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State says it
needs more time
for kids’ mental
health services

Health officials say they
have the resources and staff to
care for special-needs children

Judge holds state in contempt over Felix

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

State Department of Health officials say they now have the resources and staff to fill gaps in court-ordered mental health services for special-needs children.

"We just need a little more time," said Health Director Bruce Anderson. "We're working on a plan that would extend out 18 months, to continue to fill in some of the gaps in our current service array and programs we have to have in place."

But after waiting six years for the services, many parents and mental health representatives remain skeptical and unhappy.

"We really need a system of care, and we haven't got one in place that works ... unfortunately for the kids," said Colleen Wallace Jones, executive director of Mental Health Association of Maui.

No resources in some areas

The association recently held a big forum for parents, she said. "We're happy to hear ... that services are in some areas where there hadn't been before."

But Molokai, Lanai, Hana, Maui and other rural areas have no resources, she said. "Molokai has lost providers and feeling it has less than before."

Some good service providers have been developed but they quit because state contracts, policies and plans constantly change, she said, stressing a lack of consistency.

"They're (state officials) trying, but if you don't have realistic, measurable, achievable steps to get to your goal, you can't get there."

Anderson cites "dramatic improvements," however, saying, "We're in a different situation today than when I assumed the position as director 1 years ago."

He said more than $100 million a year is being spent to meet children's needs for mental health services under the Felix consent decree. "And that's not all. That's just what the Health Department is spending. It doesn't include Department of Education spending."

He said the Health Department has hired 70 care coordinators and now has a full staff to coordinate services with children, families and schools.

The 1994 consent decree resulted from a class-action lawsuit filed for Jennifer Felix alleging that the state failed to provide adequate services for children with mental, educational and emotional problems.

The deadline to meet the goals is June 30, and a hearing is scheduled today in U.S. District Court on a motion to hold the state in contempt for failing to meet the deadline.

Under a plan by the departments initiated last November, school-based mental health services are being provided to 8,000 "low-end" children with less intensive needs. The Health Department care coordinators will coordinate services for about 2,000 "high end" children, with the most intensive needs.

Anita Swanson, deputy director for behavioral health, said the department's support to the schools and services have improved significantly since November.

"Ten thousand kids are getting services today. Almost no kids were getting services when we entered the consent degree," she said.

In 1998, more than 80 children were in mainland treatment programs, Swanson said. The number has been reduced to about 59 with discharges and development of local services, she said.

Most of those on the mainland have behavioral disorders, substance abuse or sexual problems.

Although some children may need specialized care on the mainland, Anderson said, "We feel it's appropriate that we bring kids back to Hawaii who can be better served here."

Maui man has fears

Tom Jones, who owns a pharmacy in Haiku, Maui, is among parents concerned that children are being brought home before adequate services are available.

He said his son, Marcus, 14, has been in a residential program in Oregon for 18 months for an attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. "It's been very good for him. It's made quite a difference in his life."

Plans are being made to bring Marcus back in August, Jones said. He said he has been told by a care coordinator that all services required will be provided.

Nonetheless, he is worried. "They're working hard to bring in a better array of services on Maui, but how can I know until he's using them, until I evaluate them?"

Evelyn Akamine of Honolulu, a special education teacher, said "the biggest mistake I ever made" was agreeing to bring her 18-year-old daughter home from a residential treatment program in Texas.

She said her daughter is developmentally disabled and assaultive, with a history of seizures and self-care problems. She was placed in a facility in Waipahu, where the staff couldn't deal with her disabilities, Akamine said.

After several violent incidents, she was sent to Kahi Mohala.

"Everything that Brown Schools (in Texas) had done has been practically undone. I want to send her back but the state refuses to send her, so we're really not sure what the next step will be."