|
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2861 |
|
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 |
S.D. 2 |
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to require the office of wellness and resilience to develop a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a kakou pilot program to support families and children in need.
SECTION 2. (a) There is established within the office of wellness and resilience the responsibility to develop a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a kakou pilot program to support families and children in need.
(b) For the purposes of the kakou pilot program, the office of wellness and resilience shall create a plan to:
(1) Provide services for children in need, including child wellness visits;
(2) Distribute food boxes to eligible families, as needed;
(3) Provide counseling and related support services to eligible families with a focus on families exiting a foster family placement;
(4) Administer trauma-informed care services to vulnerable families and children in danger of neglect; and
(5) Provide any other related services to support families and children in need in accordance with this Act.
(c) The office of wellness and resilience may adopt policies and procedures necessary to implement the kakou pilot program and to carry out the purposes of this Act.
(d)
The office of wellness and resilience shall submit a preliminary report
of its findings and recommendations on the development of a kakou pilot
program, including any proposed legislation and recommendations on whether the
program should continue, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to
the convening of the regular session of 2027, and shall submit a final report
of its plan to the legislature no later than June 30, 2027.
(e) Beginning July 1, 2028, the office of
wellness and resilience may expend temporary assistance for needy
families (TANF) funds for the purposes of the kakou pilot program, including
$130,000 per year for an external evaluator to conduct data collection and to
assess whether the kakou pilot program meets at least one of the purposes of
the temporary assistance for needy families program and whether the kakou pilot
program effectively addresses that purpose.
(f) The planning period for the kakou pilot
program shall cease to exist on June 30, 2027.
(g) For the purposes of this Act, "eligible families" means families who meet eligibility criteria for the temporary assistance for needy families program, or any other families meeting standards and requirements established by the office of wellness and resilience.
SECTION 3. If any part of this Act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition for the allocation of federal funds to the State, the conflicting part of this Act shall be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this Act in its application to the agencies concerned.
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval, and shall be repealed on June 30, 2027; provided that section 2, subsection (e) shall not be repealed on that date.
Report Title:
OWR; Kakou Pilot Program; TANF; Child Wellness Visits; Food Boxes; Supportive Services; Wellness Benefit; Foster Family Placement; Med-QUEST; Child Wellness Incentive Pilot Program; Eligible Recipient
Description:
Requires the Office of Wellness and Resilience to develop a comprehensive plan to establish a Kakou Pilot Program to support families and children in need. Sunsets on 6/30/2027. (SD2)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.