STAND. COM. REP. NO. 16

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2001

RE: H.B. No. 105

H.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Housing to which was referred H.B. No. 105 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT SERVICES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to the Department of Health for specialized substance abuse treatment services for pregnant women and families involved with child protective services who have children under five years of age, for men, and for teenagers, provided that funds are matched by private or federal sources.

Your Committees recognize that Child Protective Services (CPS), is currently experiencing a record number of calls reporting child abuse and neglect, approximately 85% of which involves families with substance abuse problems or substance abuse disorders. Your Committees also recognize that with early substance abuse treatment the high human and fiscal costs associated with health problems arising from substance abuse, hospitalizations, crime, individual and family suffering, and lost productivity in the workplace may be greatly curtailed and thus improve the general health and well being of the community at large.

The Community Alliance on Prisons, the Mental Health Association in Hawaii, and the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii offered testimony in support of this bill. The Department of Health and the Department of Human Services both offered testimony in support of the intent of the measure but stated that they did so as long as passage of this bill did not impact their respective executive biennium budget priorities. The Blueprint for Change testified in support of the intent of this measure but suggested that the committee consider designating a portion of the funds to treat some of the other problems associated with substance abuse rehabilitation.

After consideration, your Committees have decided to pass the measure with amendments that make the substance abuse treatment services available to all age groups with the priority of funding to go to pregnant women, children, and adolescents in the CPS system.

Other, technical, nonsubstantive amendments were made for the purposes of clarity and style.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 105, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 105, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Housing,

____________________________

MICHAEL P. KAHIKINA, Chair

____________________________

DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair