Hawaii Department of Human Services

The board meeting agenda focused on legislative advocacy updates for the 2026 Regular Session, including tracking and supporting measures related to protections for survivors of sexual abuse, Title IX sports recognition, menstrual health education, and human trafficking prevention. Additionally, the commission discussed collaborative initiatives with the Office of Wellness and Resilience, Ma'i Movement, and the LGBTQ+ Commission. Budgetary reports, expenditures, and commissioner updates regarding community projects in Maui and Kauai counties were also included for review.

The public meeting focused on the Executive Director's report concerning the 2026 Regular Session of the Legislature, providing detailed status updates on numerous bills related to domestic violence, sexual abuse protections, healthcare, and human trafficking. Additionally, the meeting highlighted recent collaborations with the Office of Wellness and Resilience, the Ma'i Movement regarding period poverty, and the Hawaii State LGBTQ+ Commission on the 'No Hate in the 808' campaign. Commissioners also provided updates on community issues including trauma-informed care for birthing roundtables in Maui, planning for an upcoming women's conference, and recent committee activities in Kauai.

The meeting agenda included the establishment of a quorum and public comment periods. Key discussion topics involved reports from the Executive Director, which covered the Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report, updates on the 2026 Hawaii Women's Coalition Bill Package regarding maternal health and violence against women, potential collaboration for public service announcements on non-discrimination laws, and leadership resource identification. Commissioners provided updates on community issues, including the Women's Conference, Breast Cancer Awareness event, and local efforts. Ex-Officio members provided an update from the Department of Education regarding menstrual product distribution in public schools. The commission planned to discuss advancing awareness on the status of women and held a discussion regarding the Equality in Flames Report on the Lahaina Fires. The commission also confirmed the date and time for the next meeting where the Executive Director's annual performance evaluation results would be discussed.

The agenda for the public meeting included establishing quorum, public comment period, and discussion/vote on the approval of the July 7, 2025, and August 25, 2025, meeting minutes. Key discussion topics covered reports from the Chair and Executive Director (ED) regarding legislative session debriefs, preparation for the 2026 session, updates on collaboration efforts, and administrative matters like the ED monthly summaries. Significant time was dedicated to budget and procurement, specifically discussing expenses for the National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) conference and the need for HSCSW swag. Other major items included establishing commissioner preferences for website updates, granting the ED signatory authority for Memorandums of Understanding/Agreement related to student internships, and establishing the process for the ED's annual performance review and employment extension based on SCR143. Later discussions covered participation in Honolulu PRIDE events and confirmation of the next meeting date to discuss the ED's performance evaluation results. The subsequent Special Public Meeting focused on establishing the ED's annual performance review template, incorporating edits suggested by a public testifier regarding 'Professionalism' to include 'empathy' and 'compassion,' and discussing the establishment of the ED's salary for July 1, 2026, relative to state compensation structure. Additional reports covered county committee updates, Department of Education's menstrual product implementation, and advancing awareness of the status of women.

The meeting included discussion of recent federal actions and the commission's response, legislative session updates, collaborations, committees, coalition updates, budget and procurement, administrative assistant recruitment, ex-officio members, state commissioners, county committees, UH Commission, Commission staff and members' roles and scope, Commission National Association of Commissions for Women (NACW) annual 2025 conference attendees and membership dues, website update preferences, new commissioner onboarding and lessons learned, and establishment of the next commission meeting day and time.