HB640 • 2026

RELATING TO CHILD WELFARE.

Children Labor

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: MARTEN, AMATO, GRANDINETTI, HOLT, IWAMOTO, LAMOSAO, LOWEN, MIYAKE, PERRUSO, PIERICK, POEPOE, QUINLAN, SOUZA, TAKAYAMA
Last action: 2025-12-08
Official status: Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's effective date is listed as July 1, 3000 in the official summary and appears to be a placeholder or error. This needs clarification from the sponsors or legislative staff.

Child Welfare Complaint Reporting

This bill requires the Office of the Ombudsman to publish annual reports about child welfare complaints, mandates specialized training for its employees, and instructs the Child Welfare Services Branch to notify individuals about filing complaints.

What This Bill Does

Requires all employees of the Office of the Ombudsman to complete specialized training on handling child welfare complaints by December 2026.
Directs the Office of the Ombudsman to publish annual reports online detailing the number and nature of complaints received about the Child Welfare Services Branch.
Mandates that the Child Welfare Services Branch inform birth families, children, and resource caregivers about their right to file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman.

Who It Names or Affects

Employees of the Office of the Ombudsman
Individuals involved in child welfare cases including birth families, children, and resource caregivers

Terms To Know

Ombudsman: An independent official who investigates complaints about government agencies.
Child Welfare Services Branch: A part of the Department of Human Services that deals with child welfare issues.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify how many individuals will be notified or what form the notification will take.
There is no clear timeline for when the annual reports must start being published after December 2026.
The bill's effective date of July 1, 3000 appears to be a placeholder and needs clarification.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HD1

Hawaii published version HD1

Plain English: This amendment requires the office of the ombudsman to publish quarterly reports about complaints related to child welfare services and mandates that the child welfare branch notify families, children, and caregivers about their right to file a complaint with the ombudsman.

The office of the ombudsman must now publish quarterly reports on its website detailing the number and nature of complaints it receives regarding child welfare services.
The child welfare services branch is required to inform birth families, children, and resource caregivers that they can file a complaint with the ombudsman.

The amendment does not specify how the office of the ombudsman will handle or respond to these complaints beyond publishing reports.
It is unclear what specific actions the child welfare services branch must take to ensure that notifications are effectively communicated.

HD2

Hawaii published version HD2

Plain English: This amendment requires the office of the ombudsman to publish an annual report about complaints related to child welfare services, and mandates that the child welfare branch notify families and caregivers about their right to file a complaint with the ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman must create and post an annual report on its website detailing the number and nature of complaints received regarding child welfare services.
The Child Welfare Services Branch must inform birth families, children in foster care, and resource caregivers about their ability to file a complaint with the ombudsman.

The amendment does not specify how the office of the ombudsman will handle or respond to these complaints beyond publishing an annual report.
It is unclear what specific actions the Child Welfare Services Branch must take to ensure that notifications are effectively communicated to all relevant parties.

HD3

Hawaii published version HD3

Plain English: This amendment requires the Office of the Ombudsman to publish an annual report about complaints related to child welfare services and mandates that the Child Welfare Services Branch notify individuals about their right to file a complaint with the Ombudsman.

The Office of the Ombudsman must publish an annual report on its website detailing the number and nature of complaints it receives regarding the Child Welfare Services Branch.
The Child Welfare Services Branch is required to inform birth families, children in foster care, and resource caregivers about their ability to file a complaint with the Office of the Ombudsman.

The effective date mentioned (July 1, 3000) appears incorrect or incomplete.
Further details on how complaints will be handled are not provided in this amendment text.

Bill History

2025-12-08 D
Carried over to 2026 Regular Session.
2025-03-06 S
Referred to GVO/HHS, WAM.
2025-03-06 S
Passed First Reading.
2025-03-06 S
Received from House (Hse. Com. No. 263).
2025-03-04 H
Passed Third Reading as amended in HD 3 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Pierick, Ward excused (2). Transmitted to Senate.
2025-02-28 H
Forty-eight (48) hours notice Tuesday, 03-04-25.
2025-02-28 H
Reported from FIN (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 1009) as amended in HD 3, recommending passage on Third Reading.
2025-02-21 H
The committee on FIN recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 12 Ayes: Representative(s) Yamashita, Takenouchi, Grandinetti, Holt, Hussey, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Kitagawa, Kusch, Lamosao, Miyake, Templo, Reyes Oda; Ayes with reservations: none; 0 Noes: none; and 4 Excused: Representative(s) Lee, M., Morikawa, Alcos, Ward.
2025-02-19 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by FIN on Friday, 02-21-25 10:00AM in House conference room 308 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-14 H
Report adopted; referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Cochran, Matayoshi, Poepoe, Ward excused (4).
2025-02-14 H
Reported from HSH (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 651) as amended in HD 2, recommending referral to FIN.
2025-02-11 H
The committee on HSH recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 9 Ayes: Representative(s) Marten, Olds, Amato, Chun, Keohokapu-Lee Loy, Takayama, Takenouchi, Alcos, Garcia; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2025-02-06 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by HSH on Tuesday, 02-11-25 9:45AM in House conference room 329 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-02-06 H
Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on HSH with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Ward excused (1).
2025-02-06 H
Reported from LMG (Stand. Com. Rep. No. 199) as amended in HD 1, recommending passage on Second Reading and referral to HSH.
2025-02-05 H
The committee on LMG recommend that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes were as follows: 5 Ayes: Representative(s) Holt, Quinlan, Ichiyama, Morikawa, Matsumoto; Ayes with reservations: none; Noes: none; and Excused: none.
2025-01-31 H
Bill scheduled to be heard by LMG on Wednesday, 02-05-25 2:00PM in House conference room 430 VIA VIDEOCONFERENCE.
2025-01-21 H
Referred to LMG, HSH, FIN, referral sheet 2
2025-01-21 H
Introduced and Pass First Reading.
2025-01-17 H
Pending introduction.

Official Summary Text

RELATING TO CHILD WELFARE.
Office of the Ombudsman; Child Welfare Services Branch; Department of Human Services; Complaints ($)
Requires the Office of the Ombudsman to publish an annual report on its website that identifies the number and nature of complaints that it receives regarding the Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services. Requires the Child Welfare Services Branch to provide notification to certain parties that complaints can also be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman. Effective 7/1/3000. (HD3)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB640

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

640

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to child welfare
.

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

����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that Act 86, Session
Laws of Hawaii 2023, established the malama ohana working group, which was
tasked with recommending transformative changes to the State's existing child
welfare system.
�
Over the course of
fifteen months, seventeen members of the malama ohana working group, which represented
those serving youth as well as youth and families throughout the State,
together with hundreds of community members, opened their hearts and listened
deeply to the stories of lived experience within the child welfare system.

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The malama
ohana working group strove to develop recommendations to establish a child
welfare system that is trauma-informed, sustains a community-based partnership,
and responds to the needs of children and families in the system and the
community.
�
Their work resulted in a
powerful vision for transforming how Hawaii supports families and protects
children.

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Among the
many recommendations to move toward this vision was the establishment of a
method for the independent resolution of complaints concerning the child
welfare system.
�
Currently, the office of
the ombudsman plays this role, upon request.

����
The office
of the ombudsman is an independent agency of the legislature that investigates
complaints about actions of executive branch agencies of the State and counties.
�
The ombudsman serves as a neutral,
independent intermediary between citizens and executive agencies.
�
The ombudsman has the authority to obtain
necessary information for an investigation and to recommend corrective action
if a complaint is found to be substantiated.

����
As a first
step in addressing concerns raised by the malama ohana working group, the
legislature wishes to fully utilize the office of the ombudsman by raising
awareness of the office as a resource for those who have complaints related to
the child welfare services branch of the department of human services.

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Therefore,
the purpose of this Act is to:

����
(1)
�
Require
specialized training for all employees of the office of the ombudsman to
develop relevant expertise;

����
(2)
�
Require
the office of the ombudsman to publish a quarterly report on its website that
identifies the number and nature of complaints that it receives regarding the
child welfare services branch of the department of human services; and

����
(3)
�
Require
the child welfare services branch of the department of human services to notify
birth families, children, and resource caregivers that they can file a
complaint with the office of the ombudsman.

����
SECTION
2.
�
(a)
�

All employees of the office of the ombudsman shall undergo specialized
training to develop expertise in addressing complaints about the child welfare
services branch of the department of human services, including training about best
practices; trauma-informed training; and training in diversity, equity, and
inclusion.
�
This training shall occur
over three sessions and shall be completed by December 2026.

����
(b)
�
The office of the ombudsman shall publish on
its website a quarterly report that identifies:

����
(1)
�
The number and nature of complaints that the
office of the ombudsman receives regarding the child welfare services branch of
the department of human services; and

����
(2)
�
The disposition of those complaints.

����
SECTION
3.
�
The child welfare services branch of
the department of human services shall notify all individuals, including birth
families, children, and resource caregivers, that they can also file a
complaint with the office of the ombudsman if they disagree with a decision
made by the child welfare services branch when a case is first established and
again at the time that an oral or written complaint is made to employees of the
child welfare services branch.

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SECTION
4.
�
There is appropriated out of the
general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of
$ or so much
thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2025-2026 for the training
identified in section 2(a) of this Act.

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The sum
appropriated shall be expended by the office of the ombudsman for the purposes
of this Act.

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SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Office of
the Ombudsman; Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services;
Complaints; Appropriation

Description:

Requires specialized training for all employees of the
Office of the Ombudsman to develop relevant expertise to handle complaints
about the child welfare system.
�
Requires
the Office of the Ombudsman to publish a quarterly report on its website that
identifies the number and nature of complaints that it receives regarding the
Child Welfare Services Branch of the Department of Human Services.
�
Requires the Child Welfare Services Branch of
the Department of Human Services to provide notification that complaints can
also be filed with the Office of the Ombudsman.
�

Appropriates funds.

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of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.