STAND. COM. REP. NO. 105-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: H.B. No. 1854

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Higher Education, to which was referred H.B. No. 1854 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to address the State's shortage of social workers, particularly in neighbor island and remote and rural areas, by appropriating funds for the School of Social Work at the University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa to fund and operate a Master of Social Work distance education program.

UH, Hawaii Youth Services Network, Hale Opio Kauai, Inc., National Association of Social Workers, and several concerned individuals testified in support of this bill.

Your Committee finds that the shortage of social workers in the state is particularly acute on the neighbor islands. The lack of adequately trained social work professionals and social services is a major factor contributing to the prevalence of social problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic problems, child abuse and neglect, school drop-out, and elder neglect. Distance learning would provide access to social worker education for those who cannot travel to Oahu to obtain the coursework necessary for their degree, and would help to increase the number of qualified social workers living on the neighbor islands, and available to provide social services to their communities.

Your Committee has amended this bill by replacing the appropriation with $1 to encourage further discussion of the measure.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Higher Education that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1854, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1854, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Higher Education,

 

____________________________

K. MARK TAKAI, Chair