S.C.R. No. 61 Summary

• Requests the Department of Health, in partnership with local experts, to establish a Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Center of Excellence in Hawaii.

• The Center should promote awareness of cleft lip and cleft palate birth defects and provide resources and information to affected families.

• Requires the Department of Health to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the 2012 Regular Session with strategies for establishing the Center and discussing statewide collaborative efforts.

• Addresses the need for coordinated multidisciplinary care including plastic surgeons, dental specialists, speech-language specialists, audiologists, and social workers for children with these birth defects.