STAND. COM. REP. NO. 435-00

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 2000

                                 RE: H.B. No. 2108
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Health and Higher Education, to which was
referred H.B. No. 2108 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO AUTISM,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to enhance quality of life
interventions for persons with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) by
creating the Hawaii Autism Center of Excellence (Center) within
the University of Hawaii (UH).

     The State Children's Council, the UH School of Medicine, the
Autism Society of Hawaii, and numerous individuals testified in
support of this measure.  The Department of Health supported this
measure, insofar as it does not replace priorities described in
the Executive Supplemental Budget.  The Department of Education
(DOE) testified in support of the intent of this measure.

     Although individuals with ASD are a relatively small
population, your Committees find that these clients require
focused support services for effective remediation.  In fiscal
year 1999, the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division alone
served 391 youths diagnosed with ASD, requiring expenditures of
$5,017,025 in child and adolescent mental health related
services.  Although the total client base is small in count,
these individuals require specialty services, focused educational
programming, and professionals with targeted training and
expertise.

 
 
 
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     Your Committees find that there is a demonstrated need for
continued research, training, and coordination of services,
improved case-findings, basic and complex diagnostic assessment,
applied effective intervention work, and secured federal funding,
among other endeavors, that might be provided by the proposed
Center.

     Your Committees have requested a financial plan for the
Center and, from DOE, information about its Maui Program
explaining how it fits into this measure.  Your Committees are
interested in determining the fiscal impact of the Center, and
will be forwarding this information to the Committee on Finance
for further discussion.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Renaming the title of the new section to read "Autism
          services; training; research";

     (2)  Clarifying that the Center endeavor to collaborate
          nationwide in efforts to identify the most effective
          therapeutic and educational interventions;

     (3)  Clarifying that research be a multidisciplinary effort
          among educational, and not biomedical, disciplines;

     (4)  Clarifying that special education and developmental
          psychology are not among the various disciplines;

     (5)  Requiring the Center to:

          (A)  Provide services, training, and research to a full
               spectrum of youths with ASD without regard to the
               level of disability;

          (B)  Collaborate with the State in its efforts to
               address the needs of individuals with ASD; and

          (C)  Collaborate with individuals with ASD, their
               families, and communities to address services and
               support needs;

     (6)  Removing the requirement that the Center serve the
          autism population for the purposes of the measure;

     (7)  Appropriating $500,000 in start-up funding for the
          Center; and


 
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     (8)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for
          purposes of clarity and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your
Committees on Health and Higher Education that are attached to
this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and
purpose of H.B. No. 2108, as amended herein, and recommend that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No.
2108, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committees on Health and
                                   Higher Education,

                                   
                                   
                                   
                                   
______________________________     ______________________________
DAVID MORIHARA, Chair              ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair