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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.              
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE  RESOLUTION

  REQUESTING CONTINUED DISCUSSION FOR A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF
    CURRENT CHILD PROTECTION LAWS.



 1        WHEREAS, the Child Protection Legislative Roundtable
 2   (Roundtable) is an ad hoc group of service providers and
 3   medical specialists in child protection; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the Roundtable has been instrumental in improving
 6   the Child Protective Services (CPS) system, including the
 7   enactment of its recommendations in Act 134, Session Laws of
 8   Hawaii (SLH) 1998, and Act 271, SLH 1999; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, the Roundtable is continuing to meet and to
11   discuss issues relating to child protection, in the recognition
12   that the CPS system is not perfect and that ongoing
13   communication on a daily basis in detecting, preventing, and
14   treating child abuse benefits all participants in their work;
15   and
16   
17        WHEREAS, although improvements in the CPS system are
18   continually being made, either formally through statutory
19   amendments or informally through collaboration and cooperation
20   among the parties involved in child protection, there still
21   remains specific issues that need to be examined and may need
22   legislation; and
23   
24        WHEREAS, the Hawaii Appleseed Public Interest Law
25   Foundation (Hawaii Appleseed) is a participating member of the
26   Roundtable and has provided the kind of assistance necessary in
27   reviewing, analyzing, and making recommendations for statutory
28   revisions relating to child protection laws; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, pursuant to S.C.R. No. 77 (1999) that requested
31   Hawaii Appleseed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of state
32   child protection statutes, Hawaii Appleseed had distributed to
33   the Roundtable during the 1999 legislative interim a discussion
34   draft of a proposed new Child Protective Act; and
35   comprehensive statute provisions drawn from state and federal
36   laws and portions of the Department of Human Services'
37   regulations and policies; and
38   
39        WHEREAS, the discussion draft, that was broadly circulated
40   to governmental and private groups interested in the child
41   protection statutory framework, was intended to be a work in

 
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 1   progress, and to be later refined and modified into a final
 2   product that will receive broad agency, judicial, and community
 3   support; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, the discussion draft incorporates in one, WHEREAS
 6   , there lacked sufficient time during the 1999 legislative
 7   interim to craft a final product reflective of the Roundtable
 8   and community's current values and intentions; now, therefore,
 9   
10        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
11   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
12   of 2000, that Hawaii Appleseed is requested to continue
13   discussion and seek input in its comprehensive assessment of
14   reviewing and conforming current state child protection
15   statutes; and
16   
17        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the discussion drafts of the
18   proposed new Child Protective Act, distributed to the
19   Roundtable and the broader community during the 1999
20   legislative interim, be used as the foundation for Hawaii
21   Appleseed's efforts; and
22   
23        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, in
24   cooperation with the Roundtable, organize a conference and
25   working groups on child protection reform that brings together
26   stakeholders and other interested parties for the purpose of
27   massaging the discussion draft into a final product; and
28   
29        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hawaii Appleseed, with the
30   assistance of the Roundtable, report the findings,
31   recommendations, and any statutory changes to the Legislature
32   no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular
33   Session of 2001; and
34   
35        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
36   Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of Hawaii
37   Appleseed, the Roundtable, and the Director of Human Services.
38 
39 
40 
41                         OFFERED BY:______________________________