Bill > SR144

This Resolution urges the Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division to study the possibility of opening a new Community Mental Health Center office, also called a Family Guidance Center, in the Kau district of Hawaii County. Family Guidance Centers provide important mental health services to children and youth with serious emotional or behavioral challenges. Currently, the West Hawaii Family Guidance Center's Kona office is closed, and the remaining offices in Waimea and Hilo require children and youth in the southern part of the island to travel long distances, sometimes up to one hundred miles, for care. The resolution emphasizes the need for a new office in Kau to ensure these young people can access necessary services more easily and safely. The Department of Health is also asked to report its findings and any recommendations, including potential new laws, to the Legislature by early 2023.