HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

135

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

STRONGLY SUPPORTING THE CONCEPT OF ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF JUVENILE INTAKE AND ASSESSMENT CENTERS, AS EMBODIED BY THE PROPOSED PILOT BIG ISLAND JUVENILE INTAKE AND ASSESSMENT CENTER, THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

 

 


     WHEREAS, the Legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution No. 250 (2006) requesting the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to conduct a study, based upon available information, on the feasibility of establishing receiving homes in East and West Hawaii where juveniles in the juvenile justice system may receive comprehensive multi-disciplinary screening and risk and needs assessment; and

 

     WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 250 (2006) requested the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to identify and examine each of the following areas relating to juvenile justice:

 

     (1)  Available data and rationale regarding the current processes used in handling juveniles;

 

     (2)  Feasibility of a single point of entry for youth into the juvenile justice or social service system;

 

     (3)  Development of a system-wide screening and assessment instrument to be used when the youth first enters the juvenile justice or social service system;

 

     (4)  Existing federal and state laws and local and agency rules relating to confidentiality, privacy, and privilege and their impact on interagency information sharing;

 

     (5)  Existing regulatory and licensing requirements for youth care providers, facilities, and services and their effect on establishing receiving facilities;

 

     (6)  Development of a system of interagency information sharing to reduce service redundancy; and

 

     (7)  Existing programs and resources and those that need to be developed to prevent or reduce gaps in service; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response to House Concurrent Resolution No. 250 (2006), the Hawaii County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney issued a Report on the Feasibility of Establishing Receiving Homes in East and West Hawaii County, that recommended the creation of a pilot Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center in Pahoa, Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center would initially serve about forty youths per month at a pilot project in Pahoa with future sites proposed for Naalehu, Waimea, Kailua, and Hilo on the island of Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center would provide a critically needed single point of entry for intake, assessment, and case management of delinquent and at-risk youth; and

 

     WHEREAS, the benefits of the Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center would be as follows:

 

     (1)  For law enforcement:

 

          (A)  The community-based central receiving facility would eliminate confusion about juvenile dispositions;

 

          (B)  The public safety would be promoted by freeing up police to return to other duties;

 

          (C)  The police would be supported in that juveniles would be immediately and effectively accountable for delinquent behavior; and

 

          (D)  The expenditure of time associated with juvenile processing and additional police cost would be reduced;

 

     (2)  For the courts and probation:

 

          (A)  Compiling background information and conducting early screening and assessments to help guide decision-makers would be facilitated; and

 

          (B)  Judges would be provided with an opportunity for earlier assessment and referral to community-based service;

 

     (3)  For youth-serving agencies and programs:

 

          (A)  Cooperation and communication would be fostered;

 

          (B)  Information redundancy would be reduced freeing up workers for more direct service contacts and reducing agency costs;

 

          (C)  Treatment referrals would be accelerated by access to a database of information about programs and placements and their availability;

 

          (D)  Fragmentation and gaps in service delivery would be reduced; and

 

          (E)  "The whole child" would be addressed by a multi‑disciplinary approach;

 

     (4)  For youth and families:

 

          (A)  A caring, safe, and secure environment would be provided;

 

          (B)  A seamless array of services due to the multidisciplinary approach would be provided;

 

          (C)  Access to programs and services would be provided;

 

          (D)  Screening and assessment would be community-based; and

 

          (E)  Justice would be restorative and immediate; and

 

     (5)  For the public:

 

          (A)  Juvenile justice and police costs would be reduced; and

 

          (B)  Juvenile accountability would be enhanced; and

 

     WHEREAS, House Bill No. 844 (2009) called for the appropriation of $1,600,000 to fund a pilot Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center in Pahoa, an appropriation that could not be funded in the present economic climate; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is in the interest of juvenile justice in the State of Hawaii that the concept of a juvenile intake and assessment center be reaffirmed and promoted; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature strongly support the concept of establishing a system of juvenile intake and assessment centers, as embodied by the proposed pilot Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, throughout the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Health, the Director of Human Services, the Superintendent of Education, the Chief Justice and the Administrative Director of the Courts, and the Prosecuting Attorney of the County of Hawaii.

Report Title: 

Big Island Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center