HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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HAWAII SILVER LEGISLATURE, 2006
S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII
C.D. 1
H.B. NO.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF “GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIPS”
WHEREBY ALTERNATIVE SHELTER AND CARE RESOURCES ARE
LOCATIONALLY ACCESSIBLE AND ORGANIZATIONALLY COORDINATED.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE SILVER LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Traditional assessments of the unmet housing
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needs of low-income older adults have focused primarily on the
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unaffordability or physical disrepair of their dwellings.
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Government, however, has a responsibility to respond to growing
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populations of seniors who are not only poor and living in
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inadequate housing, but also who are experiencing physical and
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cognitive disabilities and chronic health problems that make it
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difficult for them to live independently in their current
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dwellings without help.
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The Silver Legislature finds that Hawaii faces a number of
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economic, social, and political challenges in its attempt to
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offer affordable shelter and care options for its low-income
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frail elderly population. The State’s efforts to respond
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effectively are complicated by greatly increased numbers of
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frail and low-income older adults, its tight and very expensive
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housing market, its high land and building costs, its failure to
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receive adequate federal housing program subsidies, an island
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geography that makes service integration and delivery more
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difficult and expensive, its already small and overtaxed nursing
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home inventory that cannot easily be cut back to save long-term
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care expenditures, its failure to encourage partnerships with
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private-pay assisted living facility providers, its Medicaid
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