STAND.
COM. REP. NO. 1732
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2025
RE: S.B. No. 951
S.D. 2
H.D. 2
Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura
Speaker, House of Representatives
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Madame:
Your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILD PROTECTION,"
begs 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 Committee finds that while the United
States Department of Defense mandates its personnel to report suspected child
abuse or neglect to military and local authorities, no equivalent requirement
exists for the Department of Human Services' Child Welfare Services Branch to
notify military officials when service members' families are involved. This measure seeks to close that
communication gap by strengthening coordination between state agencies and
military support systems, ensuring affected children receive timely assistance
and protection.
Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 951, S.D. 2, H.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs,
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____________________________ DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair |
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