Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 265 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the Preschool Open Doors Program (Open Doors).

The Good Beginnings Alliance, Blueprint for Change, and a concerned individual testified in support of this measure. The Department of Human Services provided comments.

Your Committees find that Open Doors helps many families who cannot afford to send their children to preschool. Testimony indicates that preschool involvement is an important predictor of low-income and gap group children's future success in school. While Open Doors helped over 1,000 children in 2000-2001, it is estimated that almost 15,000 three- to four-year olds were eligible to receive Open Doors scholarships.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Housing and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 265, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 265, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.