Senate Standing Committee on Health and Human Services

Calling the 1 o'clock calendar, Health and Human Services calendar. First up, GM 646, submitting for advice and consent on Language Access Advisor Council, Sunshine Cho. Sunshine Cho, are you present? Come on up. Please proceed.

Okay. Aloha, Chair. Thank you for considering my nomination for the Language Access Advisory Council. I will stand on my submitted testimony and I will be available if you have any questions.

Okay. Thank you very much. You can go back.

Excuse me, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I proceeded to already start with the hearing, but I just want to make sure procedural niceties are complied with, which is this meeting is being streamed live on YouTube.

In the unlikely event that we have to abruptly end this hearing due to technical difficulties, the Committee will reconvene to discuss any outstanding business on Friday, February 21, 1pm at this room. For those on Zoom, your audio will be muted video disabled until shortly before it's your turn to testify.

Each testifier other than the one who is under GM will have one minute to testify. If there's a technical glitch during your time to testify, we may have to move on to next person due to time constraints. I will be reading a list of individuals who submitted written testimony for each measure.

We apologize that the closed captioning does not accurately describe the names. If you're interested in reviewing the written testimony, please go to the legislature's website. You will find a link on the status page for the measure. We appreciate your understanding and remind you that the Committee does have your testimony that I reviewed.

So I encourage you to use your time to either add additional comments or stand on your written testimony. And present with me is my Vice Chair, Senator Aquino and Senator Hashimoto. And we have heard from Sunshine Cho, who thankfully is willing to stand on her written testimony.

And I'd like to point out to Members that she has submitted her answers to our questions on why she wishes to be a member of the Language Advisory Council. So, next up, we have Lieutenant Governor's Office in support. Thank you very much. Next, we have Sandy Ma, Legal Clinic in support. Sandy, are you present?

Next, we have Dr. Amy Agbayani, Hawaii Apprentice of Civil Rights in support. Okay, thank you very much. Anybody else wishing to testify on behalf or against Sunshine Cho? Okay, seeing none. Members, any questions? Seeing none. We're gonna move on. Thank you very much.

Next, we have GM 647, submitting for advice and consent, Barbara Tom for term--for the Language Access Advisory Council for term to expire June 30, 2028. Barbara Tom, are you present?

Yes, I am, chair.

Please proceed.

Vi-video. I thank you very much for the nomination and I'd like to continue to be a member of the council, and I stand on the testimony that I submitted.

Thank you very much, Barbara. Next--and I'd like to point out to members that Barbara Tom has also provided us answers to her--to the questions we provide to her, which basically states out why she wishes to be a member of the Language Access Advisory Council. Next up, we have Ryan Kusumoto, Parents And Children Together, in support. Ryan, are you present?

Yes, chair. I stand on our written testimony.

Okay. Thank you very much. Next we have Liza Ryan Gill, Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights, in support.

Yeah, we would like to stand on our testimony in strong support.

Thank you very much. Sandy Ma, Legal Clinic, in support. Dr. Amy Agbayani, Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights, in support.

In support, and I stand on my written testimony. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Next, I saw Mike Newman come in in support for AlohaCare.

We'll stand on our written testimony.

Thank you. And Athira Pamungran, in support. AP, are you present? Members, anyone else wishing to testify on behalf of or against GM 647, Barbara Tom to continue her term? Seeing none, members any questions? Okay, moving on. Thank you very much. Next, we have GM 642, gubernatorial candidate or--Department of Human Services gubernatorial nominee, not candidate. We can't do a candidate.

Ryan Yamane for Director of Department of Human Services. Come on up, Ryan.

Thank you, Chair. Chair San Buenaventura, esteemed Committee Members, distinguished colleagues and Members of the public. It is an honor to be considered for the position for Director of the Hawaii Department of Human Services. I would like to thank our Governor, first lady, Chief of Staff and all who supported my nomination and career over the decades.

Before I proceed into more comments, I. I would like to express my love for my parents who are here, family, my kids, countless friends who have helped shape me as a person and as a leader.

There are others who I'd like to thank because without their support, I would not literally be sitting here in this seat for consideration. They are my fellow directors Luis Oliveira, Jimmy Tokioka, Blake Oshiro, the Cochise and Darren Sato. Their years of aloha and confidence have directly impacted my professional and personal development.

To reach this opportunity, I would like to also express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to the hundreds of dedicated DHS employees who help our neighbors and friends daily, especially our administrators who are committed public servants and those that work in DHS proper, the offices supporting our divisions and attached agencies.

I stand before you today not just as an interim Director, but as someone who has spent an entire career striving to serve people in need.

My previous work not only focused on serving alongside dedicated elected officials for over 18 years like all of you, but also allowed me to give back in various ways through volunteering at American Red Cross, Department of Health's Medical Reserve Corp. And supporting clients and patients at various organizations. My core values have always been grounded in fundamental belief.

I learned as a social worker to being warm, empathetic and showing genuineness. However, judging from the smiles and some of the testimonies that might not be fully reflected in a couple testimonies. A vivid example is during the 2016 ERC skin fires in California, I volunteered to support in the response through American Red Cross.

I was asked to lead a team into the burn zone to support survivors and as they sift through their lost homes. One instance stands out. During this time I was motioned to pull over by a couple, a brother and a sister at a completely destroyed mobile home and the woman proceeded to ask our team for help since she was worried about the toxic smell and that her brother was refusing to leave.

He looked at me, then walked away and stood facing a severely burnt area in his yard. As I approached, he stated he did not want to talk and that he wanted to be left alone. He stood crossing his hands, looking straight at six small mounds of dirt in front of him.

I approached and without a word I stood next to him looking at the dirt in silence. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, he then started to talk. He mentioned that the mounds were the remains of his pet family of dogs and cats that did not make it.

He described being woken up in the middle of the night by his dogs and that when he went outside he had only minutes to grab his keys and pets to get to the car. As he put the dogs into the car, one of them bolted under the home.

The dog would not leave his hiding place and the home was in flames. He barely managed to survive with several of his pets but lost those he could not find. All I said in response was that our pets are family and that the grieving process is unique for everyone.

He then wiped his tears and said he heard me warning his sister about toxic ash and being hydrated, so once he finds one last pet and buries him, he would leave the area until it was deemed safer. This experience reinforced in me the importance of listening without judgment and compassion for people.

The Department of Human Services is a value driven public service organization which purpose is to help our constituents during various times of personal struggles. Our Department is the heart of society's most important mission ensuring that every person from Keiki to Kupuna, regardless of their circumstances, are given the opportunity to live with dignity, respect and hope.

I humbly come before you today with a deep commitment to these values of aloha and to support the people of Hawaii. As someone who has served for over three decades in various social service roles, I appreciate the complexities and challenges of public service.

I also understand that effective leadership must be grounded in being compassionate and a prudent decision maker. It must be balanced between providing those who cannot provide for themselves and fostering the Independence and self reliance for those who can.

The Department of Human Services is filled with committed and compassionate workers striving to do their best while they are helping others. That is why I believe in an approach that empowers individuals, nurtures their potential and promotes responsibility while ensuring that those who need assistance can find support, guidance and a path forward.

This important role needs a leader who can work with Ohanas, community partners, our Legislature, city and federal partners to fulfill the vision of our Governor and the Legislature in a way that is pono in my view. The Director works and inspires the divisions, works with the Legislature and the community partners, and advocates for resources for our community.

Our Department continues to be more than just helping. It provides people with chances for transformation. As we work to alleviate poverty, address the need for the needs of children, families and the elderly, and support people, we must always keep in mind the importance of each person's unique situation and their cultural sensitivity.

Hawaii's diverse population can be challenging and I continue to approach these challenges with a deep respect for the host culture and our Aloha spirit values that define our home.

I have committed to working hard to ensure that these services are responsive and fair to the needs of every community from South Point of the Big island to the beautiful Hanalei on Kauai. Years ago, I provided direct services to families that were court ordered for family therapy prior to reunification.

I remember arriving at a home after several prior attempts to do so and meeting with the biological parents of several Trojan to do an assessment and develop a plan for potential reunification. Both parents had a history of domestic violence and substance abuse. During the initial meeting, both parents engaged in verbal attacks and blaming resulting in no progress.

After second failed meeting, I decided to reach out to them by not telling them the consequences of their actions but asking them to show me something that both really enjoyed. After some time they proceeded to tell me about chicken fighting and brought out their prized bird to hold during their excitement about teaching me about raising chickens.

Both parents became emotional, starting to cry and explaining that they love their children more than the birds but do not know how to raise them unlike their knowledge of roosters and hens. We had a very open and meaningful discussion that resulted in a plan and they agreed to enter rehab.

I was so moved that ensuring true interest in something significant to them resulted in their own insights into developing areas that they needed to grow as people. That is the leader I would like to be for the Department.

Throughout my career I have sought to help people and be someone who would step up to help those in need. I believe those principles must guide the Department and will be part of how it is led. During these uncertain times.

We must remain focused on protecting our people with respect and dignity, help people increase their resilience and promote the importance of community, working together to help each other.

My last story is an example that highlights even the best trained professionals sometimes need compassion and support for them to support others, I volunteered to be deployed to a mass shooting incident in Las Vegas. During my deployment, I joined law enforcement to visit victims and their families to help them give personal statements to investigators.

As we did the visits at several hospitals, I was pulled aside by a head nurse asking me to provide a family with some negative medical news. Since I worked at Queen's Hospital part time in various capacities, I explained that this was not standard procedure.

The nurse stated that they had cleared it with hospital Administration and due to their mental health experts all being assigned or having also mental stress, they had no one with the background available.

I was told that nurses had been monitoring my style and that it was requested that I assist with this one family due to their parents being on teleconference from Canada. After verifying with my superiors, I agreed to assist since the workers and patient needed support during this chaotic situation.

We met as a team with the victim's parents and over several calls and plans for the patient return home was coordinated. After our final meeting, the nurse approached me and broke down in tears saying how much joy it brought her staff that they had support and love from people all the way from Hawaii.

I remember driving away thinking all I did was do my job. However, it hit me that our workers also need what we provide to our people. Support and compassion.

As we move forward, I will work tirelessly to ensure that our policies are not just effective but compassionate and grounded in the fundamental values that make our home so special. I humbly ask for your support in this endeavor and I pledge to work with integrity, transparency and dedication to the people of Hawaii. Thank you for Your consideration.

Okay, thank you very much, Committee Members. I'd also like to point out that Director Yamane also submitted answers to the questions we have and have been, and these answers have been provided to you. Next up, we have Department of Health in support. Thank you very much. Department of Budget and Finance and support. You have one minute.

Thank you, Chair. Thank you, Chair. Vice Chair. And Members for the opportunity to support Ryan to be the next Director of the Department of Human Services. You will hear from many individuals today who have worked with Ryan over the years and can attest to his many strengths and talents.

And although he will not admit it, the only Japanese man that identifies as a Filipino. However, it is in those more personal and quiet moments that Ryan's true character really shines through. For 35 years, I've known Ryan to be a social worker. Social worker. His professional career speaks for itself.

However, it is in those volunteer moments that he talked about. Whether it's his time counseling runaway teens who are victims of abuse, helping survivors of the California wildfires, or consoling people in the aftermath of that Las Vegas mass shooting, you can really understand Ryan's commitment to his calling.

And with your consent, I think he will make a great Director of Human Services. Thank you, Chair.

Okay, thank you very much. Next, we have Attorney General in support. Anne Lopez. Come on up.

Good afternoon, Chair. Members of the Committee, first, I want to say I'm regretting my own confirmation opening statement, because that was really quite beautiful. And I think it goes to exactly what I think is important.

I've only known Ryan for 10 months, and I've worked with him for 10 months, and we have had a lot of issues to work on. And I find him to be a team player. He problem solves. He. He collaborates. He's got a wonderful sense of humor to keep us light when things are not necessarily light.

And I think he'll make a great Director and a great partner to the existing directors that are part of this cabinet. I hope that you're able to vote for his approval.

Okay, thank you very much. Next, we have Executive Office of Early Learning in support. Thank you very much. I see Jade Butay here, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and support.

Good afternoon, Chair. San Buenaventura, Vice Chair Aquino and Committee Members. I'm Jade Butay, Director of the Department of Labor Industrial Relations. We stand in our testimony and strong support. I've worked extensively with Mr.

Ryan Yamani when he was the State representative, Deputy Director of Department of Human Resource Development, and now as a Director of DHS I've gained firsthand knowledge of his leadership abilities and also his inventive approach to problem solving. I believe he will bring his unique energy, enthusiasm, compassion and vigorous imagination to dhs.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of a truly great public servant.

Thank you very much. Next we have John Mizuno, Statewide office on homelessness and Housing Solutions and support John Mizuno. Next we have Department of Transportation on zoom. Anybody from DOT and support not present on zoom. Chair. Next we have Hakeem, Hawaii Public Housing Authority and support. Hakeem, are you present?

Madam Chair, Members. Looks like everyone stole my speech, so. I'll just stand up my testimony.

Thank you very much, Hakim. Next we have Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Tommy Johnson in support. Thank you very much. Governor of the State of Hawaii and support. Department of Human Resources Development and support. Department of Budget and Finance, Sabina Nasser and support. Department of Ag and support. Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Nadine Ando and support.

Department Taxation and support. Department of Defense, Major Steven Logan in support. Jimmy Tokioka in support.

Thank you, Chair. I'll make it really, really quick. And yes, a lot of people already said a lot of great things about Ryan and it's so good to be in the room with former representatives that worked with him.

But what I will say add to my testimony is that, you know, Ryan was the Chair of Economic Development, Tourism, Waterland, Health and Human Services. I think we all trusted that when we did caucus that Ryan would have everything laid out and be able to explain it to us so that we would understand what those bills were.

And I think he will use those same skills as the Director of Human Services. I would just end with saying that I'd like to refer to a floor speech in 2008 where the representative from Kauai gave a great speech about values and personality of soon to be, hopefully Director Yamane.

And if you can refer to that, I know the representative from. Former representative from Waianae was in the room when that speech occurred on the floor. So I'd like to close with that and thank you for his consideration and thank him for stepping up to the plate.

Okay, thank you very much, Director Tokioka. Next we have dags, Keith Reagan in support. County of Kauai, Derek Kawakami in support. Mayor okay, Ryan Kusumoto, parents and children together in support.

Thank you, Chair and Committee Members. Ryan Kusumoto with parents and children together. And a lot of folks have said what I wanted to say. The one thing I would say as A former colleague of ours at pact. It's often said that you remember someone by how they leave you.

And I would say that Director Yamane is still highly regarded many much for what he talked about in the stories he's left behind with the people that we have served. And so we are in strong support of Ryan as the appointment for the Director.

Okay, thank you very much. Next we have Hawaii Farm Bureau Brian Miyamoto in support.

Thank you, Chair. The Hawaii Farm Bureau will stand on. Its written testimony in strong support.

Thank you very much. Queen's Health System, Jason Chang, in support. Thank you. Healthcare Association of Hawaii. I see health and race all here in support.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. Jennifer Diesel, HSMA, in support. Thank you, Walden. Next we have Kaiser Permanente, Jonathan Ching in support. Okay. Okay. Thank you, Jonathan. Stephanie Sakamoto, HI HCUL, in support. Okay. Stephanie. Amy Agbayani, Dr. AG, Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights and support. Thank you very much. Rachel Wilkinson, Hawaii Association of Health Plans, in support.

Thank you very much. Mike Nguyen, Aloha Tear, in support. Thank you. Okay. Matt's Navigation, in support. Darlene Nakayama, Palolo Chinese Home, in support. Rayvar, Hawaii Pacific Health, in support. Wilcox Medical center and support. I didn't see Robinson here. That's fine, thank you. Okay. Kapiolani Medical Center. Yep. You're in support. Right. Iua Pat District Council 50 in support.

Edward Chu, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, in support. Travis Clegg, Straub Benioff Medical center, in support. Okay. Yeah, I knew you'd. Okay. Gary Sloven Sanhai. Okay. Mariah Yoshizu of Ulupuno Initiative, in support. Okay. Amy Miller, Hawaii Food bank, in support. Gloria Brooks, Palimomi Medical center, in support. Sean Sonata, I didn't see you. In support of Oahu region HHSC.

And we have the -. Okay. 23 other individuals, all in support. One in opposition. Moanike'ala Katherine Tua'au Muna, are you present? Moanike'ala on Zoom. I am. Okay, please proceed.

My name is Moanike'ala Katherine Tua'au Muna. I am the former sexual assault forensic examiner for Hawaii from the years 2007 through 2010.

I don't know Ryan Yamane personally, but I know the retaliation that my family has endured for speaking of sexual violence that my nephew is facing while in CWS care and sexual violence that other foster youth have faced. I've submitted a hand drawn testimony and I stand behind that.

And I basically want to put on the record that what DHS and Child Welfare Services is ensuring for foster youth and telling foster youth, speak up and we'll kill you. Speak up. I dare you. Thank you very much.

Okay, thank you very much. Anybody else wishing to testify on behalf or. Or in opposition to GM number 642? Okay. Thank you very much. Angela Young, you just walked in. Do you want to testify in support or again? Support, of course. Okay. Please proceed.

Angela Melody Young, in strong support of the appointment for Director Yamane. Although I'm new to the legislative process, not even a staff, I've only been here for three to four years.

I've gotten to know the directors where as a House of Representative, a Legislator, when my student from Punahou testified for House Bill 1570 to relate to youth nicotine addiction epidemic and to reduce tobacco related health disparities. And I got to witness his interaction with the Punahou students. And I really approve of the confirmation.

As a person who can use his knowledge of structuring statutory parameters to effectuate the purposes of a community priority, and as a witness of the Director and his office and the operations of the different branches, I think he's going to be the one to overcome institutional barriers and cultural differences for the disabilities community, for the homeless, marginalized and minorities.

To enhance and push forward with development for dhs, the GA Financial Assistance Program, SNAP Food Benefits Program and disabilities program for blind vendors to help with common problems in the state. For example, for making the process of federally distributed dollars a more efficient process. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Anybody else wishing to testify, come on up. Identify yourselves.

Hello and good afternoon. I'm Tina Yamaki with the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. And I apologize if you did not get our testimony. We did send it in late. We are in strong support of Ryan Yamane We've known him for a very long time and have worked with him.

And there are times when as retailers, even my other jobs, we may not have agreed, but he was willing to listen to us and hear our side and understand where we were coming from. To some, sometimes we're able to sway him, sometimes not. But the fact that he actually listened to us was a big factor. So I hope that you support his nomination and we're in strong support. Thank you.

Thank you very much. And I understand there's two other people, but there's one person on Zoom. Could you identify yourself who's on Zoom or GM642?

Good afternoon. Chair Trista Spear appearing in my personal capacity. Although my testimony that I stand by that was submitted is informed by my experience as a Deputy Director at the The Department of Human Services. I testify in strong support of Ryan Yamane for the position of Director.

The time since he has joined the Department has been very much welcomed with his steadfast leadership, solutions based approach, and willingness to hear from the entire team. Make sure everyone is heard, not just internal to our DHS Ohana, but from external stakeholders, from the Legislature, other state. Stakeholders, and community based stakeholders and individuals.

I believe that the Department will be. Successful under his continued, continued leadership and his unique background, both as a Legislator. As well as a social worker and. Working as a community stakeholder, I think brings a really unique perspective to this role and will only allow DHS to make further progress. Thank you very much for your time and I hope that you will support his nomination and ultimately confirm him. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Okay, next. Joe Campos. And then I see Bruce Kopa. Okay, come on up.

Thank you. Chair, Vice Chair, Committee Members. Joseph Campos. Here. In my personal capacity, which is also informed by my being the Deputy Director of Department of Human Services for the last four and a half years, I would like to inform the Committee that I did take personal vacation time to be able to come and testify.

And I just really want to stand on my written testimony and strong support and really emphasize my penultimate sentence, which states, under Director Yamani's leadership, DHS will continue to innovate and be responsive to the fundamental needs of Hawaii's residents so that everyone has the opportunity to thrive. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Okay, anybody else wishing to testify on GM number 642, come on up.

First person will be Stan Young.

Stan Young.

Hi, my name is Stan Young. I'm Chair of the Hawaii State Committee of Blind Vendors. I've been a blind vendor for 29 years. I'm here to. I'm also a Member of the State Rehabilitation Council.

I'm here to testify on behalf of Ryan Yamane because of his extensive experience as a Legislator, as a social worker and as an administrator. And I believe his open door policy of looking at problems from both sides will eventually solve most of the problems that we have in the Department. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much. Next. Chris Akamine.

Good afternoon, chair. Thank you for inviting me today. I am in support of Ryan Yamane and I know he's going to do a really good job for us. He's in support of helping the blind, the blind vendors, disabilities and seniors.

I am the blind vendor at the Liliokalani Building, and I always see and meet with the staff whenever they need a nice snack and refreshments. I got to know him even better last year when my wife passed away May 2, and him and his staff comforted me on her passing.

So I know he has a really great heart and he will do a really great job. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much. Anybody else wishing testify on GM 642 on behalf of or against Director Yamane or Department Human Services Director. Members, any questions? Okay. To whom?

Yamane.

Okay. Come on up.

Yes, chair.

Thank you for agreeing to do this. All of it.

I didn't have a choice.

Sure you did.

I guess. Can you comment on how you view the- the uncertainty and- and in a lot of cases, the fear that is percolating throughout the service community and also within your or- your own organization around the freezes and, you know, these moves at the federal level to reduce, you know, positions and funds that go to provide services in the community?

I- I- I know that, and you and I have talked about it, but I'm just wondering what you said to your-

to your staff, to your team and your organization and how you approach, you know, your role as being the leader of the organization with a lot of this that's not your fault and not their fault hanging over your head.

Thank you. One of the first things, as different news started coming down regarding potential impacts of the federal freezes, or as we go through the budget process, was gathering more information.

So we immediately reached out to our fellow departments like Budget and Finance and others, and we met as administrators to start talking about what they have been hearing. What are some of the ways that we can address the challenges that may come?

One of the first things that we wanted to emphasize is confidence to our staffs that they have a job, that our goal to provide the services to the people requires that we have the people to provide it.

So that was one of the things we did internally, was to make sure that we instill confidence that we would be able to make payroll. And we found solutions depending on the type of impacts that might come down. From there,

we also continue, even as this morning, start looking at potential impacts for whatever the fed budget might become after March and going into October. We are looking at ways of what we would do if there is any type of benefit changes, restrictions and we've been working with our federal partners, Both deputies have been working with their contacts.

Our administrators have been on it, not only monitoring and looking at their staff roles as well as all the definitions of the services that we provide. So we've been working. We've been working in tandem with the governor's office as well as the budget and finance.

Thank you for that. I guess, you know, going forward, because things happen at the federal level, they've been happening so swiftly and spontaneously. It really doesn't comport very well with our legislative process, with our session.

And so we really are going to be looking to you and your organization in a lot of ways to provide us some guidance on, you know, what's going on as it's happening and where we're going to need to prioritize should things that are programs that are supported by the federal government be cut, you know, abruptly or gradually.

And I guess you kind of laid it out now, but I'm wondering how you feel like you're gonna try and approach that going forward if cuts happen in the fall when we're not in session or if they happen abruptly during Conference Committee and we gotta, you know, pivot.

You provide a lot of services to a lot of different communities, a diverse amount of communities that are all potentially, you know, in areas that might be reduced. And so do you have any priorities now or I guess, can you shed a little light on where your- where your head is at when it comes to things down-

down the road? Not now, but maybe sooner or in the long term that we might have to take responsibility for at the state level or we might have to have discussions with the community about not being able to sustain, you know, if- if cuts persist.

Right. So what we have been doing is our. My administrators as well as the Executive directors of our attach. Agencies have been on top of it. We've asked them to look not only at their current situation with both federal part, federal positions, as well as funds that are either matched and how that would be impacted.

So we're going through that now.

We actually went through, in DHS proper with HR as well as our budget planning office, going through what the priorities would be, where we could creatively maybe move money if given in conjunction with approvals from the legislature, as well as our budget people have been working directly with the staffs at budget and finance to look at what options we could regarding which funds available.

The difficulty part that we are having is there's so much chatter going on on what could be impacted, which fund, how it's going our administrators have been looking at, you know, what the US House of Representatives budget might be impacting. Right. And that could impact the states. Right.

We've been working in conjunction with, asking around, you know, our federal partners on, you know, what they're been hearing on, are there going to be new rules, benefit changes? So we are trying to gather that and look at strategies on how to do that. Our priority is to service the basic and most immediate needs of our constituents.

Your constituents, the people of Hawaii. You know, our primary role is to service and support people. Right. So, you know, we are looking at making sure that people have health care. Right. People have access to food and support services, that we protect our kupuna and our keiki, right, from forms of abuse. So those are core missions.

We are intending to work directly with the legislature and our governor to work on what priorities as they come up on how to prioritize that. And there may be some tough choices, but we don't want it to be in a vacuum. We will be coordinating and working with all of you.

Our community partners, we are concerned about because our services are dependent on our partnership with private providers. Right. So if their federal funding is in jeopardy, we're also looking at ways on how to be able to support them so that they maintain in the- in the safety net spectrum. So we are looking at that.

We're looking at ways of if there's some creativity, we don't know how the feds will actually, you know, set up their budgets. We are looking at that to figure out ways that, you know, core services can be maintained. But we know we can't do it alone with our staffs. We will need community partners.

And so it's very important for us to keep that dialogue going. I know it's not a real plan. We are taking it piece by piece. But I want to assure you that at any time you want to reach out, our administrators are committed to working with you. We're looking at ideas. But it's so fluid right now.

It's actually quite difficult for them because from one week to another, with the next presidential, you know, memo, it could actually change the whole spectrum of what funds are available. But, you know, we are committed to the people that we serve as well as the people that provide the services.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any other questions, members? Okay, so I have a number of questions.

Oh, okay.

From the chair, right?

Yeah.

So I am super concerned about the federal funds and it's good to hear that you are looking that you work well with budget and finance, but it doesn't sound like you actually have a plan on communicating with our federal government on how we can ensure that the funds continue.

For instance, we had a briefing with Department of Transportation. They actually hired like a lobbyist. Does- Does DHS have anything like that or are they going to work with Department of Transportation? Because I'm looking at Medicaid funds,

for instance. 90% of, I mean 90% of certain funds are federal government and a lot of the people who testified here are dependent upon Medicaid monies. Do you have a plan going forward?

So currently we actually are in communications with our codel. So we've, you know, actually met and talked with for example

That's our congressional delegation.

Congressional delegation Ed case. We've actually have responded to questions from Senator Schatz's office regarding giving them updated information about potential impacts. So we are communicating. Our administrators are actually pinging their contacts with the fed.

We have a number of federal departments that we have money from, you know, HRSA to HHS, a wide variety. So they have actually been on a daily basis checking to see what recent news are, what are some of the interpretations are going to come out. Have they heard anything?

We do not have, you know, the funds or the to lobby like that at a federal level. We've been working as a team with our fellow departments. We've been keeping the Attorney General informed of things that we've heard.

When we did run into problems, for example with a short freeze or short problems getting into the portals for reimbursements, we notified the AGs. We've been in constant contact on addressing those problems as they arise if regarding a plan.

So we actually have gone through certain areas of the department and we are very aware of how many staffs within that department are partly or fully federal funded. We actually came up with potential options, for example using vacancy savings in that area.

We actually have looked at potentially coming to the leg as well as working with our budget and finance partners regarding asking for supporting the option of allowing us to move or transfer monies within the department. Right. To be able to address certain key areas. The difficult part is we're not commit.

You know, we're looking at all options depending on what the federal requirements that will be pushed on to us. We're looking at that.

We're actually as of I think a couple of days ago we re scrubbed our list of actual positions that are filled in the process of being filled and all that we actually weeks ago went through looking at those areas that, you know, may be frozen.

For instance, let's- let's focus on Medicaid because that's what I'm seeing the news on, Medicaid cuts. Have you figured out if- indeed and let's face it, the Medicaid portal did actually freeze one day.

Have you figured out how much state funds are needed to just pay the federal portion of what we are committed to and the citizens of Hawaii who are Medicaid dependent?

So, yes, we've kind of compartmentalize it, but it really depends on the length of time. You know, we actually broke it down to meeting payroll, to actually, you know, if it was extended, you know, because the.

In the past there were federal freezes with the last and the, you know, administration which lasted, I think, 33 to 34 days. And so we have been breaking that down to look at ways of addressing those needs. However.

I know- I know we don't know. I know we don't know, but it surprises me, I gotta tell you that whenever bills for Medicaid expansion or SNAP expansion comes to my committee, I don't see a DHS position saying we should be conservative at this time.

And so it implies to me that you folks are thinking that this is going to be status quo, that the monies will keep going or I mean--

I assure you we do not feel that way.

Okay. Okay. I guess the second question I have is the opposition to your confirmation are from people who have been burned by CWS Child Welfare Service. And as you know, we had an informational briefing prior to session that showed we gotta do something. Do you have a plan?

Yes, we do.

Okay. Can you tell us what that plan is?

Sure. So what we did is we met with the administrator and deputy. We came up with a structural framework of looking at six months goals, one month goal, two years goals, which we kind of highlighted in the informational briefing. But we- we kept it broad because part of the development requires our partnership.

We've been working very closely with the Attorney General's Office and so we thank them. They actually we came up with trainings for staffs and those trainings have already began. So those trainings started last month.

We are looking at ways of expanding that as well as incorporating additional trainings both for cultural host- host culture trainings as well as things like trauma informed care. We've assigned several people to work directly with that section.

So not only is our Deputy Director, Shrista Speer working on several things like current contracts, memorandum of agreements and understandings with entities like Department of Education for sharing information, but the director's office sent over a staff that's working right now in the Program Development Office of- of SSD to work with them on addressing those concerns expressed by the Mala Mohana working group and the audit report.

Okay, so does that- does your six month goal and your 12 month goal include filling in long term vacancies?

Yes. So part of those vacancies, we're not only asking for continued support for the differentials that we currently have got through and was able to implement last year, but also talking with staffs and one of the priorities for us was to go out.

So we went out to, you know, all of our neighbor islands and our units to talk with staffs and it was also to support those with institutional and expertise currently in the department. And so we also came in and worked with you actually. I think you introduced the measure to do differentials for work performance.

So performance based differentials. So that way we would be able to cover both sides, not only incoming new employees, but longer term employees so that they remain. We are looking very creative working with our HR people to address targeted hiring.

So we did two at the ending of last year that I attended, one at Leeward and one at Windward Community Colleges. They are focused on that. We've been working directly with Department of Human Resources Development to see if we can do their process of the golden ticket, you know, to do that.

In the announcement yesterday regarding the positions looking at hiring federal employees, we are actually added a position to consider seeing if we could attract some people specifically for social works as well as investigators that would help two of our major divisions. So we are looking at not only filling but also chair.

One of the other issues brought up was the issue of staff safety. Right. That impacts people's ability to, you know, be able to do the job. And so as you know, we were thankful that, you know, a bill was introduced and we were able to coordinate with you on looking at ways to support the department.

So basically the past two years we've had informational briefings on CWS, so expect another one. Okay. And hopefully your six month and your 12 month goal, which I am going to hold you to hopefully will- will have improved.

And lastly we have- this legislator gave DHS and I know it wasn't US Director, an additional first deputy, but we don't know and that's Trista that came on. But we unlike Department of Health, which their first deputies have assigned roles, have you assigned roles to what Joe Campos does and what Trista does?

Yes, we do.

Okay. So like if we want to talk about CWS, who do we talk to?

That would be with myself and Trista.

And Trista. Okay. And we, if we want to talk about I guess like Ohana- well Ohana zone is like rapid rehousing. That would be with Joe Campos.

Yep. Joe Campos.

Okay. Will you provide us with a committee? The committee as to what the duties of your first deputies are?

Sure.

Okay.

And I- I really don't have any more questions except I personally think your directorship is going to be the most difficult of all of them because you have the biggest department in the state, a budget which is mostly federally funded and the problems with CWS and the need for and homelessness are the biggest problems in the state right now to me.

So you know I wish you luck.

I- I do want to do a shout out. You know we our department, we have great administrators, they have great supporting staff. Our DHS proper staff are committed, they've been working hard. I can call many of them all nights. All time of the nights.

Well some administrators they know they don't always pick up right away but for the most part they're great. But again they're- they're- they're committed. They care about their people and the people they serve. They're not taking any of these things lightly. We also don't want to have false information get out, you know.

We are very sensitive to making sure that there's accurate information that we're fully transparent. But we don't want people to panic. We already have a large amount of calls as we currently transition in certain processes now.

But we are committed, any one of those administrators are committed to responding and working with any one of you regarding any issues that arise. And if they don't please let me know because we'll respond accordingly.

Okay. Does anyone have any other questions? Senator Fevella, go ahead.

What is- What is the time? I'm only joking, I just wanted to you know, thank you. And some of the issues between Snap and Snap Fraud and all these other things that we came up with.

One of them that I wanted to bring up if you can continue what is your guys role going forward especially as Senator at previous state about child welfare within the schools. And I know you just came on I think when we had this issue about a school the child was missing already.

They never did a principal of the school, never did a follow up any health and welfare check. Parents knew that there was going to be investigated for abuse. Parents would remove the child, nobody would follow up with the child and the child. I don't want to go into details but nothing was good about what happened.

So what I like know from, from your guys side working with the different schools and administration and how we can educate them better to contact somebody from you guys office when there's the first sign because if you look at the pictures of the girl and you could see in her school pictures, when she took her school pictures, she had signs of abuse, black eye, all this kind of stuff.

But nothing was reported from the school into. When I contacted you guys and then you guys, did you guys follow up and then, you know, couldn't do much already.

But at that point, what can we do as legislators and helping you guys to make sure that these schools apply and really looking at the child's welfare going forward because we cannot be everywhere. You cannot be everywhere. But they spend a lot of time at school.

So on the missing days or there's signs of abuse, they need to be reported in a timely manner. Now if I'm the principal and I see one student that look like that and all of a sudden the mom and dad come and get them, guess what I'm going to do?

I'm calling police to do a health and welfare check. Nothing of those parameters will happen. And I know I worked on this with you, but I want to figure out how we can put these safety measures in. And again, this would not happen to another child.

Going forward especially we tried to accomplish what Senator was just saying going forward, how we can come up with a plan.

So thank you. One of the things that actually the legislature called just last year, both chair and chair Kidani was one of the issues was the development of an MOU understanding with the schools. We then assigned that, I assigned that to Trista, our deputy to work with DOE to finalize all the language.

That way we have data sharing, especially if there's concerns about for example, parents putting them on homeschooling to evade them as well. Senator, we talked about the mandatory reporting. Some of the goals we would like to do is increase training for what that would require and some of the barriers that we need. Right.

Additional people and working with our community to expand that understanding. We are making progress on that. We're moving forward. We have taken the feedback from the committee. We're actually working on how we can better assess that information and work with our school counselor partners on addressing that.

Some of that is awareness and some of you know, but our people are committed. The child welfare staffs, we're short staffed. So many of them are doing double duties. There's additional requirements. Many of the actions that we take need to be in conjunction with the judiciary and our judges with awareness.

So we are looking at ways to see if we can build that better common ground. And so we're hoping in future follow ups that we would make more significant progress on some common understandings and agreements.

Like I was talking to you this past year about multiple recordings of EBT fraud going around. Do you guys have enough staff or you guys have anybody that specialize within the department besides reaching out to the AG or law enforcement to help you guys with this kind of investigation?

Yeah, we have investigators. We do have some vacancies that we are targeting to fill. And you know, we are aware of those challenges. But you know, with a department the size that we do, and our services are not cannot just be done by computer, right. It has to be done face to face. There's a lot of nuances.

Our people are trained, they're committed. And so we are making it a priority to fill positions. And BESD is been working really hard and looking that. They've been working with our HR extraordinaire, Jennifer Morocco on trying to figure out ways to work that as well as get the support from our Department of Human Resources and Development.

Okay, any other questions? Seeing none. Can we move on to decision making?

All right. Okay. Going to go on to decision making. Okay. First up, GM 646, Chair's recommendation is for Sunshine Show. Thank you for being present and for being willing to serve. Chair's recommendation is to advise and consent. Any comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

So, for GM647, Sheriff's recommendation is also—Barbara Tom is still present on Zoom. Thank you for willing, be willing to serve, and for volunteering—is to advise and consent. Any comments, questions, and concerns? Seeing none. Vice Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

So, for GM 642, Chair's recommendation is also to advise and consent for Director Yamane. I really do mean it when I wish you luck. I think...

Thank you.

I think this next three years, four years, is going to be super difficult for you and, and we are going to hold you to it.

You know, your potential goals and the like. Any comments, questions, concerns? Yes.

But we are going to help.

Okay, thank you.

And we're all, especially on this Committee because of, I think, in part because of the Chair and the absolute workload she put through this Committee, thus far. I think you guys can all see that we are interested in making sure that we take care of everybody that needs help.

And so, please allow us to collaborate with you and your organization going forward. Strong support, Chair. Thank you.

Okay, thank you very much. Any other comments, questions, concerns? Okay, go ahead. Senator Hashimoto.

Thank you, Chair. You know, I think—strong support. I think—I didn't ask any questions today, but that doesn't mean I didn't have extensive conversations with Director Yamane, especially on the issues going on, on Maui and the recovery and some of the things that his Department is involved with and he's been very responsive.

I think, I think you're right. I think he has tremendous challenges coming up and I think we all expect to be there with him because we want to see success. But in the meantime, I think we appreciate his communication, and I hope it continues, and we have a lot of work ahead. So, strong support, as I said.

Thank you, Chair.

Senator Fevella.

I never raised my hand, but since you call my name. Just strong support.

You know, it was a blessing working with him since he'd been in the position and just the great things we look forward in going and like Senator said—Keohokalole—just we're willing to help and whatever we can do as legislators to be in a support system with you guys and partnering. So, yep, strong support.

Okay. Anything else? Your former colleague in...

I don't want to make it a WR.

In, in, in support, Chair. I will say that sometimes some comments that he has made over the last 16 plus years I've known him sometimes can be questionable. But you know, I truly, truly believe that there's a lot of—there's a lot of work to be done, as my colleagues have mentioned, but I think you're more than capable. Yeah. So, in strong support.

And we do all know that you have a big heart with your volunteering with the Red Cross and we are fully aware, I mean, you were one of the Red Cross legislators of the year. So, we do know that even in your non-elected capacity, you have done a lot of work for the people.

So, we thank you for that. Any other comments, questions, concerns? Seeing none.

Chair, just one more comment. I'll save the rest of my comments for the floor of speech.

Thank you very much.

Okay. GM 642, advise and consent. Chair votes "Aye." Vice Chair for the vote.

[Roll Call]

And with that, we are adjourned.