STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 455
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2023
RE: H.B. No. 1053
H.D. 1
Honorable Scott K. Saiki
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2023
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1053 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO INFANT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH,"
beg leave to report as follows:
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure
from the Office of the Governor, Office of Wellness and Resilience in the
Office of the Governor, Department of Health, Executive Office on Early
Learning, Domestic Violence Action Center, Hawaii Children's Action Network
Speaks!, Early Childhood Action Strategy, EPIC Ohana, Commit to Keiki, Family
Hui Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i
Community Foundation, Ka ‘Umeke Ka‘eo,
and three individuals. Your Committees
received comments on this measure from the Judiciary, Department of Human
Services, and Association for Infant Mental Health in Hawai‘i.
Your Committees find
that approximately twenty-nine thousand children in Hawaii have mental health
needs due to biological or developmental special needs at birth, exposure to
intimate partner violence, parental substance abuse, housing insecurity, and
poverty. Your Committees further find
that interventions at an early stage in life can reduce future needs for
special education and mental health treatment, and reduce the risk of the child
becoming involved with the juvenile and adult justice systems.
Your Committees note that the State
lacks a consolidated, singular strategy for the provision of mental health
programs. Currently the State's support
for mental health is provided through programs located in many different
agencies. The Infant and Early Childhood
Mental Health Program established by this measure is intended to improve
accessibility, capacity, and quality of services by establishing an overall
coordinator to work across the various agencies and with relevant nonprofit
organizations to address the unmet mental health needs of the State's children.
Your
Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the appropriation to an unspecified
amount;
(2) Changing the effective date to June 30, 3000,
to encourage further discussion; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments
for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
Your Committees respectfully requests your Committee on Finance, should it deliberate on this measure, to consider an appropriation amount of $800,000 for fiscal year 2023-2024 and an appropriation amount of $1,700,000 for fiscal year 2024-2025.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1053, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1053, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Health & Homelessness,
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____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair |
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____________________________ JOHN M. MIZUNO, Chair |
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