Bill Text: HI SR144 | 2022 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Health's Child And Adolescent Mental Health Division To Conduct A Feasibility Study On The Establishment Of A Community Mental Health Center Office, Also Known As A Family Guidance Center Office, In Kau In The County Of Hawaii.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-06-06 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06/06/22. [SR144 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2022-SR144-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	144
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division to Conduct a Feasibility Study On the Establishment of A Community Mental Health Center Office, also known as a family guidance center Office, in ka‘Ū IN THE County of hawaii.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division manages Community Mental Health Centers, also known as Family Guidance Centers, that provide Hawai‘i's children and youth who have serious emotional or behavioral challenges access to essential intensive mental health services; and

 

     WHEREAS, the school district for the island of Hawai‘i originally had one Family Guidance Center; however, due to the disproportionately high number of children and youth enrolled in its programs, the Center's jurisdiction was divided into two centers:  the East Hawai‘i Family Guidance Center and West Hawai‘i Family Guidance Center; and

 

     WHEREAS, the East Hawai‘i Family Guidance Center operates one office located in Hilo and the West Hawai‘i Family Guidance Center operates two offices--one each in Waimea and Kona; and

 

     WHEREAS, the West Hawai‘i Family Guidance Center's Kona office has been closed for some time as the lease for a new premises is being finalized, and as a result, the Waimea office currently serves the entire western region of the island of Hawai‘i; and

 

     WHEREAS, due to the current closure of the Kona office, children and youth who reside in the southern region of the island of Hawai‘i are required to travel as far as one hundred miles to visit the Waimea office or the Hilo office; and

 

     WHEREAS, some children and youth who reside in the southern region of the island of Hawai‘i will still be required to travel as far as seventy miles to reach the Kona office even after it reopens; and

 

     WHEREAS, establishment of a Family Guidance Center office in the southern region of the island of Hawai‘i is imperative to protect the health and safety of the children and youth who reside in the region and need swift access to intensive mental health services; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, that the Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division is urged to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of a Community Mental Health Center Office, also known as a Family Guidance Center office, in Ka‘ū in the county of Hawai‘i in addition to the existing Family Guidance Center offices located in Waimea, Kona, and Hilo, to serve the needs of the children and youth who reside in the southern region of the county; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division is requested to submit a report of its findings from the feasibility study and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Superintendent of Education, and Chairperson of the Board of Education.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Community Mental Health Center Office; Family Guidance Center Office; Kau; Hawaii County