Requesting The Office Of Wellness And Resilience To Develop A Report To Address The Developmental Needs Of Children Born During The Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic.
SCR 73 is a Senate Concurrent Resolution that requests the Hawaii Office of Wellness and Resilience to prepare a report on the developmental needs of children born during the COVID-19 pandemic, with particular attention to children born between 2018 and 2025. The resolution frames the issue as a statewide child development and public health concern, citing disruptions to early childhood social, emotional, academic, and health development caused by the pandemic, along with compounding stressors such as economic instability, online schooling, toxic stress in households, and the impacts of the 2018 Kilauea eruption and 2023 Maui wildfires.
The requested report must examine trauma-informed care research and practices, identify existing services across state agencies and community organizations, analyze services available to families affected by the Maui wildfires, and describe supports for educators and other frontline workers experiencing secondary traumatic stress. It also asks for recommendations to strengthen self-care, resilience, and well-being supports, and directs the office to include any proposed legislation in its submission to the Legislature by December 31, 2026.
Because SCR 73 is a concurrent resolution rather than a bill, it does not itself amend the Hawaii Revised Statutes or create new legal obligations. Its practical effect is to direct a state office to study existing programs and produce a policy report that could inform future legislation, agency coordination, or funding decisions related to early childhood development, trauma-informed care, educator support, and disaster-related mental health services. The resolution specifically involves the Office of Wellness and Resilience and references multiple agencies and partners, including the Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Executive Office on Early Learning.
The available voting history suggests broad support, with the Senate Health and Human Services Committee passing the measure 4-0 with amendments. The resolution’s findings and purpose are framed in strongly supportive terms, emphasizing the need to help children, families, educators, and community providers recover from pandemic-related and disaster-related trauma. Overall, the tone around the measure is preventative and service-oriented rather than controversial.
The main policy questions appear to be about scope and implementation rather than opposition to the underlying goal. The resolution asks for a wide-ranging report covering trauma-informed care, existing services across multiple agencies, Maui wildfire impacts, and support for educators and frontline workers, which could raise concerns about workload, coordination, and whether the Office of Wellness and Resilience has sufficient capacity to complete the study. The inclusion of proposed legislation in the final report also suggests that any future debate may center on what policy changes or resource commitments the report recommends, especially for underserved communities, Native Hawaiian families, rural areas, and disaster-affected populations.