HB1945 HD1

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to require the department of human services to establish a neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program that supplements existing statewide services by providing training and other services to neighbor island residents who are blind or visually impaired.

SECTION 2. (a) The department of human services shall establish a neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program that provides training and other services to blind and visually impaired individuals residing on the neighbor islands.

(b) The pilot program shall provide peer-to-peer outreach, sight loss adjustment, peer counseling support, and mobility training to program participants, including:

(1) Outreach efforts to identify individual and program needs;

(2) Coordination with existing programs to ensure that existing services are identified and used to the maximum extent possible;

(3) Adjustment services, including individual and group counseling;

(4) Access to and training for use of telecommunications services to receive current news, weather alerts, and other vital public information;

(5) Awareness development and training for use of computers, smart phones, and other communications devices;

(6) Daily living, self-care, and home management skills;

(7) Orientation and mobility training;

(8) Advocacy training and assistance to secure needed benefits, services, and individual rights; and

(9) Other services, including peer support needed for program participants to sustain independence and social integration.

(c) The services of the pilot program provided pursuant to subsection (b) shall be provided by volunteers, who shall be recruited, assigned, and supervised by the department or an entity contracted by the department to organize and implement the pilot program. All volunteers shall have the necessary qualification, shall be chosen based on experience and training, and shall utilize training methods consistent with the structured discovery approach used by the new visions program operated by the Ho‘opono services for the blind branch within the department of human services' division of vocational rehabilitation.

(d) The pilot program shall also provide program participants with special needs transportation assistance. The department shall work with neighbor island transportation service providers and other individuals to develop a special needs transportation assistance service network to serve program participants.

(e) Applications for participation in the pilot program shall be submitted on a form furnished by the department. The department shall establish procedures and requirements for accepting program participants.

(f) The pilot program shall be authorized to extend and supplement the existing services provided by the Ho‘opono services for the blind branch.

(g) The department shall enter into a contract with a nonprofit organization to recruit, train, and supervise volunteer service corps members and to oversee the pilot program; provided that existing department personnel may be assigned to fulfill administrative and fiscal responsibilities of the pilot program. Any nonprofit organization contracted under this subsection shall have:

(1) The knowledge, experience, and qualifications necessary to provide peer support services to program participants;

(2) A management team, consisting of officers and directors, of which a majority are blind or visually impaired; and

(3) Membership chapters or organization subunits located on the neighbor islands that will be served by the pilot program.

(h) The department shall submit a report of its findings and recommendations pertaining to the neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service program to the legislature no later than thirty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2025. The report shall include:

(1) A record of pilot program activities and accomplishments;

(2) A recommendation on whether to extend the program; and

(3) Any proposed legislation.

(i) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

(j) As used in this section:

"Department" means the department of human services.

"Pilot program" means the neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program to be established pursuant to this Act.

"Program participant" means a resident of a county with a population less than five hundred thousand whose mobility or ability to live independently is substantially limited due to loss of sight and who is participating in the pilot program.

"Special needs transportation" means transportation provided to program participants at times or for trips when public transportation is not a reasonable option.

SECTION 3. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 to fund the establishment and operation of the neighbor islands blind and visually impaired service pilot program, including funding for the hiring of necessary staff, travel, and per diem expenses; stipends for living expenses for pilot program volunteers; provision of special transportation assistance for program participants; and other necessary expenses associated with the pilot program; provided that:

(1) The department of human services shall identify and secure other sources of funding, including federal funding, to provide for matching funds for the pilot program; and

(2) Any funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall be in addition to and shall not supplant any portion of the base budget for any state or county agency providing services for blind or visually impaired persons.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2060, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2025.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1945
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII