Autism services contract on hold
By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer
Superintendent Pat Hamamoto has placed a controversial contract for autism services on hold, providing some breathing room to parents who had worried about a transition of services for their children from the Department of Health to the public schools.
Hamamoto has withdrawn a request for proposals for autism services and will wait until July 2003 instead of this summer to start a new contract, said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.
"It's the best plan for making sure that services continue right now," he said.
About 550 autistic children will start receiving services from the DOE starting July 1. But parents have raised questions about possible changes in the level of care and what the DOE will do to replace some behavioral health specialists who plan to leave Hawai'i.
The contract awarded by the DOE to the Alaka'i Na Keiki agency was being protested under the department's administrative rules by other agencies not awarded the contract.
"This gives everyone a chance to compete," Knudsen said. "Apparently some people were concerned they did not have a chance to compete for the contract."
Parents have argued that one agency cannot meet the needs of all children on O'ahu and Kaua'i and in Kona. Alaka'i Na Keiki is one of the largest services providers in the state; Child and Family Services would have had the contract for Maui.
About 150 parents and care providers sent a letter to Hamamoto last week outlining their concerns. It was circulated among legislators.
Joyce Allen, mother of an 8-year-old autistic girl, said she hopes to see more parent involvement when the DOE issues its next request for services. Her daughter and a therapeutic aide have worked together since the girl was in preschool and Allen wants to avoid a change.
"We're happy that things are going to stay the same at this point, but we definitely need to work on what the transition is going to be," Allen said. "The DOE says parents are involved, but if they are, then who are they and why are there so many parents in an uproar?"
State Sen. Norman Sakamoto and Rep. Ken Ito, chairmen of the education committees in the Legislature, have arranged a meeting at 9 a.m. June 18 to ask DOE officials to explain how the transition will work.
Chris Butt, manager of the school-based behavioral health contract section, said last week that the DOE was getting in touch with the 20-plus provider agencies that now work with the Health Department to see if they will extend their contract to work with the DOE after July 1.
Knudsen said the DOE plans to keep working with the same agencies that the Health Department has been working with and may seek a temporary contract to take the services through next summer.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly misspelled Joyce Allen's name because of a reporter's error.
