Specifications include, but are not limited to: “The Working Group quickly identified a community needs assessment as a key component in the strategy moving forward on how to help immigrants overcome barriers and improving their access to government services and increasing immigrants’ opportunities to make civic and economic contributions to the community. A comprehensive community needs assessment can provide important information as to what agencies or organizations may be working on to address particular issues, and where gaps in community services may be found. A comprehensive community needs assessment for immigrants would provide the foundation for strategic planning and provide policy makers with avenues for improving access to government services. Such an assessment could identify what roles the federal, state, and county governments play and where the provision of resources could have the greatest impact. Importantly, the Working Group notes that although HCR169 tasked the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations to convene a working group, the scope of the working group entailed a broad mandate that reaches beyond the jurisdiction of the DLIR and OCS. The Working Group noted that immigration responsibility is the responsibility of the federal government, but that leaves states and metropolitan areas to fill in the gaps not currently provided by the federal government. Innovative approaches taken in Seattle, San Francisco, New York City and other jurisdictions serve as examples of how counties and the State of Hawai‘i can improve and overcome barriers to improve access to government services for immigrants and increase immigrant opportunities to make civic and economic contributions to the community.” [footnotes omitted.] See Report at pages 5-6.
