Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Education and Labor, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 203 entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this concurrent resolution is to request the Department of Education and the Department of Human Resources Development to study and implement parity between occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech therapists within the Department of Education.

Your Committees received testimony in support of the measure from the state pediatric representative of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Your Committees find that in pediatric practice, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and speech language pathologists work closely together as part of an interdisciplinary team. Nationally and in Hawaii, there is a shortage of such workers. As a result, and due to the mandates of the Felix Consent Decree, many of these workers are recruited from the mainland under contract with outside companies. This situation causes an inequity between the salaries of contract workers and government-employed workers, which negatively impacts morale and retention. There are also discrepancies between classification and pay that negatively affect morale and retention. This concurrent resolution attempts to ameliorate that situation.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Education and Labor that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 203, and recommend its adoption.