HI HB610

Appropriates funds for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program for fiscal years 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 to support the program on Oahu and provide contracted services in Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui counties.

Addresses staffing crisis where Hawaii's long-term care ombudsman program was reduced to only a director following a 2015 executive office reorganization, making it the only state in the nation with a one-person staff.

Notes Hawaii has over 12,000 long-term care residents and 1,702 long-term care facilities statewide, but current staffing cannot conduct quarterly facility visits or provide equal services across all islands as recommended by the 1995 Institute of Medicine standard of one ombudsman per 2,000 residents.

Identifies that volunteers cannot substitute for full-time paid staff and that the program has struggled to maintain its volunteer base, with only eight volunteers remaining as of 2016 despite training nearly 180 since the program began in 2001.

Directs funds to be expended by the executive office on aging and sets effective date of July 1, 2075 (note: effective date appears to contain a typographical error).