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HB645
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H.B. NO.
645
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to homeless youth
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that one in ten
young adults who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five years, and at
least one in thirty adolescents between the ages of thirteen and seventeen,
experience some form of homelessness in which the young adult or adolescent is
unaccompanied by a parent or guardian over the course of a year.
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The
legislature further finds that among homeless youth, sixty-nine per cent report
mental health problems; thirty-three per cent have once been part of the foster
care system; and fifty per cent have been in the juvenile justice system, in
jail or detention.
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Moreover, sixty-two
per cent of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ+)
youth report being physically harmed while experiencing homelessness, while
forty-seven per cent of non-LGBTQ+ youth reported being physically harmed while
homeless.
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The
legislature also finds that runaway and homeless youth are vulnerable to
multiple threats, including having unmet basic food and shelter needs,
untreated mental health disorders, substance use, significant disruption to
their education, sexually transmitted diseases and human immunodeficiency virus
infection, sexual exploitation, physical victimization, and suicide.
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The legislature recognizes that existing
resources for outreach and shelter options are limited as unaccompanied
homeless youth tend to be an underserved and neglected population.
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The
purpose of this Act is to provide funding to the department of human services
to provide emergency shelter and services to unaccompanied homeless youth.
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SECTION
2.
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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 and the same sum or so
much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2026-2027 to provide emergency
shelter and services to unaccompanied homeless youth throughout the State;
provided that emergency shelters and services shall be provided on each of the
islands of Hawaii, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu.
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The sums
appropriated shall be expended by the department
of human services for the purposes of this Act.
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SECTION 3.
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This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Unaccompanied
Homeless Youth; Emergency Shelter and Services; Department of Human Services;
Appropriation
Description:
Appropriates
funds
to the Department of Human Services to provide emergency shelter
and services to unaccompanied homeless youth.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.