Posted on: Friday, June 28, 2002
Audit critical of special-ed program
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Department of Education program that serves special-education students is plagued with problems so serious that the department is unable to guarantee efficient and effective services to these children, a state audit said yesterday.
State auditor Marion Higa issued the critical report on the DOE's School-Based Behavioral Health Program. The audit, which updates an audit released in December, was done in response to complaints about the program.
The School-Based Behavioral Health program began July 1, 2001, when the DOE took over responsibility from the Health Department for about 9,000 students with behavioral problems. The program is part of the federal Felix consent decree, which requires the state to improve services for special-education students.
But the audit said the program has major deficiencies in personnel, management information systems, procurement and quality assurance. The DOE was aware of these problems but implemented the program anyway, the audit said.
"Because the program is designed to assist all students, any negative impact derived from any missteps by the department will have far-reaching effects," the audit stated. "Time wasted on correcting preventable mistakes means less time spent assisting students."
DOE officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. But Superintendent Pat Hamamoto said in a letter included in the report that the audit "fails to report that corrective actions were already under way before this audit began."
Hamamoto wrote that the DOE has had to adjust to court mandates, as well as pressure from the Legislature.
"The department frequently must cope with limited time for planning, stressed infrastructure and unclearly defined external expectations," Hamamoto said.
But she said she welcomed the audit's findings and said the DOE has begun to address the problems.
The deficiencies included inequities in pay for workers in the same positions, which result in competition for qualified candidates, the audit stated. A psychologist, for example, can earn $70,000 to $120,000 in the Honolulu district, but only $70,000 to $80,000 in Hilo.
The audit also pointed to the added responsibilities the department will take on July 1 when care for autistic children will be shifted from the Health Department.
"The department has no autism plan, the structure of contracts remains unresolved, and who is responsible to oversee contracted providers to curtail fraud is uncertain," the audit stated. It also found that the DOE failed to accurately account for the cost of the School-Based Behavioral Health program, and it contracted with providers who did not meet DOE criteria.
The audit also was critical of a computer program that is supposed to reduce paperwork for special-education staff. The so-called ISPED program is "nominally operational" and "does not produce reliable and valid reports," the audit stated.
Attorney Shelby Floyd, who represents a plaintiff in the Felix case, said she was not surprised by the audit's findings. "This is consistent with the kinds of criticism that can be made of virtually any program within the DOE," Floyd said. "Their management structure is weak."
