COM 0067.012 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

586 4890 Dept n! Human Sarvice 02 48 25 p m 17-29-2006 1 l2 LINDA LINOLE ~ e • LILLIAN e. KOLLER, ESa. GOVERNOR r ~ DIRECTOR - - ~ NENRV OUVA DEPIJr•' DIRECTOR eC 29 P(~ ? STATE OF HAVIIAII - DEPARTMENT OF HI~S~R~VECES' P. 0.8ox 339 Honolulu, Hawaii 96809-0339 December 29, 2006 The Honorable Pete Hoffman Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Council Member Hoffmann: I am writing to support Bill 345 and respectfully request an amendment to include facilities licensed or certified by the Department of Human Services. Bill 345 amends the definition of "Family" to include a group of not more than eight unrelated persons plus any program staff living in a facility licensed or certified by the Department of Health. I would greatly appreciate it if you would please also include facilities licensed or cert'rfied by the Department of Human Services. The Departments of Health and Human Services operate very similar facilities providing a variety of group homes for children and adults. For example, our "child care" homes provide emergency shelter and protection for abused or neglected children who have been removed from their homes. It is more economically feasible for service providers, such as the Salvation Army and Hale Kipa, to provide these critical services for a larger number of children or adults at a time, thus ensuring the availability of space on the Island of Hawaii for their care. The availability of services on the Big Island also prevents the need to send your youth, elderly and disabled persons to facilities on Oahu, and allows them to be visited by local family and friends and maintain contact with the positive supportive elements of the communities that they know as home. Additionally, these services often save the County money by preventing members of vulnerable populations from ending up as victims of crime or accidents. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AGENCY Comm. No. 7. Ref. To: Pr~+•ll~ G~jLt. Ref. Gate ,1pN 4 2407