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Home My WebLink AboutRES 248 Draft 01 2004-2006 OM~Y Os N~7 ~~~lic,'. COUNTY OF HAW'AI`I ~ STATE OF HAWAII . 4. ~TIT~ Oi,N',,,T RESOLUTION NO. '~'~8 f~6 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE OFFICE OF THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH THE STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, PURSUANT TO HRS 46-7, FOR THE NON-SUPPORT PROSECUTION GRANT WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General's Crime Prevention & Justice Assistance Division has authorized funding to the Hawaii Office of the Prosecuting Attorney for its Non-Support Prosecution project; and WHEREAS, these funds will be used to initiate investigation and prosecution of individuals who are persistently non-compliant of child support orders and with an emphasis on individuals with "off the books" income who evade their responsibility to support their children; and WHEREAS, project's objectives are to create a team to investigate and prosecute persistent violators of child support orders; to increase the percentage cif individuals who are making meaningful payments toward child support arrearages in Hawaii County; and to identify legislative, policy, and system issues that impede enforcement of child support violators; and WHEREAS, these funds are derived from Hawai'i's FY 2005 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program; and WHEREAS, Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 46-7, requires that county departments obtain the consent of the council to enter into agreements with the federal or state governments respecting action to be taken pursuant to arty of the powers granted by law to furnish, expend, and receive any funds or other assistance in connection with projects being or to be undertaken pursuant to those powers. NOW, filiEFtEFOR~, ~E IT RESOLVE® ~Y THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, in accordance with section 46-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that the Mayor of the County of Hawaii is authorized to execute, on behalf of the County, an agreement and related documents, to enable the County to implement its Non-Support Prosecution program as described in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney's project concept paper, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference as Exhibit "A". ~E IT FU14T~i1=H RESOLVE® that the County Clerk of the County of Hawaii shall transmit copies of this resolution to the Office of the Mayor, the Finance Department, and the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney. Dated at xilo ,Hawaii, this 15th day of February , 2006. INTRODUCED BY: l ~ ~ ~ COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE County of Hawaii Hilo, Iiawai'i AYLS NOES ABS E~ ARAKAKI X I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by the H?GA X vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of HOFFMANN the County of Hawaii on February 15, 2006 HOLSCHUH X AT'T'EST ?KEDA ISBELL X JAC'OBSON X PIL,4G0 X SAFARIK 9 0 0 0 ~/1 - Reference _ C-646/FC- 22 6 - - COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMAN & PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. I. PROBLEM STATEMENT Although the State's economic status has improved in recent years, Hawaii County continues to lead the State in negative social indicators. According to the Mental Health Association in Hawaii County 2004 Survey of Social Indicators, the Big Island has 12.4% of the State's population with a disproportionate amount of food stamp recipients (20.9%), Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF)/Temporary Aid to Other Needy Families (TAONF) recipients (20.1 and Social Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance recipients (20.2%). Hawaii County also has a high rate of non-compliance with child support orders. Currently, approximately 16.89% of all active child support enforcement cases statewide come from Hawaii County. Of those 16,767 cases in Hawaii County, more than half of the custodial parents are not making regular monthly child support payments. State and County resources are stretched and this has not been a priority area of enforcement. Persistent non-support cases are rarely investigated or referred to the Prosecutor's Office. Together with Hawaii County's domestic violence and substance abuse issues, these negative social indicators ultimately impact the children we seek to protect. It is the intention of this project to address the problem by identifying and prosecuting those who are persistently non-compliant of child support orders. Initially, emphasis will be on the individuals who engage in unlawful-off-the-books income activity who actually have the ability to meet their obligation to provide support. The system's failure to discover concealed income and to promptly enforce child support orders also fosters a lack of confidence in government to hold parents accountable for the support and welfare of their children. By addressing this problem we can break the cycle and restore respect for the laws and norms of our community. II & III. STRATEGY and PERFORMANCE INDICATORS GOAL The goal of this project is to improve criminal justice response to those who are persistently non-compliant of child support orders and improve the support and welfare of this group of children. OBJECTIVE 1: Create a team to investigate and prosecute persistent violators of child support orders. Activities: 1. Establish and fill investigator and legal clerk positions EXHIBIT "A" 1 2. Establish aNon-Support Prosecution team within the Office which will consist of unit members and a deputy prosecuting attorney and hold regular meetings to develop strategy 3. Purchase computer equipment and furniture for project staff Performance indicators: 1. Date positions established and filled 2. Minutes of team meetings and timeline of activities 3. List of equipment and furniture purchased OBJECTIVE 2: Increase the percentage of individuals who are making meaningful payments toward child support arrearages in Hawaii County to 50% in the first year from the current level of 40%. The four-year target is to increase that number to 70%. Activities: 1. Validate scope of problem by collecting and analyzing data, establish baseline 2. Create a standard criteria to identify appropriate non-support cases for investigation and prosecution 3. Identify most serious violators and prepare cases for prosecution 4. Prosecute 10 willful non-payment of child support cases in the first 12 months of the project 5. Identify cases suitable for federal prosecution 6. Issue press release for every non-payment cif support case accepted for prosecution 7. Coordinate training for law enforcement on discovery of income and assets Performance indicators: 1. Number of non-support cases in Hawaii County 2. Standard criteria for investigation and prosecution 3. Number of individuals investigated for willful non-payment of support 4. Number of cases prosecuted in Hawaii County 5. Number of cases identified for federal prosecution 6. Number of press releases issued 7. Agenda of training and list of attendees at training OBJECTIVE 3: Identify legislative, policy and system issues that impede enforcement of child support violators. Activities: 1. Conduct interagency meetings to identify issues and develop strategy to improve enforcement of child support non-payment violators 2. Develop interagency agreements 2 3. Collect data on sentenced probationers island wide with dependants and determine number of probationers who have child support obligations 4. Identify legislative and system changes necessary to improve enforcement of child support non-payment violators Performance indicators: 1. Establish interagency venue 2. Minutes of interagency meetings 3. Interagency agreements 4. Number of sentenced probationers in Hawaii County with child support obligations 5. List of laws requiring modification 6. List of system changes identified as necessary to improve enforcement 7. Interagency protocols IV. ESTIMATED BUDGET See attached. V. PROBABILITY TO IMPROVE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM This project will improve community confidence in the criminal justice system through effective investigations, enforcement and prosecution of pervasive noncompliance of child support orders. It will hold people accountable for their obligations, provide financial support for children and reinforce respect and compliance with laws. 3 NON-SUPPORT PROSECUTION CONCEPT PAPER BUDGET BUDGET CATEGORIES A. PERSONNEL COSTS MONTHLY ANNUAL INVESTIGATOR III 3,153 $ 37,836 LEGAL ASSISTANT 3,153 $ 37,836 TOTAL SALARIES & WAGES $ 75,672 B. CONSULTANTS Total Consultants 0 C. TRANSPORTATION & SUBSISTANCE Training 500 Travel -interisland airfare 400 Mileage 888 Total Transportation & Subsistence 1,788 D. SUPPLIES, POSTAGE, PRINTING, ETC. (Itemize) Office Supplies 490 Total Supplies, Postage, Printing, etc. 490 E. OTHER COSTS: (Itemize) Audit 250 Equipment - 2 computers 3,200 Equipment - 2 desks/file cabinets/chairs 1,200 Total Other Costs 4,650 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES $ 6,928 TOTAL GRANT REQUEST $ 82,600 MATCH (FROM STATE FORFEITURES or COUNTY): FRINGES BENEFITS @ 30.00% 22,702 REQUIRED MATCH $ 20,650 TOTAL PROJECT BUDGET $ 103,250