Report Title:
Incarcerated Parents; Programs and Services
Description:
Authorizes the development of a standardized process for identifying arrested individuals with minor children, provide counseling and information to them to assist them in making appropriate arrangements for the care of their children prior to sentencing, and provide the means for more parental involvement when it is in the best interest of the child.
THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2349 |
TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to social services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that during the 1990s, the number of incarcerated parents in the United States grew by approximately fifty-nine per cent. The legislature further finds that currently there is no means of determining the exact number of incarcerated individuals with minor children in Hawaii, due to the fact that no procedures are in place for collecting such data.
Studies indicate that the children of incarcerated individuals suffer from a multitude of negative consequences, including the possible displacement from their home and separation from their primary or secondary caregiver. As a result, these children experience strong emotional reactions to the incarceration and disruption in home-life, leading to a significant increase in the likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system themselves. State policies support the breakdown of the family through the institution of termination proceedings and the failure to facilitate the continued relationship between incarcerated individuals and their children, when such relationship is in the best interest of the child. Instead, denial of visitation can often be used as a means of punishment or discipline of the incarcerated individuals, while those who truly suffer are instead the children.
Therefore, the legislature determines that the State should take an active role in aiding these families through the provision of assistance and services to ensure that these children may maintain strong relationships with their incarcerated parents and grow into well-adjusted, contributing members of the community. The legislature further determines that an essential step in this process is to first gather the necessary information on the number of incarcerated individuals with children so that the appropriate services can be determined and provided as appropriate.
The purpose of this Act is to develop a standardized process for identifying arrested individuals with minor children, provide counseling and information to these incarcerated parents to assist them in making appropriate arrangements for the care of their children prior to sentencing, and provide the means for more parental involvement, including through increased visitation, when such involvement is in the best interest of the child.
SECTION 2. Section 353-10, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§353-10 Intake service centers. There shall be within the department of public safety, an intake service center for adults in each of the counties, to screen, evaluate, and classify the admission of persons to community correctional centers. Each center shall be directed and managed by a manager and shall be staffed by a team of psychiatrists, social workers, technicians, and other personnel as may be necessary. The director of public safety may appoint full-time or part-time professional and clerical staff or contract for professional services.
The centers shall:
(1) Provide orientation, guidance, and technical services;
(2) Provide social-medical-psychiatric-psychological diagnostic evaluation;
(3) Provide pretrial assessments on adult offenders for the courts and assist in the conduct of presentence assessments on adult offenders and the preparation of presentence reports when requested by the courts;
(4) Provide correctional prescription program planning and security classification;
(5) Provide such other personal and correctional services as needed for both detained and committed persons; [and]
(6) Monitor and record the progress of persons assigned to correctional facilities who undergo further treatment or who participate in prescribed correctional programs[.];
(7) Collect information identifying whether an offender has a child, the number of children, and with whom the child or children resides; and
(8) Provide consultation services to assist an offender who has a child or children in making appropriate arrangements for the child or children's care, placement, and any necessary services, prior to sentencing, when possible."
SECTION 3. Section 353D-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§353D-4 Advisory council. There is established within the department for administrative purposes an offender family service center program advisory council. The council shall consist of seven members, of whom two shall be offender family members. The members of the council shall be appointed by the director of public safety in consultation with private secular and religious organizations. The council may review and make recommendations to the director to improve the services rendered by the center.
The council, together with the department of public safety, shall:
(1) Develop a standardized process for the collection of information identifying whether an offender has a child, if so the number of children, and with whom the child or children resides; and
(2) Provide assistance in the provision of consultation services to assist an offender who has a child or children in making appropriate arrangements for the child or children's care, placement, and any necessary services, prior to sentencing, when possible."
SECTION 4. Section 353D-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"[[]§353D-5[]] Purposes. The purposes of the program and center are to provide the following services to families of offenders:
(1) Provision of clothing donated to the center by private organizations or individuals;
(2) Information on regulations and procedures governing visits;
(3) Referral to other agencies and services; [and]
(4) A shelter area, outside of the security perimeter, for visitors and visitors' children who are waiting before or after visits[.];
(5) Identification of the necessity of services and facilitation of the receipt of necessary services for the children of incarcerated individuals;
(6) Provision of assistance to the department of public safety for consultation services to assist an offender who has a child or children in making appropriate arrangements for the child or children's care, placement, and any necessary services prior to sentencing, when possible; and
(7) Identification of alternatives and options for the facilitation and enhancement of child visitation and accommodation of the child's needs during parental incarceration, when such visitation is in the best interest of the child; including but not limited to the provision of appropriate scheduling times for visitation, a play area for children that includes a variety of books and toys, and a changing area for infants."
SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY: |
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