Hawaii-2016-HB959-Introduced

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that in Hawaii, over 54,000 children are left alone and unsupervised until their parents return home from work each day. Yet according to the Afterschool Alliance, seventy-five per cent of Hawaii parents agree that after-school programs can reduce the likelihood that youth will engage in risky behavior and ninety-three per cent support public funding of after-school programs. The legislature further finds that while Hawaii continues to be among the states with high participation rates in after-school programs, the rate has been declining from thirty-five per cent in 2004, to twenty-eight per cent in 2009, to twenty-six per cent in 2014. Juvenile violence peaks in the after-school hours on school days and in the evenings on non-school days. Sixty-three per cent of violent crimes committed by juveniles occur on school days, while nearly one-fifth of all juvenile violent crimes occur between the hours of three and seven o'clock in the evening. During fiscal year 2012-2013, the police made over three thousand arrests of juveniles in Hawaii between the ages of twelve and fourteen.

The legislature finds that after-school programming represents an upfront investment in Hawaii's youth and that higher participation rates may be due to significant state funding dedicated specifically to expanding the availability of after-school programs. According to the department of education's 2013 superintendent's twenty-fourth annual report, Hawaii's dropout rate has reached fifteen per cent with a graduation rate of only around eighty-two per cent. Nearly half of the high school dropouts reported that they started high school ill-prepared. The legislature further finds that research indicates that each disconnected youth costs the taxpayers nearly $14,000 per year, a cost that can continue and even increase in the future as some disenfranchised youth become part of the juvenile justice or court systems. The stakes of disengagement are high. Once students are disconnected, recruitment, enrollment, and retention into programs require stronger and more persistent outreach, more intensive services, and more long-term participation.

The legislature finds that middle and intermediate school years are a pivotal time for our keiki, a time when they can succumb to peer pressure and significantly derail their educations and futures. Accordingly, participation in high-quality after-school programs can lead to improved attendance, better behavior, and better academic performance. Keeping our youth engaged in positive after-school activities will help to keep them on the path towards graduation and productive futures. Currently, there are approximately thirty-nine thousand middle and intermediate public school students in Hawaii. Only half of the fifty-six middle and intermediate schools currently receive some federal or state funding for after-school programming; however, such funding is inconsistent or unreliable.

The legislature finds that in March 2013, the administration, through the lieutenant governor, established the R.E.A.C.H. initiative, which stands for "resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health," to develop a framework and funding base for after-school programs for public middle and intermediate school students throughout the State. The legislature further finds that the establishment of a state-subsidized after-school program for middle and intermediate public school students is important to the future of Hawaii's ‘opio and the welfare of our State as a whole.

The legislature further finds that since its inception, the R.E.A.C.H. initiative has provided over $760,000 in funding for after-school programs at nine schools during the 2013-2014 school year, as well as eleven schools during the 2014-2015 school year throughout all counties in the State. The legislature finds that this funding has been instrumental in keeping students engaged in learning and positive development during the vulnerable middle school years and has manifested positive impacts on the lives of these students inside and outside of the classroom. The legislature finds, however, that a dedicated program with reliable funding is necessary to provide continued and uninterrupted services in middle and intermediate schools statewide.

The legislature further finds that the office of youth services, within the department of human services, provides comprehensive front-end services and programs for youth to prevent delinquency and reduce the incidence of recidivism. The office is dedicated to creating opportunities for youth to develop competencies that foster resiliency and enable them to achieve a successful transition to young adulthood. The legislature determined that the objectives of the R.E.A.C.H. initiative are wholly aligned with those of the office of youth services and, accordingly, provided funding during fiscal year 2014-2015 to the office of youth services for the R.E.A.C.H. program.

The purpose of this Act is to statutorily establish the R.E.A.C.H. program to provide a standardized framework and funding for after-school programs in public middle and intermediate schools. This Act also establishes a revolving fund to receive fees and other moneys to supplement the costs of administering and operating the program.

SECTION 2. Chapter 352D, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding three new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§352D- Resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program; established. There is established the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program within the office to provide support and funding for after-school programs in public middle and intermediate schools.

§352D- Resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program; powers and duties. (a) The office shall provide funding to establish, support, or enhance after-school programs in public middle and intermediate schools. The office may enter into contracts with middle or intermediate schools, individuals, organizations, or other entities to provide after-school programs to public middle and intermediate schools.

(b) The office shall:

(1) Establish criteria and application, selection, and award processes for funding after-school programs;

(2) Monitor after-school programs within schools;

(3) Conduct site evaluations for schools with after-school programs funded by the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program; and

(4) Ensure that each after-school program meets contractual requirements.

(c) The office may establish participation fees or other charges to be assessed to each student for the cost of administering and operating the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program.

(d) The resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program shall be headed by a program specialist who shall be appointed by the governor without regard to chapter 76.

§352D- Resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program revolving fund. (a) There is established the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program revolving fund to be administered by the office.

(b) The resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program revolving fund shall consist of:

(1) Fees collected by the office for administering and operating the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program, and the provision of program services;

(2) Legislative appropriations;

(3) All interest earned on the deposit or investment of moneys in the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture and health program revolving fund; and

(4) Any other moneys made available to the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program revolving fund from any other sources.

(c) All moneys in the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program revolving fund shall be used to supplement the costs of administering and operating the resources for enrichment, athletics, culture, and health program. The office may also use the moneys to:

(1) Hire personnel to implement, operate, and oversee after-school programs;

(2) Promote after-school program activities;

(3) Conduct after-school education and demonstration projects;

(4) Contract for services for after-school programs; and

(5) Fund associated expenses for after-school programs."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	BY REQUEST

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	959
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII