S.B. 2276 Summary

• Establishes a five-year pilot program in the east Hawaii child welfare services section (Hawaii County) that limits child welfare caseworker caseloads to no more than 20 children per caseworker, down from the current 40-50 children per worker.

• Appropriates funds from general revenues for the pilot program, which runs from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2023, including 8.0 full-time equivalent case managers and 15.0 full-time equivalent support staff positions.

• Responds to findings that Hawaii County had a confirmed child abuse/neglect rate of 213 per 100,000 residents in 2015 (nearly triple Honolulu's rate) and that the east Hawaii section lost 19 of 56 positions since 2009 due to budget cuts and hiring restrictions.

• Requires the Department of Human Services to submit a report with findings and recommendations regarding the pilot program to the legislature no later than twenty days before the 2019 regular legislative session.