Act 77

The 1997 State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1631, which subsequently was signed into law as Act 77 . The purpose of Act 77 is to recognize a public private partnership between the State and a private nonprofit corporation created as a focal point for policy development and dedicated to enhancing, developing, and coordinating quality early childhood education and care services.  Its purpose is also to coalesce private resources in partnership with available public money for the betterment of the children of Hawai’i.

Act 77 established three entities to facilitate the implementation of a coordinated system of early childhood education and care for Hawai’i:

The Good Beginnings Alliance
A private nonprofit corporation to coordinate policy, disburse public funds, and implement community plans related to the provision of early childhood education and care services. As amended in 2000, this corporation has a fourteen member Board of Directors representing each county, business, philanthropy, early childhood professionals, consumers of early childhood services, Head Start, child care resource and referral, American Academy of Pediatrics, early intervention, University of Hawai’i, and the Interdepartmental Council.

Community Councils
One from each county and reflecting the makeup of the community with representatives including families, organizations representing families, providers of early childhood services, business and local government.

Interdepartmental Council
Consisting of state agency directors from the departments of education, human services, health, labor and industrial relations, business, economic development and tourism, and the governor’s special assistant for children and youth. As amended in 2000, the Council also includes one representative each from the business and philanthropic communities. The Interdepartmental Council has been instrumental in strengthening our effort to ensure the safety, health and school readiness of Hawaii’s youngest children. In 2001, the IDC strongly supported school readiness by designating a School Readiness Task Force co-chaired by Dee Jay Mailer, CEO of Kamehameha Schools and Pat Hamamoto, DOE Superintendent of Schools.