SCR54.DOC

WHEREAS, in the 2004 Regular Session, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 40, S.D. 2, authorizing the Senate Committee on Human Services to convene interim hearings on the Hawaii Family Court; and

WHEREAS, the interim hearings were designed to explore ways to make the Hawaii Family Court more accessible and family oriented and focused on important issues relating to reduction in caseload; and

WHEREAS, while some of the recommendations were adopted and received legislative attention, a number of issues remained unresolved; and

WHEREAS, to continue work on the unresolved issues, in the 2006 Regular Session, the Senate and the House of Representatives adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 52, S.D. 1, authorizing the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives to convene interim hearings on the use of legal interventions available to the Family Court and to establish one or more task forces to facilitate their work; and

WHEREAS, the SCR 52 Task Force was established for that purpose, and continued to work on these critical issues through its four committees: Family Court Models, Family Court Sunshine and Accountability, Temporary Restraining Orders, and the Best Interest of the Child; and

WHEREAS, while the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives adopted many of the recommendations, further concerns required additional study; and

WHEREAS, in the 2007 Regular Session, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 10, S.D. 1, which authorized the Senate Committee on Human Services and Public Housing to convene the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group to further study the outstanding recommendations of the four committees; and

WHEREAS, the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group has successfully pursued legislation supporting the best interests of children involved in custody determinations, and has identified additional recommendations that would further protect Hawaii's children; and

WHEREAS, the Working Group and its three subcommittees, Best Interest of the Child/Family Court Models, Sunshine and Accountability, and Temporary Restraining Orders, have identified issues that require further review and consideration; and

WHEREAS, the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group shall cease to exist on January 1, 2009; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group established in 2007 through Senate Resolution No. 10, S.D. 1, is requested, with the participation of the House of Representatives Committee on Human Services, to continue its work for one additional year and cease to exist on January 1, 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center continue to assist the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group with the facilitation of the group's efforts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Family Court Legal Interventions Working Group submit a final report, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Director of Human Services, Director of Health, President of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, Chair of the Family Law Section and President of the Hawaii State Bar Association, Executive Director of the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, President of the Children's Rights Council of Hawaii, President of the Hawaii Coalition for Dads, President of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, Executive Director of Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii, Executive Director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Action Center, President of the Board of Directors of The Mediation Center of the Pacific, Director of EPIC Ohana Conferencing, President of the Hawaii Psychological Association, Family Justice Alliance, VOICES, the Commission on the Status of Women, University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of Social Sciences Public Policy Center, Honolulu Family Court Professionals, and the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Family Court; SCR 52 Task Force, SR10 Working Group

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	54
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII