Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 76 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Department of Health to establish a coordinated statewide effort to address fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD).

Testimony in support of this measure was received from the Department of Health and Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Hawaii.

FASD occurs in babies born to mothers who consumed alcohol while pregnant. Although Hawaii had only eighty-five reported diagnosed cases since 1986, there exists a much larger potential group of undiagnosed and untreated individuals of all ages statewide whose mothers drank alcohol while pregnant. The question is where these individuals are located and how they are being served. There is a need in our community for the establishment of a coordinated system of care and services of FASD, the most preventable cause of developmental disabilities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 76, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 76, S.D. 1.