STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2787

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.B. No. 2791

S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2791, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to improve and enhance Hawaii's juvenile justice system.

More specifically, the measure establishes the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment services to at-risk youth and young adults, with the goal of preventing juvenile delinquency and reducing the number of youth committed to secure confinement at the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facility.

Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; Department of Human Services; Office of Youth Services; Hoomanapono Political Action Committee; Blueprint for Change; Hawaii Youth Services Network; Mental Health America of Hawaii; Community Alliance on Prisons; OCC Legislative Priorities Committee, Democratic Party of Hawaii; and three individuals.

Written comments in opposition were received from the United Public Workers.

The Department of Education and Department of Health submitted written comments on the measure.

Your Committee finds that the establishment of the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center will provide much-needed services to at-risk youth and young adults, including victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and thus help to transform the current approach to juvenile justice to a therapeutic model that addresses complex issues affecting young people in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Moving language in section 2 of the measure directing the Office of Youth Services to designate the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facilities as the authority to operate and maintain the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center to section 3 of the measure, and similarly, moving language in section 3 of the measure directing the Hawaii Youth Correctional Facilities to operate and maintain the Center within the scope of its authority to section 2 of the measure;

(2) Using the terms "youth", "young adult", "youth at risk", and "young adult at risk" throughout the measure and in place of equivalent terms such as "youth in need of services", where appropriate, for purposes of clarity and consistency;

(3) Clarifying references in section 1 of the measure with respect to the total number of unaccompanied youth cited in the 2017 Hawaii Statewide Point-in-Time Count and findings with respect to alcohol use among youth that were reported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;

(4) Correcting a typographical error in a reference to the Kawailoa Youth and Family Wellness Center;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2050, to facilitate discussion on the measure; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2791, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2791, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

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DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair