Bill Text: HI HR91 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Hawaii Early Head Start; Annual Household Income Eligibility Guidelines

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-24 - The committee(s) on HUS recommend(s) that the measure be deferred. [HR91 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HR91-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	91
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting hawaii early head start to raise ITS annual household income eligibility guidelines.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, early childhood education helps lay a solid foundation to prepare children for educational achievement and success later in life by fostering social competence and school readiness; and

 

     WHEREAS, the expense of early childhood education is not low and can be cost-prohibitive for many families in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, Early Head Start is a federally funded initiative that provides early childhood education and related comprehensive services for low-income parents and children as well as children with special needs; and

 

WHEREAS, Early Head Start provides services at designated centers and in individual homes to prenatal parents and parents with infants and toddlers and is designed to nurture and support parents and children by building on families' strengths; and

 

     WHEREAS, for a variety of reasons, the cost of living in Hawaii is notoriously high; and

 

     WHEREAS, USA Today estimated in September 2014 that an annual income of $122,000 would be needed to live comfortably in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to the 2007-2011 American Community Survey, the median annual household income for Hawaii was estimated at $67,116; and

 

     WHEREAS, the most recent income eligibility guidelines for Hawaii Early Head Start are as follows:

 

Household Size	Maximum Annual Income Level
1	$13,550
2	$18,330
3	$23,110
4	$27,890
5	$32,670
6	$37,450
7	$42,230
8	$47,010, and

 

for households with more than eight members, $4,780 for each additional person can be added; and

 

     WHEREAS, many working families in Hawaii fall into the "gap group", in which they earn too much to qualify for federal or state assistance yet do not earn enough to pay for private, market-priced services and programs; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that Hawaii Early Head Start is requested to raise its annual household income eligibility guidelines so that more families in the State can gain access to the benefits of early childhood education; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Governor, Director of Human Services, and Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Hawaii Early Head Start; Annual Household Income Eligibility Guidelines