HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

236

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the convening of a task force to study the ramifications of adopting the new interstate compact for the placement of children.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the current Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) was drafted in 1960, and has been enacted by all states, including Hawaii in chapter 350E of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ICPC is the only public law in existence to ensure that children placed across state lines for foster care or adoption are placed with persons who are safe, suitable, and able to provide proper care; and

 

     WHEREAS, the ICPC process is supposed to entail a complete home study conducted by the receiving state in the form of assessments of social and medical histories of the placement family, their backgrounds, parenting and discipline styles, employment and financial histories, a physical evaluation of their home, criminal and child abuse background checks, personal and professional references, foster or adoptive parent training, and case worker recommendations; and

 

     WHEREAS, under the ICPC process, once the child is placed, the receiving state is responsible for ongoing supervision of the placement and for providing support services to the family and regular reports to the sending state agency and court, but financing of services and support must be agreed to by the sending and receiving states; and

 

     WHEREAS, under the current ICPC, existing provisions and rules are to be administered by the Association of Administrators of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (AAICPC), an affiliate of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA), but the AAICPC is not specifically designated under the compact, nor is it given specific authority to make and enforce rules or the provisions of the compact; and

 

     WHEREAS, a renewed focus on safety and permanency for children in our child welfare system has brought ICPC back into the spotlight, and highlighted many problems with the existing compact as currently written and implemented, including the lack of timeliness in the process that causes unnecessary delays for children being placed across state lines, a lack of accountability and enforcement, insufficient and antiquated language, and rules and procedures that are not uniformly followed or understood; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2004, the APHSA adopted a policy resolution directing a rewrite of the ICPC, and assembled a drafting team composed of a diverse group of state human service administrators, state and local child welfare directors, compact administrators, and representatives from a broad and diverse group of national organizations, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families and Children's Bureau, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Court Appointed Special Advocates Program; the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys, the American Bar Association, and many others; and

 

     WHEREAS, the final draft of the compact was sent to each state for final approval in November 2005, and in 2006, APHSA received the necessary support to move forward with assisting the states in getting the new compact adopted nationally; and

 

     WHEREAS, some of the improvements of the new Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children include: clear language regarding applicability of the compact; clear rulemaking authority delegated to the Interstate commission and provisions ensuring that the development of rules is in compliance with the due process principles of notice and comments of the Model State Administrative Procedures Act; meaningful enforcement of this compact; the collection of standardized information and the development of a secure and affordable information system that will facilitate timely information sharing, helping ensure accountability for interstate placements, clarification regarding retention of legal jurisdiction and under what circumstances jurisdiction can be terminated, and others; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that a task force is requested to be convened for the purpose of conducting a study on the ramifications of adopting the new Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children, including areas of change in current procedures in the Judiciary and the Department of Human Services, areas where compliance with the Compact would be difficult as well as needed improvements in order to comply with the Compact; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the task force be comprised of a representative from the Department of Human Services, the Judiciary, the Attorney General, and the Legislative Reference Bureau; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study, and any proposed legislation, if any, be transmitted to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2009 Regular Session; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Department of Human Services, the Judiciary, the Attorney General, and the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children; study