Requires the Office of Wellness and Resilience, in consultation with the Department of Human Services, to develop a comprehensive plan by 6/30/2027 for the establishment of a Kakou Pilot Program to support families and c, the official text

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2861

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 2

C.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO THE OFFICE OF WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE.

BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1.  The
legislature finds that the State has accumulated an estimated $470,000,000 in
unspent temporary assistance for needy families program funding with
approximately $333,000,000 in encumbrances on that funding.  These moneys are required to be spent on needy
families that meet the eligibility requirements of the temporary assistance for
needy families program.

Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to
require the office of wellness and resilience, in consultation with the
department of human services, to develop a comprehensive plan for the
establishment of a kakou pilot program to support families and children in
need.

SECTION 2.
(a)  The office of wellness and
resilience, in consultation with the department of human services, shall
develop a comprehensive plan for the establishment of a kakou pilot program to
support families and children in need.

(b)
For the purposes of the kakou pilot program, the office of wellness and
resilience shall create a plan to:

(1)  Provide
services for children in need, including child wellness visits;

(2)  Distribute
food boxes to eligible families, as needed;

(3)  Provide
counseling and related support services to eligible families with a focus on
families exiting a foster family placement and other at-risk children as
determined by the plan;

(4)  Administer
trauma-informed care services to eligible families and children at risk of
neglect; and

(5)  Provide
any other related services to support families and children in need in
accordance with this Act.

(c)
The office of wellness and resilience may adopt policies and procedures
necessary to develop the plan for the kakou pilot program and to carry out the
purposes of this Act.

(d)
The office of wellness and resilience shall:

(1)  Submit
a preliminary report of its comprehensive plan to develop the kakou pilot
program, including any proposed legislation, a recommended implementation
structure identifying the administering agency or agencies, and recommendations
on whether the pilot program should be established, to the legislature no later
than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2027; and

(2)  Submit
a final report of its plan to the legislature no later than June 30, 2027.

(e)  The planning period for the kakou pilot
program shall expire on June 30, 2027.

(f)
For the purposes of this Act, "eligible families" means
families who meet eligibility criteria for the temporary assistance for needy
families program, as determined by the department of human services, or any
other families meeting standards and requirements recommended by the office of
wellness and resilience in its comprehensive plan and approved by the
administering agency or agencies; provided that such standards shall comply
with applicable federal requirements.

SECTION
3.  Beginning July 1, 2028, the department
of human services, pursuant to section 2(d), is authorized and may
expend temporary assistance for needy families funds for the purposes
of the kakou pilot program, including $130,000 per year for an external
evaluator to conduct data collection and to assess whether the pilot program
meets at least one of the purposes of the temporary assistance for needy
families program and whether the pilot program effectively addresses that
purpose.

SECTION 4.
If any part of this Act is found to be in conflict with federal
requirements that are a prescribed condition for the allocation of federal
funds to the State, the conflicting part of this Act shall be inoperative
solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly
affected, and this finding shall not affect the operation of the remainder of
this Act in its application to the agencies concerned.

SECTION 5.
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.