Economic Security and Equity for Children

Paid Family Leave

SB2046, HB1658, HB1768 HB2757, SB2474

Provides working ʻohana with paid time off from work to care for and bond with a new keiki or to address caregiving needs for loved ones. The United States is the only developed country without national paid family leave. To fill that gap, thirteen states plus the District of Columbia have passed paid family leave laws. Hawai‘i should join them. Here in Hawaiʻi, where most ʻohana are living paycheck to paycheck, it is critical that our state provide such support for our communities so that ʻohana are able to thrive and not just survive.

Lead: Paid Leave Hawai‘i Coalition

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit Fix

HB1776

Last session, our lawmakers took an important first step to boost the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. They more than quadrupled the maximum *amount* that taxpayers can claim for child and dependent care expenses, but they did not increase the maximum *percent* of care expenses that can be claimed, which makes it very difficult for families to access the full amount of the credit. This bill would increase the percent, allowing more taxpayers to benefit from the increase that lawmakers passed last session.

Lead: Hawai‘i Children's Action Network Speaks!

Child Care Worker Wage Supplement

HB1964, SB2603

Establish a permanent wage supplement program to improve the recruitment and retention of early childhood care and education professionals and provide sustained state funding after federal relief funding ends.

To open more than 400 total classrooms over the next decade, we must be sure there are enough educators. We know that the low wages contribute to high turnover for early childhood care and education professionals. We look to follow the lead of other states and jurisdictions in supplementing wages with public investments. Other states have begun programs that provide public funding to supplement wages. They have seen marked improvements in retention metrics. There is also growing concern that the rapid expansion of public pre-k programs will impact staffing in community-based programs. If we work toward pay parity–via public funding–we will help stabilize these concerns and again increase retention across various program types. Finally, COVID-relief dollars must be spent by September 2024. Once the Hawaiʻi Department of Human Services spends the remaining $40 million, there will be no more federal funding to subsidize the sector. We need state legislators to step in.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance

Child Tax Credit

SB2660, HB1662

This legislation would create a state-level tax credit for families with children that will help to supplement the cost of raising a family in Hawaiʻi, regardless of whether they are paying for child care.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Appleseed

Removing Tuition Cap for Child Care Subsidies

(Pursuing through administrative rules change)

Set clear direction from the State Legislature that the Department of Human Services may provide payments above tuition rates for child care subsidies.

There has been what can be described as a “constructive cap” on payments to providers for both state-funded Preschool Open Doors (POD) and federally funded Child Care Connection Hawaiʻi (CCCH). This cap means that even when payment rates increase, providers would likely not be able to access those rates without increasing tuition rates for families not accessing subsidies. There has been consistent discussion about the increase of POD rates to $1,500. However, the vast majority of POD providers would not be able to access the full payment amount without considering raising tuition rates across the board, which would have the heaviest impact on non-subsidy families.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance

Pre-K to 12 Education

Universal Free School Meals

 SB2327, HB1775

Nutritious food is key to children's educational success and healthy growth and development. However, too many of Hawaiʻi's students in struggling households are not eligible for free meals. This legislation would extend free meals to every Hawaiʻi public school student, regardless of their eligibility for the federal free meal program.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Appleseed

Credentialing Requirements for School Psychologists

HB1648 SB958

Hawaiʻi is the only state in the nation that does not regulate its School Psychologists. As a result, individuals with inappropriate training can be hired into open School Psychologist positions. Requiring credentialing for School Psychologists guarantees that Hawaiʻi's children, youth, families, and schools have access to effective and high-quality school psychological services that adhere to national standards of practice.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Association of School Psychologists

Health and Wellness for Children

Mental Health Awareness in Schools

SB2001

Youth recommendation from the 2023 Hawaiʻi Children and Youth Summit. Schools in Hawaiʻi should have a class that educates students about the importance and seriousness of mental health issues.

According to the 2021 Surgeon General’s Advisory on Youth Mental Health, recent national surveys of young people have shown alarming increases in the prevalence of certain mental health challenges. 35% of middle and high school youth in Hawaiʻi experience persistent depression; 7% of high school and 11% of middle school students in Hawaiʻi reported having attempted suicide. 23% of middle school students report that their mental health was most of the time or always “not good” in the prior 30 days. Youth mental health issues are a risk factor for high-risk substance use.

The TeenLink Hawaiʻi website continues to get 2,000 site visits on average each month. The top topics/pages visited included Suicide; Health and Wellness Toolkit; Sleep; Stress; Mental Health; and Self-Care. A Hawaiʻi Department of Health report using 2020 data estimates that 11,000 of Hawaiʻi’s youth experienced at least one major depressive episode in the prior year. Of those who experienced a major depressive episode, approximately 6,000 did not receive mental health services in the prior year.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Youth Services Network

End the Sale of All Flavored Tobacco Products

SB2691, HB1778

Children and other young people are particularly attracted to the sweet flavors of electronic smoking device products. Ending the sale of flavored tobacco has been a proven and effective way to decrease the number of children who begin initiation.

Lead: Hawai‘i Public Health Institute

Dental Hygienists Applying Dental Sealants in School-based Settings

HB1777, SB2476

This proposal allows dental hygienists to apply dental sealants in school-based oral health programs under general supervision (i.e. dentist is not directly on-site) without an examination from the dentist. Hygienists are already trained and allowed to apply sealants under general supervision, but the efficiency and sustainability of school-based programs are hindered by the current administrative burdens which require added layers of clinical determination for applying sealants. These burdens limit the impact per site visit, and potentially adds burden on families to obtain follow up care that could otherwise be provided in the school setting.

Lead: Hawai‘i Oral Health Coalition (HOHC)

Child Safety and Welfare

Litigation Abuse Protection for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Dating Violence and Stalking

HB1965, SB2604, HB2657

The intention of this legislation is to stop abusive and controlling litigation - where an abuser will take a person, their friends and family to court over and over again, in order to control, harass, intimidate, coerce, and impoverish the survivor. Survivors with children are particularly susceptible to this practice through child custody battles.

The proposed legislation would give the courts the options to recognize and respond to controlling abusive litigation for domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence survivors. If found to be an abusive litigant, the courts can order the financial compensation to survivors for lost wages, child care, transportation, court fees and attorneys fees. Additionally, abusive litigants will be subject to future prefiling requirements.

Lead: Hawaiʻi State Coalition Against Domestic Violence

Keiki Drowning Prevention

HB2623, SB2098, SB2841

Legislation is needed to support Keiki Drowning Prevention because drowning is the leading cause of death for keiki 1-15 in Hawaii and yet no statewide support currently exists. This should include a Hawaii Water Safety Day to raise awareness as well as funding for aquatic safety lessons in DOE schools by a qualified nonprofit. In-school lessons are the only equitable, scalable way to teach keiki the lifetime skills they need to avoid drowning. Less than 2% of our second graders have these basic skills, and even less in Title 1 schools. A standards-based curriculum with lessons has already been used in individual schools on several islands. Aquatic safety should be the norm in Hawaii, similar to carseat and seatbelt safety.

Lead: Hawaiʻi Water Safety Coalition