STAND. COM. REP. NO. 627

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 1444

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Public Safety and Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 1444 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE PURPOSE OF THE HAWAII YOUTH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to clarify the purpose of committing youth to the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.

     Specifically, this measure amends the purpose section of the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility as codified in section 352‑2.1(a) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to substitute:

     (1)  "Punishment" with "rehabilitation";

     (2)  "Reintegrate" with "prepare for reentry"; and

     (3)  "Children" with "youth".

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Office of Youth Services, the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai‘i, and the Community Alliance on Prisons.

     Your Committees find that the proposed changes to the statute are necessary to better reflect the purpose of youth correctional facilities and be consistent with terminology usage within the affected offices.  Replacing "punishment" with "rehabilitation" will better reflect the programming and activities of the youth correctional facility, which include general education, vocational training, medical and mental health treatment, and substance abuse treatment.  Replacing "reintegration" with "reentry," would provide consistency with the terminology used by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  Replacing "children" with "youth" is necessary for accuracy as the term "youth" is commonly use to refer to children over the age of twelve, which is the age group considered for commitment to youth correctional facilities.

     Your Committees further find that the term "incarceration" is loaded with connotations of guilt and punishment and should be replace with the term "custody" to reflect an overall goal of rehabilitating the youth committed to the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility and to prevent their return to correctional facilities in the future.  A recent audit of the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility by the Auditor of the State of Hawaii noted this confusion within the staff of the facility given the contradictory statutory mandate of punishment and reintegration.  Among the many recommendations of the Auditor was a statutory change to purpose of the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility for the clarification of its role.

     This measure was amended to substitute "custody" for "incarceration" in section 352-2.1(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Public Safety and Human Services and Public Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1444, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1444, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

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

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

____________________________ WILL ESPERO, Chair