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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                                
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                     HOUSE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES TO EXAMINE THE
   EFFECTS OF DECREASED FUNDING TO RECIPIENTS OF PUBLIC
   ASSISTANCE.



 1       WHEREAS, policies made in years past have adversely
 2   affected the welfare of public assistance recipients; and
 3   
 4       WHEREAS, in 1995, the State set a limit on the amount of
 5   money it would spend on General Assistance, no matter how many
 6   people needed the program; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, in 1996, as a part of Hawaii's welfare reform,
 9   monthly Temporary Assistance to Needy Families grants to 15,000
10   families were cut an additional twenty percent; and
11   
12       WHEREAS, as a result of these decisions and Hawaii's
13   unhealthy economy, decreases in financial assistance made life
14   unstable, causing unparalleled hardship and increased
15   homelessness among Hawaii's neediest; and
16   
17       WHEREAS, further discussion is needed to provide fair and
18   equitable solutions for recipients of public assistance; and
19   
20       WHEREAS, an independent study is needed to objectively
21   evaluate the effects of social policy among public assistance
22   recipients in order for the Legislature to make informed and
23   prudent decisions about appropriations and statutory changes;
24   now, therefore,
25   
26       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
27   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
28   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Human
29   Services, in conjunction with the University of Hawaii at
30   Manoa, the American Friends Service Committee, the National
31   Association of Social Workers, and welfare recipients, is
32   requested to examine the effects of decreased funding to
33   recipients of public assistance; and
34   
35       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that previous studies published by
36   SMS Consulting and the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of
37   Social Work be used as reference materials; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            H.D. 1
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human
 2   Services is requested to submit its preliminary findings and
 3   recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days
 4   prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
 5   
 6       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human
 7   Services is requested to submit its final report to the
 8   Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of
 9   the Regular Session of 2001; and
10   
11       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
12   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human
13   Services, the President of the University of Hawaii at Manoa,
14   the Program Coordinator of the American Friends Service
15   Committee, Hawaii Area Program, and the Executive Director of
16   the National Association of Social Workers.