HI HB1197

Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to utilize student education partnerships to expand clinical psychologists and mental health care providers in state correctional facilities

Builds on existing partnerships between the department, University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), and Queen's Health Systems that provide psychiatry clinical rotations at Oahu Community Correctional Center

Addresses prison overcrowding concerns, noting Hawaii's facilities house approximately 5,100 inmates despite being designed for only 3,500 people, with incarceration costs of nearly $80,000 per adult prisoner annually

Appropriates an unspecified sum from general revenues for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 to support and expand clinical psychology training programs within the department

Amends Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 353-13.3 to codify the department's authority to use student education partnerships for expanding mental health services