HCR184

WHEREAS, Congress created a nationwide protection and advocacy system for individuals with developmental disabilities under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, as amended, to aid individuals with developmental disabilities or mental illness and their families in gaining access to appropriate support and services; and

WHEREAS, States are required to designate an agency or entity to provide advocacy services to persons with developmental disabilities and mental illness in order to receive federal funds for programs for these persons; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Disability Rights Center is the agency designated under section 333F-8.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to provide advocacy services to persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness; and

WHEREAS, Section 333F‑8.5(c), Hawaii Revised Statutes, grants the Hawaii Disability Rights Center access to all records of any person with developmental disabilities or mental illness, to the extent required by federal law; and

WHEREAS, there are also federal and state statutes, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which were enacted to protect the privacy of patient records; and

WHEREAS, there is an ongoing dispute as to whether the law that provides the Center access to records overrides the privacy rights of persons receiving services and their families, with or without the appropriate waivers of these privacy rights, and, if so, what justification is necessary for the center to demand access to records of persons with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, providers of services to individuals with disabilities are uncertain as to their obligation to disclose patient records to an entity such as the Hawaii Disability Rights Center; and

WHEREAS, concerns have been raised about the Center's approach to resolving the conflict between a patient's right to privacy and its need for access to the patient and the patient's records; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health has jurisdiction over state funding for the Hawaii Disability Rights Center and has responsibility for the performance of the Center; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Disability Rights Center is a "quasi-public institution" within the scope of section 23-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, because it is supported in whole or in part by and handles state or public funds; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Disability Rights Center is therefore subject to regular audits by the Auditor, but to date has never been audited by the Auditor; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to perform a financial and management audit of the Hawaii Disability Rights Center; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is also requested to determine whether the Hawaii Disability Rights Center:

(1) Is fulfilling its mission in a proper, objective, and effective manner, including an evaluation of how the Center exerts its authority over organizations subject to the Center's purview;

(2) Is abusing its authority over its access to persons with developmental disabilities or mental illness and their records;

(3) Has in place appropriate grievance procedures and alternative remedies to litigation for agencies over which it has jurisdiction; and

(4) Is being appropriately overseen by any state or federal authority, and the scope of that authority; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in the course of conducting the audit, the Auditor is requested to obtain and review any audits done or other reports produced by federal agencies with jurisdiction over the Hawaii Disability Rights Center; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to report any findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Hawaii Disability Rights Center, the Director of Health, and the Auditor.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Hawaii Disability Rights Center; Financial and Management Audit

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	184
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII