Committee advances bill to expand flexibility for community foster family homes amid waitlists

The House Committee on Health voted to advance SB 2340, a bill aimed at improving access to community foster family homes for people with developmental disabilities and long-term care needs.

Deatrice Bartos of the Hawaii State Council on Developmental Disabilities said the proposal would merge or allow flexibility between programs so families on neighbor islands can provide local care. "We have over 30 vacancies on Oahu and a 200-person waitlist to open up an adult foster home," she told the committee, urging structural fixes to waivers that currently force transfers between programs.

Rodney Star of the Department of Human Services said the department stands on its written testimony and acknowledged the existing barriers created by current waiver structures, but said the department and DOH have identified specific waiver changes needed to ease transitions. Lou Wards Shack from the Hawaii Disability Rights Center and other advocates urged the committee to retain flexibility to keep people in their communities.

Committee members discussed technical waiver changes and whether the bill is intended as a last-resort option; the committee adopted the Chair's recommendation to pass SB 2340 with technical amendments and a defect date, and forwarded the measure with recommended clarifying language for waivers and implementation.