§346-14  Duties generally.  Except asotherwise provided by law, the department of human services shall:

(1)  Establish and administer programs and standards,and adopt rules as deemed necessary for all public assistance programs;

(2)  Establish, extend, and strengthen services forthe protection and care of abused or neglected children and children in dangerof becoming delinquent to make paramount the safety and health of children whohave been harmed or are in life circumstances that threaten harm;

(3)  Establish and administer programs, and adoptrules as deemed necessary, for the prevention of domestic and sexual violenceand the protection and treatment of victims of domestic and sexual violence;

(4)  Assist in preventing family breakdown;

(5)  Place, or cooperate in placing, abused orneglected children in suitable private homes or institutions and place, orcooperate in placing, children in suitable adoptive homes;

(6)  Have authority to establish, maintain, andoperate receiving homes for the temporary care and custody of abused orneglected children until suitable plans are made for their care; and acceptfrom the police and other agencies, for temporary care and custody, any abusedor neglected child until satisfactory plans are made for the child;

(7)  Administer the medical assistance programs foreligible public welfare and other medically needy individuals by establishingstandards, eligibility, and health care participation rules, paymentmethodologies, reimbursement allowances, systems to monitor recipient andprovider compliance, and assuring compliance with federal requirements tomaximize federal financial participation;

(8)  Cooperate with the federal government in carryingout the purposes of the Social Security Act and in other matters of mutualconcern pertaining to public welfare, public assistance, and child welfareservices, including the making of reports, the adoption of methods ofadministration, and the making of rules as are found by the federal government,or any properly constituted authority thereunder, to be necessary or desirablefor the efficient operation of the plans for public welfare, assistance, andchild welfare services or as may be necessary or desirable for the receipt offinancial assistance from the federal government;

(9)  Carry on research and compile statistics relativeto public and private welfare activities throughout the State, including thosedealing with dependence, defectiveness, delinquency, and related problems;

(10)  Develop plans in cooperation with other publicand private agencies for the prevention and treatment of conditions giving riseto public welfare problems;

(11)  Adopt rules governing the procedure in hearings,investigations, recording, registration, determination of allowances, andaccounting and conduct other activities as may be necessary or proper to carryout this chapter;

(12)  Supervise or administer any other activitiesauthorized or required by this chapter, including the development of the staffof the department through in-service training and educational leave to attendschools and other appropriate measures, and any other activities placed underthe jurisdiction of the department by any other law;

(13)  Make, prescribe, and enforce policies and rulesgoverning the activities provided for in section 346-31 it deems advisable,including the allocation of moneys available for assistance to persons assignedto work projects among the several counties or to particular projects where theapportionment has not been made pursuant to other provisions of law, if any,governing expenditures of the funds;

(14)  Determine the appropriate level for the Hawaiisecurity net, by developing a tracking and monitoring system to determine whatsegments of the population are not able to afford the basic necessities oflife, and advise the legislature annually regarding the resources required tomaintain the security net at the appropriate level;

(15)  Subject to the appropriation of state funds andavailability of federal matching assistance, expand optional health care tolow-income persons as follows:

(A)  Pregnant women and infants under one yearof age living in families with incomes up to one hundred eighty-five per centof the federal poverty level and without any asset restrictions;

(B)  Children under six years of age living infamilies with incomes up to one hundred thirty-three per cent of the federalpoverty level and without any asset restrictions;

(C)  Older children to the extent permittedunder optional federal medicaid rules;

(D)  Elder persons;

(E)  Aliens;

(F)  The homeless; and

(G)  Other handicapped and medically needypersons; and

(16)  Subject to the appropriation of state funds andavailability of federal matching assistance, establish the income eligibilitylevel for the medically needy program at one hundred thirty-three per cent ofthe assistance allowance. [L 1941, c 296, pt of §1; am L 1943, c 213, pt of §1;RL 1945, §4827; am L 1945, cc 113, 157, §1; am L 1953, c 153, §3; RL 1955,§108-7; am L 1961, c 128, §6; HRS §346-14; am L 1970, c 104, §1 and c 105, §5;am L 1971, c 20, §1; am L 1978, c 107, §5; am L 1979, c 11, §1; am L 1983, c297, §2; am L 1987, c 339, §3; am L 1988, c 296, §1; am L 1989, c 393, §2; am L1990, c 67, §8 and c 202, §4; am L 1996, c 167, §1; am L 1998, c 92, §2]

 

Note

 

  L Sp 2005, c 4, §3 provides:

  "SECTION 3.  The department of human services shall nottake any action to remove pharmaceutical benefits management from managed careplans that provide health care coverage for Hawaii medicaid beneficiaries."

 

Cross References

 

  General authority, see §26-14.

  Medical assistance to other needy children, see §346-59.4.

  Rulemaking and hearings by administrative agencies, seechapter 91.

 

Case Notes

 

  Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution did not bar plaintiffs' individual suits under Title II of the Americans with DisabilitiesAct or §504 of the Rehabilitation Act regarding class action suit based onState's exclusion of certain disabled people from health insurance program;determinations of unlawful discrimination and awards of compensatory damagesand expert witness fees affirmed.  303 F.3d 1039.

  Re cooperation with Federal Aid to Families with DependentChildren regulations in determining eligibility.  396 F. Supp. 375.

  State welfare manual regulations held to violate federalregulations regarding payment of benefits while termination of benefits hearingis pending.  434 F. Supp. 1173; 434 F. Supp. 1177.

  State regulations not allowing deduction of reasonable workrelated expenses in determining need and imposing burdensome verification ofexpenses violated federal regulations.  438 F. Supp. 238.

  Department's manual of instruction covering investigation offraud dealt only with internal management and was not required to be adopted inaccordance with chapter 91.  58 H. 94, 564 P.2d 1271.