STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1619_______

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.C.R. No. 79
                                     




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Education and Health, to which was
referred H.C.R. No. 79 entitled: 

     "HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A JOINT
     LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL
     HEALTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to establish a
Joint Legislative Committee on Child and Adolescent Mental Health
to monitor State efforts to comply with the Felix v. Cayetano
consent decree.

     The Department of Education (DOE) submitted testimony in
support of the concurrent resolution.  The Department of Health
(DOH) testified in support of the intent of the measure, but with
strong reservations.

     Your Committees appreciate the concerns expressed by DOH,
specifically that the committee may require departmental staff
resources that may deter it from achieving compliance with the
consent decree.  In addition, DOH expressed concerns about
potential costs, such as those for panel members, for which DOH
has not budgeted.

     However, as the body responsible for oversight of State
efforts to comply with the consent decree, the Legislature is
deeply concerned about the way in which the DOE and DOH have
proceeded in attempting to comply with the consent decree.  The

 
 
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report entitled, "Assessment of the State's Efforts Related to
the Felix Consent Decree," submitted by the Auditor in December,
1998, made a number of revealing findings.

     The report focused on the DOE and DOH, asserting that the
State failed several times to ensure that requirements of the
consent decree were clear, so compliance with the consent decree
has become a moving target.  A primary problem is the State's
failure to develop a working definition of the Felix class of
children.  In addition, staff from DOE and DOH interpret Felix
differently, leading to difficulties in consistently identifying
which children should be served and whether children receiving
Felix services are actually eligible for those services.

     Furthermore, according to the Auditor, the State does not
clearly and accurately identify funding related to the consent
decree, partly because affected agencies disagree about which
children compose the Felix class and how to report Felix-related
expenditures.  The lack of complete and accurate cost figures
prevents the Department of Budget and Finance from ensuring that
public funds are expended effectively.

     Despite improvements in some areas, the Auditor found that
there are still delays in mental health evaluations, excessive
paperwork, an insufficient care coordination policy, no
coordinated management information system, and poor monitoring of
service quality.  Overall, the State's efforts are uncoordinated
and poorly implemented.

     In light of the findings by the Auditor and the large
amounts of funding directed towards compliance with the consent
decree, your Committees agree that State efforts in this area
should be monitored more closely.  This resolution creates the
mechanism of a joint legislative committee to accomplish that.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Education and Health that are attached to this
report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of
H.C.R. No. 79, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee
on Finance.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1619_______
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                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Education and
                                   Health,

                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair       KEN ITO, Chair