STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1197

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 5

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 5 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO INCREASE THE REIMBURSEMENT RATE FOR HOME CHILD CARE FACILITIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to urge the Department of Human Services to increase the reimbursement rate to family child care homes to seventy-five percent of the current center child care rate and provide incentive bonuses to family child care homes for accreditation.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the O‘ahu County Committee on Legislative Priorities of the Democratic Party of Hawai‘i. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that the Department of Human Services allows for child care cost reimbursement under the Child Care Connection Hawaii program. Center-based care and family child care homes are eligible to receive reimbursements for child care rendered to families receiving subsidies through the Child Care Connection Hawaii program. However, the child care rates for family child care homes are a mere forty-four percent of that of child care centers for the same population and same services. Your Committee finds that increasing the reimbursement rate to family child care homes and providing bonuses to family child care homes for accreditation will encourage the availability of licensed family child care homes to accommodate the chronic lack of available child care, enhance the quality of child care, and better support the child care workforce in Hawaii.

Your Committee has amended this measure by clarifying that the number of child care center seats for infant and toddler care are non-existent on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 5, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means, in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 5, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

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RUSSELL E. RUDERMAN, Chair