HB282 SD1

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	282
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO MINORS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 346-17.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) A minor may consent to no cost emergency shelter and related services if the minor understands the benefits, responsibilities, risks, and limits of the shelter and services, and the minor agrees to adhere to the provider's rules and cooperate and participate in those services recommended by the provider; provided that:

(1) The provider has not, despite reasonable efforts, been able to contact the minor's parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian;

(2) The provider has made contact with the minor's parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian, and the minor's parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian has refused to give consent and, based on the information available to the provider, the provider reasonably believes that the minor would incur harm, or would be subject to threatened harm, if the minor returned immediately to the home of the parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian; [or]

(3) The minor has refused to provide contact information for the minor's parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian, and the provider reasonably believes that the minor would incur harm, or would be subject to threatened harm, if the minor returned immediately to the home of the parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian[.]; or

(4) The provider is coordinating with the department's child welfare services branch."

SECTION 2. Section 346-17.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (h) to read as follows:

"(h) For purposes of this section:

"Minor" means a person less than eighteen years of age.

"No cost emergency shelter and related services" means accommodation at no cost for a continuous period of no more than thirty days, unless extended for emergency purposes and in compliance with subsection (b), including beds, meals, individual showering facilities, transportation to and from the place of shelter, and any of the following services as deemed appropriate by the provider:

(1) Assistance with reunification with the family, legal guardian, or legal custodian of the minor;

(2) Referral to safe housing;

(3) Individual, family, and group counseling;

(4) Assistance in obtaining clothing;

(5) Access to medical and dental care, and mental health counseling;

(6) Education and employment services;

(7) Recreational activities;

(8) Case management, advocacy, and referral services;

(9) Independent living skills training; and

(10) Aftercare services, as those services are defined in title 45 Code of Federal Regulations section 1351.1.

"Provider" means any child placing organization, or child caring institution authorized by the department under section 346-17 to receive or place minor children for care and maintenance and to provide related services, health care, or supplies to these minors[.], or an organization that is not a child placing organization or child caring institution that:

(1) Conducts criminal history clearances, child abuse and neglect (CA/N) registry checks, background, employment, and any other checks as may be required by state or federal law on an annual basis for all employees and volunteers;

(2) Maintains separate sleeping areas for unrelated adults and minor children;

(3) Serves no more than five minor children per day;

(4) Keeps a current register of all minors admitted; and

(5) Coordinates with the department to provide shelter or other services for a minor child."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that on June 30, 2023, section 2 of this Act shall be repealed and section 346-17.6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it read on the day before the effective date of this Act.