Bill Text: HI SCR12 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Human Services To Examine The Application Process For The Preschool Open Doors Program To Ensure Accessibility For All Who Qualify.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-06 - The committee on HMS deferred the measure. [SCR12 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2017-SCR12-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	12
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the department of human services to examine the application process for the preschool open doors program to ensure accessibility for all who qualify.

 

 

     WHEREAS, preschool is a critical part of raising Hawaii's keiki because preschool prepares children for kindergarten, teaches social skills, and allows children to explore and discover their world while learning through hands-on play experiences; and

 

     WHEREAS, the preschool open doors program is Hawaii's school readiness program that allows approximately one thousand three hundred children to attend licensed preschools to prepare them for kindergarten entry; and

 

WHEREAS, the preschool open doors program is a child care subsidy program through the Department of Human Services that provides statewide services to eligible low- and moderate-income families sending their children to licensed preschools prior to kindergarten; and

 

     WHEREAS, the goal of the preschool open doors program is to promote school readiness and help children develop a life-long love for learning; and

 

     WHEREAS, it is important that all of Hawaii's families have access to the preschool open doors application process; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently, the application process for the preschool open doors program is administered by People Attentive to Children (PATCH) and does not allow applications to be submitted electronically; and

 

     WHEREAS, some families are unable to apply for the preschool open doors program because they cannot afford a mail-in application, while other families may lack access to the Internet; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Human Services is urged to examine the application process for the preschool open doors program to ensure accessibility for all who qualify; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is encouraged to consider a paperless or other, cost-free application process that is accessible for all who qualify; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is requested to provide information regarding the cost of transitioning to a paperless or cost-free application process; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Human Services is requested to submit its findings and recommendations, including the cost of a paperless or cost-free application process, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2018; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Human Services, Director of the Executive Office on Early Learning, and People Attentive to Children.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Preschool Open Doors; Application Process