Hawaii-2012-HR120-Introduced

WHEREAS, the adult protective services program provides crisis intervention, without regard to income, including investigation and emergency services to vulnerable adults who are reported to be abused, neglected, or financially exploited by others or seriously endangered due to self-neglect; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature expanded the adult protective services law, chapter 346, part X, Hawaii Revised Statutes (Act 154, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008) to better protect our vulnerable adults; and

WHEREAS, as part of the new, expanded law starting July 1, 2009, the Department of Human Services has been accepting reports on abuse that focused on caregiver neglect, physical abuse, psychological abuse, self-neglect, financial exploitation, and sexual abuse; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services said it will investigate a report of abuse on a vulnerable adult, and if the Department of Human Services determines that the criteria for abuse or neglect are not met, efforts will be made to refer the adult to other resources so that future reports or actual abuse do not occur; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services has limited resources and lacks additional staff or funds to implement the expansion of the adult protective services law; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services accesses any existing public or private resource that might be able to assist the client, especially since adult protective services payments cannot exceed forty-five days; and

WHEREAS, the adult protective services program report for fiscal year 2011 reflected a statewide disparity in reports of investigated cases of abuse (1,160) compared to confirmed cases of abuse (99); and

WHEREAS, insufficient data is available for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 per age bracket regarding:

(1) Disposition status of investigated-but-not-confirmed cases per age bracket;

(2) Disposition status of confirmed adult protective services cases after the limited forty-five-day payment period; and

(3) Number of subsequent reports, investigations, or confirmations for adult abuse for cases originally non-confirmed within the applicable fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Human Services said it does document the disposition of a confirmed case, but this information is kept on a case-by-case basis within the written record, therefore, it is not available in report form; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Department of Human Services is requested to conduct a study on the expanded adult protective services law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department is requested to include in its study:

(1) Identification of possible causes for the wide disparity in the number of investigated adult protective services reports in fiscal years 2010 and 2011 versus number of confirmed adult protective services cases as it relates to the expanded adult protective services law;

(2) Disposition or referral status of confirmed cases as well as investigated-but-not-confirmed cases by age bracket;

(3) Documentation of numbers and age bracket of subsequent adult protective services reports, investigations, or confirmations for cases originally deemed non-confirmed within each fiscal year;

(4) Documentation of challenges and actions taken regarding:

(A) Possible lack of public understanding of the new law resulting in a large number of reports or investigations that do not meet set criteria found within the law;

(B) Possible lack of adequate resources within the Department of Human Services to confirm and provide intensive services; and

(5) Identification and institution of immediate changes or establishment of data fields, or related matter within information systems to:

(A) Capture the disposition of cases of both confirmed and investigated-but-not-confirmed cases per age bracket; and

(B) Increase the capability to track, trend, and identify gaps in services per specific age bracket, such as adults under sixty years of age who do not qualify for services from the Department of Health's Adult Mental Health Division or Case Management Coordination Projects, Catholic Services for Elderly, or other similar providers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Human Services is requested to submit a preliminary and a final report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Sessions of 2013 and 2014, respectively; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the reports include at a minimum:

(1) Findings regarding the wide disparity of investigated cases versus confirmed cases;

(2) Disposition or referral status of confirmed cases as well as investigated cases per age bracket;

(3) Identification of gaps in services per age bracket;

(4) Actions and timelines taken by the Department of Human Services to address data collection and reporting; and

(5) Any other findings regarding the implementation of the expanded adult protective services law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Human Services, Administrator of the Social Services Division of the Department of Human Services, and Administrator of the Adult and Community Care Services Branch of the Social Services Division of the Department of Human Services.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Department of Human Services; Adult Protective Services; Study

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	120
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII