Audit says state falls short on special education

By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau

The state's system to provide federally mandated services for special-needs students "is not achieving the expected results," a state audit released yesterday says.

The audit, released by state Auditor Marion Higa, cited concerns that the Department of Education and Department of Health lack an adequate, coordinated financial management system and that their system of monitoring student improvement is faulty. The audit also said the system of care "focused more on procedural compliance rather than on a system to effectively help the children."

The state has been working to comply with the Felix consent decree, a 1994 federal court mandate requiring the state to improve its educational and mental health services for disabled children. The state must meet certain deadlines by March or face a court takeover of the system.

Defenders of the system said yesterday that significant improvements have been made, and any federal takeover is unlikely.

The audit reported that the DOE's and Health Departments' financial data on their efforts to comply with the decree is "fragmented because it is specific to departmental or divisional efforts, rather than to the system of care as mandated by the consent decree."

The audit also said the goals, objectives and benchmarks in individualized education programs for Felix students were sometimes vague and open to subjective evaluation methods, falling short of federal requirements and making it difficult to measure progress.

Some examples of annual goals found in a limited review of individualized education programs included: "to increase skills in math"; "to improve writing skills"; and "(student) will make more effort to attend and participate in school."

"These examples provide a poor basis for the department and parents to decide whether a child is receiving related services that are working, and they do not meet the (U.S. Education Department's) definition of a goal," the audit said.

"Without the ability to assess the effectiveness of services, the (state) Departments of Education and Health are not in a position to ensure that services are appropriate. In addition, parents have no effective means to monitor progress and request modifications if needed."

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division's treatment plans also lack measurable objectives and do not link to educational goals, the audit said.

The state superintendent of education, Pat Hamamoto, said the goals and objectives may appear vague to someone who is not familiar with the child or the process, but said the DOE is working on making them more measurable and specific.

"The audit pretty much shed light on those areas that we knew we were challenged by and that we need to improve and work on," Hamamoto said. "What it did is it provided a good foundation and direction for us to start to put those issues in place or those concerns in place that we've been working at. So it validates that what we're doing is on the right path and that we still have lots more to go and to do."

Health Department director Bruce Anderson said in a written response that the audit does not reflect the state's recent improvements. He said that during a Nov. 30 hearing, U.S. District Judge David Ezra commended the state for its commitment to demonstrating results for Felix-class children and that the state has made substantial progress in meeting federal court requirements.

At that time, a report by monitor Ivor Groves said that despite the lingering problems, there was acknowledgment that the state had improved services and had come very close to meeting expectations set by Ezra.

Anderson also said the department has made significant progress in assuring that each treatment plan has clear, measurable educational objectives.

"Given these significant events, and given the purpose of reporting on follow-up activities, it is disappointing that this was not included in the report," Anderson wrote.

Meanwhile, the Joint Senate-House Investigative Committee dealing with the costs related to the Felix consent decree released its final report Wednesday, which noted "poor oversight and accountability" of the DOE and Health Department.

"Despite good intentions and improved services to some children with mental disabilities, the decree resulted in a Pandora's box of unintended consequences," the committee wrote.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.