Bill > HB1383

This bill establishes a five-year Family Resilience Pilot Program within Hawaii's Office of Wellness and Resilience aimed at preventing families from entering the child welfare system by providing comprehensive support services. The program will offer trauma-informed peer support navigators with lived social service system experience to help families access benefits and resources, provide financial assistance for basic needs like food, housing, and child care, and implement a parenting intervention program focused on improving caregiver-child relationships through positive communication and emotional regulation strategies. By December 31, 2025, the office must create a data and referral tracking system and develop an implementation plan with specific, measurable goals. The pilot program will run from July 2025 to June 2030, with the office required to submit a comprehensive report to the legislature before the 2031 legislative session detailing the program's effectiveness and participation rates. The bill is informed by recommendations from the Malama Ohana Working Group, which highlighted the need for preventative family support services to divert families from child welfare system involvement, and draws inspiration from successful child welfare diversion programs in other states that have effectively reduced family system interactions through targeted, supportive interventions.

Budget and Finance, Housing and Urban Affairs

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=HB&billnumber=1383&year=2026