PART I. 
GENERAL PROVISIONS



 



Note



 



  Part heading added by L 1983, c 122, §3.



 



§333E-1  Findings and purpose.  The
legislature finds that:



(1)  The State of Hawaii has a responsibility to
provide support and services for individuals with developmental disabilities in
order to support them in living self-determined lives according to section 333F‑8;



(2)  Several departments of the State are responsible
for various support and services to individuals with developmental
disabilities;



(3)  Lack of coordination among the services and
planning activities of the various departments of the State results in gaps in
the spectrum of needed services, duplication of services, lack of clarity in
responsibility for services, and poorly articulated inter-agency programs, thereby
reducing the quality of programs for individuals with developmental
disabilities;



(4)  Because of specific mandates of the departments,
it is essential that a body responsible for coordinating services and planning
for individuals with developmental disabilities be established outside the
departments responsible for support and services;



(5)  There exists within the state department of
health for administrative purposes only, a state council on developmental
disabilities appointed by the governor and mandated by federal legislation,
supported in large part by federal moneys and required by federal law to
provide advocacy, capacity building, systemic change, planning, and
coordinating activities, promoting interagency collaboration, and enhancing coordination
to better serve individuals with developmental disabilities and their families;



(6)  The purpose of this chapter is to establish the
state council on developmental disabilities as the state agency responsible for
coordinating services to individuals with developmental disabilities in Hawaii;



(7)  Community participation is a major goal of the
State, thus state and county agencies should adopt policies and regulations
which will support individuals and their families to fully participate in their
communities; and



(8)  Family support is another major goal of the State
in providing families of children with disabilities the support services
necessary to support the family; to enable families of children with
disabilities to nurture and enjoy their children at home; to enable families of
children with disabilities to make informed choices and decisions regarding the
nature of support, resources, services, and other assistance made available to
the families; and to support family caregivers of adults with disabilities. [L
1975, c 198, §1; am L 1979, c 180, pt of §1; am L 1980, c 239, §1; am L 1987, c
339, §4; am L 2001, c 175, §1]