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MEDIA RELEASE Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. and Department of Human Services (DHS) Director Lillian Koller have distributed more than $8.1 million in new federal funding to 16 private hospitals statewide to help defray the cost of providing charity care to uninsured and under-insured patients. DHS obtained the money through the Congressional Disproportionate […]

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MEDIA RELEASE By aggressively overhauling Hawaii’s child welfare system since 2003, the state Department of Human Services and its community partners have now met or exceeded all six federal standards required by the nationwide Child and Family Services Review. Federal officials praised DHS director Lillian Koller and her staff, saying they were “extremely pleased with […]

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The following letter was issued Wednesday, April 14: Recent criticism of Gov. Linda Lingle’s record of appointing women is completely off base, misinformed and political. When Lingle appoints an individual, she does not use a quota system as some such as the Hawaii Democratic Women’s Caucus and Democrat legislators appear to be advocating. Instead, she […]

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Following an informational briefing Friday, Dec. 4 at the State Capitol regarding the Child Care Subsidy issue, Department of Human Services Director Lillian Koller released the following statement: The state Department of Human Services (DHS) is working to ensure child care subsidies for needy families can continue. Unless DHS takes immediate action, there will be […]

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  MEDIA RELEASE Gov. Linda Lingle has enacted a new law that will benefit an elderly Hilo couple and other individuals and families in the future.  The new law allows two private-pay individuals to live in the same care home. Previously, the law only allowed one private-pay individual to live in a community care foster […]

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MEDIA RELEASE Hawaii’s hospitals are to be reimbursed $14.4 million in federal funds this year for treating the uninsured who turn to them as a medical last resort. Lt. Gov. James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr. and Department of Human Services Director Lillian Koller announced last week the new federal funding is being made available to […]

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MEDIA RELEASE As part of the Lingle-Aiona Administration’s efforts to maximize federal funding, the Department of Human Services that residents enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will gain a 13.6 percent boost in their monthly cash benefits starting April 1. DHS is also working to raise income eligibility for SNAP to the maximum […]

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