STAND. COM. REP. NO. 20

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 522

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 522 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

     (1)  Strengthen the safe sleep policy for child care facilities for children less than one year of age by requiring placement of children on their backs for sleeping and establishing notice and annual training requirements; and

     (2)  Require child care facilities to report the death of a child less than one year of age that occurs in a child care facility to the Department of Human Services.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Children's Action Network, Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children, and one hundred five individuals.  Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of Human Services.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from eight individuals.

     Your Committee finds that sudden unexpected infant death is a broad term that refers to the sudden death of an infant less than one year of age where the specific cause of death is not immediately obvious prior to investigation.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4,500 sudden unexpected infant deaths occur in the United States every year.  Your Committee further finds that sudden infant death syndrome, the sudden death of an infant less than one year of age where the death cannot be explained even after a thorough investigation is conducted, accounts for half of the sudden unexpected infant deaths that occur in the United States every year and is the leading cause of death among infants one year of age or younger.

Your Committee further finds that sudden unexpected infant deaths and sudden infant death syndrome are preventable through safe sleep policies that address causes of death that are associated with sudden unexpected infant deaths and sudden infant death syndrome.

     Your Committee on Human Services notes that the Department of Human Services will be conducting a public hearing on February 6, 2017, to hear proposed amendments to administrative rules for registered family child care homes and licensed infant and toddler child care centers.  The proposed amendments seek to improve safety and care by accommodating any changes to best practices and standards of care that may occur related to sleep-related deaths in infants.  Your Committee further notes that the Director of Human Services has publicly stated that the Department of Human Services is committed to pursuing public service announcements on television and radio related to safe sleep policy awareness.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 522 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committees on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health and Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

________________________________

JOSH GREEN, Chair