Office of Children and Youth

Corporate body

Office of Children and Youth

• OCY

1976-1996

The Office of Children and Youth existed from 1976 to 1996, but its records include those of its predecessor agency and date from 1939. It was concerned primarily with the development and coordination of plans, policies and activities for children and youth.

The records are in two series, the Minutes of the Commission and Advisory Council (Series 488) and the General Files of the Commission (Series 489).

The records in these two series contain information on the many subjects with which the Commission and then the Advisory Council became involved, such as child abuse, juvenile delinquency, literacy, unwed mothers and youth corrections.

Predecessor agencies included the Office of Youth Affairs. Office of Information and Youth Affairs. (July 1,1971-June 30, 1976). Established by Act 106, SLH 1971 and placed in the Office of the Governor. Included representatives from each county and was mandated to serve as a major communication link between youth, the community and government.

Established by Act 207, SLH 1976. Placed within the Office of the Governor.
Disestablished by Act 298, SLH 1996. Its direct service functions ("programs") and personnel were transferred to other government [line] agencies. Its policy, planning and evaluation
functions ("activities") and personnel were transferred "directly" to the Office of the Governor.

The primary purposes of the Office were to conduct research, ensure coordination among and between programs and services, and assure proper evaluation of programs and services relating to children and youth. Specific functions and duties included:
• Serving as the principal office in state government solely responsible for the coordination of programs and services on behalf of children and youth;
• Establishing statewide goals and objectives relating to children and youth;
• Planning, evaluating and coordinating children and youth programs ;
• Developing a statewide service delivery network;
• Assessing the policies and practices of other agencies' programs that impacted children and youth;
• Conducting advocacy efforts on behalf of children and youth;
• Advising the Governor and Legislature on new legislation, programs and policy initiatives and conducting liaison necessary to implement them; and
• Serving as a referral agency for complaints regarding services to children and youth, and investigating those complaints.

Established by Act Act 207, SLH 1976.
Disestablished by Act 298, SLH 1996.

The Office of Children and Youth were organized in separate offices of three divisions within the Office of the Governor. In practice, the existing Council on Children and Youth was renamed the Advisory Council for Children and Youth, assigned greater responsibilities and provided with a full-time staff.

There was no successor agency. Although not provided for in statute, or reflected on any official organization chart, records in the collection reveal that the Advisory Council continued as an ad hoc entity in the Office of the Governor at least through October, 1996. Initially it was called the "[Governor's] Child and Family Blue Ribbon Task Force," but it was almost immediately renamed the "Governor's Advisory Group on Children and Families."

Commission on Children and Youth (1949-1976)

Hawaiʻi State Archives

2002-04-05, Created by Allen H. Hoof.

Revised Laws of Hawaii: 1955, Ch 334.
Hawaii Revised Statutes: §26-8 (1968), Chapter 581 (1968, 1976,1985, 1993, 2000 Supp).
Session Laws of Hawaii: Act 294, SLH 1949; Act l, 2nd Spl SLH 1959; Acts 106
and 107, SLH 1971; Act 207, SLH 1976; Act 298, SLH 1996.
Legislative Reference Bureau, Guide to Government in Hawaii, 1966; 1973; 1978; 1993.
Library Collection: Report of the Governor of the Territory of Hawaii to the Secretary of the Interior, 1952-1955, 1958-1959. Call no. J87 .H31 [year].
Records in the collection.

2021-08-17, Carol Kellett: Entered into AtoM.