STAND. COM. REP. NO. 924

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1151
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 1151, H.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN EMERGENCY APPROPRIATION FOR THE
     CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to provide emergency funding to
prevent the reduction or discontinuance of services to certain
emotionally disturbed children and adolescents.

     This bill is recommended by the Governor for immediate
passage in accordance with section 9 of Article VII of the
Constitution of the State of Hawaii.  This bill will allow the
Department of Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Division, to continue to provide mental health services to
certain emotionally disturbed children and adolescents.

     Your Committee finds that the timely passage of this bill is
necessary because a funding requirement for the Department of
Health must be accommodated as early as possible, and because the
timely passage of another appropriation amending fiscal year
1998-1999 appropriations cannot be assured.

     Upon further consideration, your Committee has amended this
bill by:


 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 924
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     (1)  Increasing the appropriated amount by $2,000,000 from
          $40,459,294 to $42,459,294; and

     (2)  Inserting a new section 5 in the bill requiring the
          Department of Health to report to the Legislature on
          the expenditure of the emergency appropriation for the
          Department of Health's Child and Adolescent Mental
          Health Division no later than thirty days after the
          release of the funds appropriated.  The report is to
          include:

          (A)  The aggregate total of hours of services used;

          (B)  The number of students served;

          (C)  The range of services provided; and

          (D)  Any other pertinent information regarding the
               Department's expenditure of these funds.

     Your Committee further wishes to express the following
concerns:

     (1)  The Department of Health must provide better overall
          oversight of program effectiveness for child and
          adolescent mental health services and to ensure
          accountability in order to assure the Legislature that
          funds are being expended effectively and efficiently.
          This effort should include regular and consistent
          evaluation of contracted providers of services and the
          development and use of effective and relevant
          performance measures to address the issues of quality
          assurance, accountability, and effective and efficient
          use of appropriated funds;

     (2)  The Department of Health should provide continuous
          thirty-day updates on the expenditures of the
          appropriated funds until the funds are fully expended
          to better assure consistent accountability;

     (3)  The Department of Health should seek out data from the
          other states to compare and appraise how the other
          states are administering their child and adolescent
          mental health services in order to improve the
          Department's own administration of these services.
          Consonant with this effort, an examination should be
          made as to the possibility of increasing the federal

 
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          government's share of funding for these services in
          Hawaii; and

     (4)  The Department of Health should improve its forward
          planning and make better estimates of future needs and
          costs in the area of mental health services to children
          and adolescent in the State in order to preclude
          constant requests for emergency funding.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1151, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass
Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1151,
H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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