THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
3111 |
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS.
BE IT ENACTED
BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION
1. The legislature finds that many families
with children in Hawaii are impacted by the continuing health and economic consequences
of the COVID-19 pandemic and need an array of services. In response to these consequences, staff from
the departments of human services, education, health, labor and industrial relations,
the governor's coordinator on homelessness, the executive office on aging, the executive
office on early learning, workforce development council, and community providers
have worked on various initiatives to respond to the needs of Hawaii's residents.
In
August 2020, the National Governors Association for Best Practices and Casey Family
Programs launched the child and family well-being learning cohort I and II to coordinate
strategic solutions to prevent child abuse and neglect and ensure child and family
well-being. Several months into the pandemic,
there was a national concern that cases of child abuse and neglect were going unreported
as schools, health care, and other mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect
were providing limited in-person activities.
Following the early months of lockdown in 2020, reports of child abuse and
neglect declined in some states by twenty to seventy per cent. As part of the cohort, the National Family Support
Network presented information and training opportunities about family resource centers,
also referred to as family support centers, as a model to assist families and prevent
incidents of child abuse and neglect.
Family
resource centers play a critical role in:
(1) Preventing child abuse and neglect;
(2) Strengthening children and families;
(3) Connecting family-impacting agencies and programs;
(4) Creating opportunities for community-level coordination;
(5) Creating connections to resources and support systems; and
(6) Increasing family engagement,
which leads to greater student success in school.
Various studies of communities with family resource centers showed lower rates of child abuse and neglect investigations, lower numbers of children entering foster care, and an increase in parents or custodians gaining employment within one year after participating in services provided through the centers.
The
primary goal of family resource centers is to assist
families with supportive services before problems become crises that require intervention
by child or other protective services. For
school-based family resource centers, an added goal is to support a child's educational
needs.
Family
resource centers serve diverse populations, are family-focused, culturally sensitive
resource hubs that provide families and caregivers targeted services or referrals
for services based on the needs and interests of families or caregivers. Family resource centers may provide services that
include assistance accessing government programs, job training and placement, educational
support, housing assistance, child care, skills training for parents or caregivers
on a variety of subjects, counseling, and referrals for case management or treatment
services.
The
purpose of this Act is to establish and fund a
five-year pilot program within the department of human services and one
full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) family resource center coordinator position to further
develop and implement a statewide network of school- and community-based family
resource centers; to establish definitions, standards, and best practices; to identify
and align available services, goals, and outcomes; and to develop referral and data
tracking protocols.
SECTION
2. For purposes of this Act:
"Community
support system" means the support system that may be organized through extended
family members, friends, neighbors, religious organizations, community programs,
cultural and ethnic organizations, or other support groups or organizations.
"Department"
means the department of human services.
"Family
preservation services" means in-home or community-based services drawing on
the strengths of the family and its individual members while addressing family needs
to keep the family together where possible and may include:
(1) Respite care of children to provide temporary relief for parents and other caregivers;
(2) Services designed to improve parenting
skills with respect to such matters as child development, household budgeting, coping
with stress, health, safety, and nutrition; and
(3) Services designed to promote the well-being
of children and families; increase the strength and stability of families; increase
parents' confidence and competence in their parenting abilities; promote a safe,
stable, and supportive family environment for children; and otherwise enhance children's
development.
"Family
resource center" means a unified single point of entry where families, individuals,
children, and youth in communities can obtain information, an assessment of needs,
and direct delivery of or referrals for family services in a manner that is welcoming
and strength-based.
SECTION
3. (a)
There is established within the department the family resource centers pilot
program and one full-time (1.0 FTE) family resource centers coordinator position
to develop, implement, align, and coordinate a statewide network of school- and
community-based family resource centers, and develop a referral and data tracking
process.
The
director of human services may appoint the family resource centers coordinator to
carry out the functions of the pilot program.
The family resource centers coordinator shall be appointed without regard
to chapter 76, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
(b) The department, along with the department of education
and the department of health, may coordinate with other public or private entities,
as appropriate, to develop and implement family resource centers, including establishing
standards of practice, and a strategic plan to identify minimum services, align
goals and outcomes, and document referral and data tracking protocols.
(c)
For purposes
of this pilot program:
(1) A
family resource
center shall be designed to meet the needs, cultures, and interests of the communities
that the family resource center serves;
(2) Family
services, including family preservation services and identification of community
support systems, may be delivered directly to a family at the family resource center
by family resource center staff or by providers who contract with or have provider
agreements with the family resource center, or with any of the departments identified
in this section; and
(3) Each family resource center may have one or more family advocates who screen and assess a family's needs and strengths. If requested by the family, the family advocate may assist the family with setting its own goals and, together with the family, develop a written plan to pursue the family's goals in working towards a greater level of self-reliance or in attaining self-sufficiency, through education, job training, or employment.
SECTION
4. (a)
Contracts entered by the departments identified in subsection (b) of section
3 of this Act shall be exempt from the requirements of chapters 103D and 103F, Hawaii
Revised Statutes.
(b)
The departments identified in subsection
(b) of section 3 of this Act may accept grants, donations, and contributions from
private or public sources for the purposes of this Act, which may be expended by
the receiving department consistent with the donors' wishes.
(c) The departments identified in subsection
(b) of section 3 of this Act shall establish, no later than December 1, 2023, the
following:
(1) Criteria that the departments shall use
to evaluate potential family resource centers;
(2) Milestones
that the departments expect to meet in establishing one or more family resource
centers over the
course of the five-year pilot program;
(3) Specific,
measurable, attainable, reasonable, and time-based performance measures that the
departments expect to meet at the end of each fiscal year;
(4) Monitoring
and oversight controls that the departments will have over family resource centers; and
(5) Data
and referral system tracking needs and protocols in compliance with applicable state and federal laws.
(d) The family resource centers coordinator shall
submit reports to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening
of the regular sessions of 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027. The report shall include a description of items
identified in subsection (c) and shall include any funds, grants, or donations received
in the prior fiscal year.
(e)
The pilot program shall cease to exist on
June 30, 2027.
SECTION
5. There is appropriated out of the general
revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $350,000 or so much thereof as may be
necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 for the establishment
of the family resource centers pilot program, one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE)
family resource centers coordinator position, and for expenses related to development
and implementation of statewide family resource centers.
The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of human services for the purposes of this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2050.
Report Title:
Department of Human Services; Family Resource Centers; Pilot Program; Appropriation
Description:
Establishes the Family Resource Centers Pilot Program with the Department of Human Services. Establishes one full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) Family Resource Centers Coordinator position. Appropriates funds. Effective 12/31/2050. (SD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.