Easter Seals, Special Education
Center plan merger

Officials hope to serve more
disabled children and adults

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By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

Easter Seals Hawaii and the Special Education Center of Hawaii announced yesterday that the two nonprofit organizations plan to merge, creating an organization with about 300-400 employees and an annual budget of more than $13 million.

Together they hope to save money on administrative costs and ultimately serve more disabled children and adults and offer more programs.

"It's a great day for Easter Seals Hawaii and for SECOH," SECOH Executive Director Mary Jossem said at a news conference at Easter Seals' Honolulu office.

Each organization brings near-equal amounts of money and employees to the merger, said John Howell, Easter Seals Hawaii president and chief executive.

"Both our organizations are fiscally strong," Howell said. "Both bring a tremendous amount of opportunity to the state of Hawaii to help meet a tremendous amount of unmet needs."

Howell said he and Jossem have been discussing a possible merger for years, since "we have like missions and like values."

There will be no layoffs as a result of the merger, Howell said.

Programs will continue in their current locations and the merged organization plans to seek service contracts from the state, Howell and Jossem said.

SECOH, an Oahu organization founded in 1965, will take the Easter Seals name and national affiliation.

Easter Seals Hawaii is the state's largest provider of early-intervention services for children with disabilities. It has programs on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. It also offers services for school-age children with disabilities or special needs, and services to adults with developmental disabilities. It serves more than 1,200 families annually.

SECOH is a multiservice agency for adults with developmental disabilities and adults needing elder care. Its programs include a Kahala senior center specializing in Alzheimer's and dementia, a community center in Waipahu, and a Leeward Center. It works in partnership with the state Health and Human Services departments and also provides case management for medically fragile children. It has about 200 clients.

"I think it's exciting," said Easter Seals occupational therapist Brandi Beatson, who works with developmentally delayed children ages 1 to 3. "It enables us to grow and serve a larger population -- from birth to an entire lifespan."