Bill Text: HI SB2070 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Foster Grandparent Program; Senior Companion Program; Appropriation ($)
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-18 - Report adopted; Passed Second Reading and referred to WAM. [SB2070 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-SB2070-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
2070 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to human services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Research shows that aging adults who volunteer in the community experience an increased sense of purpose and well-being as well as improved physical, mental, and emotional health. Civic engagement prolongs seniors' independence by allowing them to remain active and healthy. The adult protective and community services branch of the department of human services provides opportunities for seniors to engage with their community and make a difference.
One opportunity for kupuna in Hawaii to volunteer their services is with the foster grandparent program. This program utilizes low-income senior volunteers to serve as role models, mentors, and tutors for children with special or exceptional needs through local organizations such as head start centers, schools, and other youth facilities. The seniors must be fifty-five years of age or older, on a limited income, and able to work a minimum of fifteen hours per week. In return, the foster grandparent volunteers receive a non-taxable stipend of $2.65 per hour, a meal and transportation allowance, and training.
A second opportunity for seniors to actively participate in their community is with the senior companion program. The senior companion program is for limited-income adults over the age of fifty-five. The volunteers provide companionship and support to home-bound seniors, allowing those individuals to continue living independently in their homes for as long as possible. Another vital part of the program provides much needed respite and relief to caregivers. This program requires volunteers to serve fifteen hours per week and provides them with a non-taxable stipend of $2.65 per hour along with meal and transportation allowances. The program helps control rising health care costs and gives families and professional caregivers much needed time off.
The foster grandparent program and senior companion programs are federally funded by the Federal Corporation for National and Community Service, with twenty per cent matching funds being provided by the State. Although both programs are required to provide services statewide, Maui county has been underserved. Currently, Maui county represents less than one per cent of the total program volunteer base for both programs. The foster grandparent program has four active volunteers on Maui despite having 117 volunteers for all other counties combined. Similarly, the senior companion program has six active volunteers on Maui despite having eighty-five volunteers across the other counties. In 2014, a federal compliance monitoring of the senior companion program in Hawaii identified the lack of adequate staffing as an area of concern by the federal grant administrator, and cited the lower number of volunteers and adequate program support in Maui county.
Maui county has demonstrated a need for the services that these two programs provide. Volunteers through the foster grandparent program are needed to support the state funded pre-kindergarten classrooms, especially in rural Maui county, including the islands of Molokai and Lanai. Additionally, the aging population in Maui county is growing rapidly and relies heavily on family caregivers who have an increasing need for resources and support services that could be provided by a senior companion volunteer.
The purpose of this Act is to establish a full-time program specialist position for Maui county within the adult protective and community services branch of the department of human services to oversee the foster grandparent program and senior companion programs for the islands of Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.
Creating a program specialist position on the island of Kauai resulted in a significant increase in the number of active senior volunteers on Kauai. The same is needed in Maui county to fulfill the federal grant requirements of serving communities in every county as well as meeting the needs of the population of Maui county. The program specialist will provide program support for the foster grandparent program and senior companion programs, including developing senior volunteers and recruiting and supporting volunteer stations to coordinate assignments in school settings and for home-bound seniors.
SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $45,348 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the establishment of one full-time equivalent (1.00 FTE) permanent program specialist position for Maui county within the adult protective and community services branch of the department of human services to oversee the foster grandparent program and senior companion programs in Maui county.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2016.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Foster Grandparent Program; Senior Companion Program; Appropriation
Description:
Appropriates funds to the department of human services to create one full-time program specialist position for Maui county within the adult protective and community services branch to oversee the foster grandparent program and senior companion programs on Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
