Bill Text: HI HR189 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The Auditor To Conduct A Comprehensive Performance And Management Audit Of The Child Welfare Services Branch Of The Department Of Human Services.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 10-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-14 - Referred to HSH, LMG, FIN, referral sheet 33 [HR189 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-HR189-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	189
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the Auditor to conduct a comprehensive performance and management audit of the child welfare services branch of the department of human services.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the purpose of the Department of Human Services' Child Welfare Services Branch is to:

 

     (1)  Ensure the safety, stability, and well-being of children in the State; and

 

     (2)  Respond to allegations of child abuse and neglect while providing supportive services to children and their families; and

 

     WHEREAS, the public and news media have raised many questions about the agency's operations, including policies, procedures, and management; and

 

     WHEREAS, a recent review conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families concluded that the State's Child Welfare Services Branch made no improvements from the previous evaluation conducted in 2009; and

 

     WHEREAS, the federal Administration for Children and Families determined that the Child Welfare Services Branch was not in "substantial conformity" with any of the seven outcome categories of the evaluation, including the outcome that "[c]hildren are first and foremost protected from abuse and neglect"; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Child Welfare Services Branch met only five of the seven systematic factor categories, an identical result to the 2009 evaluation; and

 

     WHEREAS, concerns about the Child Welfare Services Branch include insufficient quality and frequency of caseworker visits,  maltreatment allegations in pending cases not formally being investigated, and children remaining in foster care beyond fifteen months with no viable goal of permanency, whether by reunification or adoption; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Child and Welfare Services Branch is still recovering from the State's fiscal crisis of 2009 and 2010, when the Department of Human Services cut dozens of positions, implemented budget cuts, and eliminated or reduced certain services, including services that assist families; and

 

     WHEREAS, attracting and retaining qualified employees has been a significant and long-standing concern for the Child Welfare Services Branch; and

 

     WHEREAS, at the end of 2017, about one quarter of the agency's one hundred eighty positions for social workers and human service professionals were vacant; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes child abuse and neglect as matters of serious public concern and finds that there is an urgent need to determine whether the Child Welfare Services Branch has the personnel and resources necessary to effectively perform its duties, including investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a comprehensive performance and management audit of the Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as part of the audit, the Auditor is requested to examine compliance with and effectiveness of the Child Welfare Services Branch's policies and procedures, including:

 

     (1)  Investigating and substantiating reports of child abuse and neglect;

     (2)  Providing services for substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect, including risk assessment methods to assess whether the child is in danger of abuse or neglect;

 

     (3)  Establishing, maintaining, and enforcing policies that safeguard the rights of the child and their non-abuser family members;

 

     (4)  Sharing information and coordinating investigative duties with county police departments;

 

     (5)  Sharing information and coordinating duties with the Department of the Attorney General's Family Law Division;

 

     (6)  Inputting and maintaining records in the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry database; and

 

     (7)  Providing effective oversight and supervision of all child welfare offices in the State; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to examine and provide recommendations for additional personnel and other resources needed for the Child Welfare Services Branch to effectively perform its duties, including investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit a report to the Legislature of findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, the Director of Human Services, and the Administrator of the Child Welfare Service Branch of the Department of Human Services.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Requesting the Auditor to conduct a comprehensive performance and management audit of the Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services