STAND. COM. REP. NO. 383

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 925

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 925 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILDREN,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

(1)  Reinstate a hospital-based screening and assessment and intensive home visitation program under the Department of Health;

(2)  Appropriate funds from the Tobacco Settlement Special Fund; and

(3)  Utilize Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds,

in order to provide a healthy start to at-risk infants and children.

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Children & Family Service, and the Hawaii Family Support Institute.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services, Good Beginnings Alliance, and the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i. 

     Your Committees find that the restoration of universal screening and home visitation services is a vital step in offering culturally responsive, evidence-based services to address different levels of family needs and risks.  Based on testimony received on this measure, your Committees further find that revisions to the measure are necessary to allow for more flexibility in the operation of the program and to allow the Department of Health to be responsive to anticipated future federal funding for home visitation programs.  Additionally, your Committees find that further consideration of this measure is necessary to determine whether alternative funding sources may be applied to this measure. 

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting certain references to program models, measurements, and tools to identify at risk families; staffing roles; and the Healthy Families America Program to increase flexibility of the program;

     (2)  Indicating that intensive home visiting services may include integrated model enhancements established through the federally funded Hawaii Evidence Based Home Visitation Project;

     (3)  Making the guidelines for the provision of intensive home visiting services discretionary instead of mandatory; and

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

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 925, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 925, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services,

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair

____________________________ JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair