HI HR131

Request that the Office of Wellness and Resilience establish the Malama Ohana working group to identify, design, and recommend transformative changes to Hawaii's child welfare system.

Working group membership includes nine designated members or designees, including co-chairs from EPIC Ohana, Inc. and Hale Kipa, Inc., plus representatives from the Department of Human Services, Office of Wellness and Resilience, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Kamehameha Schools, and Liliuokalani Trust.

Co-chairs are requested to invite additional participants including two former foster youth, two birth parents, two licensed resource caregivers, and two kinship resource caregivers.

Working group is tasked with conducting informational meetings, developing recommendations to improve child protection and family well-being, identifying training and best practices for workforce sustainability, and identifying Native Hawaiian and other cultural practices that build wellness and resilience.

Working group members serve without compensation and must submit findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2024 Regular Session convening.