STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1287
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: S.B. No. 951
S.D. 2
H.D. 1
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committees on Human Services & Homelessness and Public Safety, to which was referred S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PROTECTION,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to
require:
(1) Mandatory
reports of child abuse or neglect to include the military status of the child's
parent or guardian, if known; and
(2) The Department of Human Services to inform the appropriate authority of the United States military when, upon receiving a report of child abuse or neglect, there is sufficient information to determine that the report involves a military family.
Your Committees find that while the United
States Department of Defense mandates its personnel to report suspected cases
of child abuse or neglect to military officials, local authorities, and local child
welfare services offices, the Department of Human Services' Child Welfare
Services Branch is not legally required to reciprocate this reporting when
incidents involve military families. Given
that many service members and their families live off-base and frequently
relocate, instances of abuse or neglect may go unreported to military
authorities, limiting access to crucial support services. This measure establishes a statutory
requirement for the Department of Human Services to notify the United States Department
of Defense of allegations involving military families, thereby ensuring that
military children receive the necessary intervention, prevention, and
rehabilitative services.
Your Committees have amended this measure
by:
(1) Changing the effective date of section 2 of this measure to July 1, 2025, rather than June 30, 2025, to avoid potential technical issues made to certain statutory language as a result of Act 147, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024; and
(2) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.
Your Committees note that the Department of
Human Services supports an effective date of January 1, 2026, for this measure.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services & Homelessness and Public Safety that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services & Homelessness and Public Safety,
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____________________________ DELLA AU BELATTI, Chair |
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____________________________ LISA MARTEN, Chair |
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