THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	52
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A SUNRISE ANALYSIS ON LICENSING AND/OR CERTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, many rural areas in the State were disconnected and unable to receive adequate health care services; and

 

     WHEREAS, when rural communities struggled with connectivity, transportation, and financial obligations, community health workers provided a critical lifeline to ensuring that residents' health care needs were met; and

 

     WHEREAS, with the rapidly changing global health pandemic, rural communities that have limited health care services are at a greater risk of being deprived of access to adequate, timely, and life-saving health care services; and

 

     WHEREAS, families living in rural areas comprise diverse communities, including varying incomes, level of service availability, living arrangements, and citizenship status; and

 

     WHEREAS, many of these families face language and cultural barriers that require specialized access to assistance and technology regarding health care issues; and

 

     WHEREAS, with deepening food insecurity, increasing housing instability, slow job recovery, and the replacement of many in‑person health services with telehealth services, the need for community health workers to connect rural communities to systems of care is greater than ever; and

 

     WHEREAS, increasing the number of community health care workers and standardizing their certification and training will help address these issues; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a sunrise analysis of the licensing of and/or a certification of community health care workers; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor's analysis is requested to include a recommendation on a training program for community health workers to help address the social determinants of poor health that disproportionately affect low-income, minority populations, which are magnified during times of crisis; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to set forth the probable effects of implementing a certification and/or training program and to assess whether the program is consistent with the policies set forth in section 26H-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and whether there are alternative appropriate forms of certification and training; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit findings of the program analysis to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Auditor, and Director of Human Services.

Report Title: 

Department of Human Services; Task Force; Community Health Workers; Auditor; Program Analysis