offenses of the parent or child.  Limiting funding to these programs to state correctional facilities would prevent our support of earlier intervention with the nonincarcerated offender community.

     Your Committee further finds that it is important to recognize the programs that are already in existence and their need for continued funding, that there should be more flexibility for the use of the funds appropriated, including the ability to purchase parent-child interaction programs.

     Your Committee also finds that the collection of accurate data on the children of incarcerated adults is important and such information should be kept confidential, except as to needed service providers.  Since the Department of Public Safety relies on self-reporting, obtaining accurate data is very difficult.  Incarcerated persons tend to under report or inaccurately report for various reasons.  Therefore, the Department of Public Safety should only be required to make reasonable efforts to ensure that the data it collects is accurate.

     Your Committee has amended the measure by:

     (1)  Amending the purpose of the measure to clarify the Legislature's support for programs that are already in place;

     (2)  Providing the Department of Public Safety with greater flexibility to use the appropriation so that the department may assist nonincarcerated offenders and their children;

     (3)  Imposing more realistic data collection standards on the Department of Public Safety and ensuring that the information remains confidential; and

     (4)  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 Public Safety that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1174, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1174, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Public Safety,

____________________________

WILL ESPERO, Chair