THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	140
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING A MANAGEMENT AUDIT OF THE CHILD and adOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH.

     WHEREAS, the program objective of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Department of Health is the following:

To improve the emotional well-being of children and adolescents and to preserve and strengthen their families by assuring easy access to a child and adolescent-focused, family-centered community-based coordinated system of care that addresses the children's and adolescents' physical, social, emotional and other developmental needs within the least restrictive natural environment.  To ensure that the child and adolescent mental health system provides timely and accessible mental health services, with a commitment to continuous monitoring and evaluation for effectiveness and efficiency; and

     WHEREAS, the clients of the Division, who are among the most vulnerable in the community, consist of youths who through little or no fault of their own or immature life choices have encountered mental health difficulties; and

     WHEREAS, the cost of the child and adolescent mental health program is substantial--$63,000,000 for fiscal year 2016-2017, of which $41,600,000 is general funds; and

     WHEREAS, given the substantial cost, the Legislature finds that the program should be subject to a review of its effectiveness and efficiency; and

     WHEREAS, moreover, the Legislature has major concerns about the absence of residential treatment programs on the neighbor islands, lack of payment increases for privately provided residential treatment, and other issues; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature is also concerned about the continuous reorganization of the Division, which complicates legislative budget review of program efficiencies and the benefits to, or impacts upon, the children and adolescents who are served by the Division; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that much of its concerns may result from the current level of appropriations for the program; and

     WHEREAS, before committing more resources to the child and adolescent mental health program, however, the Legislature finds that an audit of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division should be performed to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of its operation; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Eighth Legislature, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a management audit of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Department of Health; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, as part of the audit, the Auditor is requested to review the following:

(1)  The referral and intake process;

(2)  Interaction of the Division with the Department of Health's other relevant divisions or agencies, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Education, and the Office of Youth Services;

(3)  Contracts management process;

(4)  Services provided and deliverables;

(5)  Medicaid reimbursement rates and maximization opportunities;

(6)  Adequacy of payments to private providers of residential or community treatment; and

(7)  The benefits or detriments of the reorganization of the Division; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health and other relevant state departments and agencies are requested to cooperate with the Auditor in the conduct of the audit; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit the audit to the Legislature at least twenty days before the Regular Session of 2017; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor, Director of Health, and Chief of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division; Audit