STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1278-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2700

S.D. 2

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness, to which was referred S.B. No. 2700, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EARLY CHILDHOOD REGISTRY,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Department of Human Services to annually collect certain information from all early child care workers and educators in the State through its Early Childhood Registry.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Executive Office on Early Learning, Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women, American Association of University Women of Hawaii, Early Childhood Action Strategy, Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!, AF3IRM Hawai‘i, and fourteen individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance and Department of Human Services.

Your Committee finds that the demand for quality early child care and education far exceeds the currently available and qualified early child care capacity in the State. Your Committee further finds that a lack of early child care and education workforce data prevents policymakers from understanding the needs of this workforce, leading to inefficiencies in early child care legislation and education programs. Although the Department of Human Services collects data on the early child care and education workforce through its Early Childhood Registry, it only requires staff used to meet the staff-to-child ratio in licensed child care facilities to enroll and update their information in the registry. This measure ensures policymakers have adequate and timely date on the State's early child care and education workforce by requiring the Department of Human Services to collect data from all early child care workers and educators in the State.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Statutorily authorizing the Department of Human Services to establish and maintain the Early Childhood Registry;

(2) Removing language that prohibited the Department of Human Services from collecting the first and last name of registrants for registry data collection purposes;

(3) Clarifying that data collected by the Early Childhood Registry subject to public disclosure shall be aggregated and shall not directly or indirectly result in the disclosure of personally identifiable information;

(4) Changing the scope of the Department of Human Services' report to the Legislature to include updates to the Early Childhood Registry, rather than the aggregate data of social determinants collected by the Early Childhood Registry;

(5) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2060, to encourage further discussion; and

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

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2700, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2700, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness,

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair