STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2919

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 2298

       H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Donna Mercado Kim

President of the Senate

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2014

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 2298, H.D. 1, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NOTICE TO CHILDREN PURSUANT TO THE CHILD PROTECTIVE ACT,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide a child-friendly process of hearing notification to children in child protection cases to avoid children being served the summons by a law enforcement officer and to provide the child with adequate notice of a hearing.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and Department of Human Services.

 

     Your Committee finds that existing state law requires that children in child protection cases be served with the petition and summons by a law enforcement officer.  Your Committee further finds that it is less intimidating and more therapeutic for children to receive notice of the petition, the date and time of the initial hearing, and the child's right to participate in the hearing through notification by the petitioner, which is the Department of Human Services.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2298, H.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

 

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

 

 

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair