Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 25 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to ensure that developmental disabilities residential service providers are adequately reimbursed for the residential services they provide.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii State Department of Health, State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Judiciary's Office of the Public Guardian, The Arc in Hawaii, The Arc of Hilo, Hawaii Disability Rights Center, Kona Krafts, Opportunities for the Retarded, Inc, and one individual. The Department of Human Services deferred to the Department of Health on this measure.

Your Committee finds that developmental disabilities residential service providers provide important residential care services for individuals with developmental disabilities or mental retardation. Presently, the providers of these services are not being adequately reimbursed by the State for the high quality residential services they provide to these individuals. As a result, a number of developmental disabilities homes have been forced to close due to a lack of adequate funding, and others have been deterred from opening homes. This is a significant concern to the State given that the majority of these individuals would have been cared for by the State at Waimano Training School and Hospital prior to its closing in June 1999. Thus, your Committee believes that providers of developmental disabilities residential services should be adequately reimbursed.

Your Committee has amended this measure by adding an appropriation for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 25, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 25, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.