Report Title:

Felix assessment.

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the State entered into a consent decree in 1994 in the case originally titled Felix v. Waihee and now called Felix v. Cayetano (Felix); and

WHEREAS, the State failed, in the eyes of the federal court, to meet the conditions of the consent decree by May 30, 2000, to provide appropriate and effective mental health services for special needs children enrolled in public schools (Felix class children); and

WHEREAS, the federal court imposed a court order on August 2, 2000, with a revised consent decree and benchmarks to be met over ensuing months and years; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Education and the Department of Health have submitted Felix emergency funding requests for the current fiscal year that are much greater than the estimates they made soon after the court order was issued: from $34,700,000 in August 2000 to $84,000,000 in March 2001; and

already appropriated; and

WHEREAS, the Executive Branch's repeated assurances that it would meet the compliance deadlines, that it would not need any more funding than what was already appropriated, and that it would have various systems in place by a date certain if only the Legislature would provide funding, have been proven not to be the case; and

WHEREAS, the recently issued report by consultants hired by the Auditor to review the State's Felix compliance efforts indicates a number of basic problems with the approach taken by the Executive Branch and those problems have contributed to the escalation of costs; and

WHEREAS, the Departments of Education, Health, and Attorney General's responses to the Auditor's report continue to indicate the existence of problems in meeting court established standards for the provision of services to many children in many schools in spite of the enormous expenditures in recent years; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature is profoundly concerned that the Executive Branch, including the Board of Education, has not approached its Felix responsibilities with a strategic orientation with due regard for the State's limited resources; and

WHEREAS, while the administration simply points to the federal court as the source of the fiscal burden, the administration must take appropriate steps to make sure that every dollar is effectively spent; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature requests the Auditor to continue to oversee, on the Legislature's behalf, the Executive Branch's efforts to provide effective services to children receiving education and related mental health services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests the Auditor to obtain whatever expertise is necessary to provide the Legislature with objective assessments of the Executive Branch's efforts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Branch is notified that its agencies shall be expected to promptly provide all information requested by the Auditor or on behalf of the Auditor's consultants; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor shall examine the organizational structure of the components of the DOE and DOH providing such services so to ensure fiscal and organizational accountability; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor shall determine the range and scope of services currently being provided in the State of Hawaii and determine the effectiveness of the services being provided; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature, through a committee if appropriate, be kept informed of the Auditor's discovery and findings regarding the State's progress in providing effective services to Felix class children; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Chairperson of the Board of Education, the Superintendent of Education, the Director of Health, the chairs of the Joint Felix v. Cayetano Committee, and the Auditor.