STAND. COM. REP. NO. 299

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.B. No. 261
                                     




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

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 261
entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to better document the well-
being of children and families by requiring the University of
Hawaii (UH) to establish standards to measure such child
development outcomes.  These standards would be useful in
documenting and evaluating whether an investment of resources is
achieving its intended objectives.

     This bill also authorizes the UH to obtain the services of
nonprofit organizations in this undertaking by appropriating an
unspecified sum for the purchase of health and human services
contracts.

     The Center on the Family and Hawaii Kids Count from UH's
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources testified in
support of this measure.

     The Department of Health and the Department of Education
supported the intent of this measure.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.

 
 
 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 299
                                 Page 2

 
261 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to
the Committees on Higher Education and Education.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Health,



                                   ______________________________
                                   ALEXANDER C. SANTIAGO, Chair