STAND. COM. REP. NO.2841

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: H.B. No. 2495

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2495 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to make an emergency appropriation to provide foster board and board related costs, permanency assistance, and difficulty-of-care payments for foster and adoptive parents, permanent custodians, and guardians of children with special needs in the following amounts:

(1) General Funds: $2,268,663

(2) Other Federal Funds: $1,538,194

Testimony supporting this measure was received from the Department of Human Services and Blueprint for Change.

Your Committee finds that the State has an obligation to provide foster care to abused and neglected children and to find permanent homes for those children who are unable to return to their original homes. Based on the figures submitted by the Department of Human Services, the department will be unable to cover the costs of these services with the amount appropriated in the General Appropriations Act of 2002. Therefore, your Committee finds that the emergency appropriation provided in this measure is appropriate and necessary to meet the needs of Hawaii's children.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2495, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

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

____________________________

DAVID MATSUURA, Chair