Hawaii program
A free care coordinator (Specialty Support Program)
A Hawaii Department of Health coordinator can help connect your child’s appointments, school and services.
What it is
A Hawaii Department of Health coordinator can help connect your child’s appointments, school and services.
Cancer care can mean managing several teams while trying to keep school and home life going. The Specialty Support Program offers a coordinator to help connect those pieces. Your consent is needed for the referral.
Eligibility rules
- Your child must be under 21, live in Hawaii and receive specialist care.
- The condition must last, or potentially last, one year or longer.
- Leukemia may meet SSP’s general chronic-condition and extra-service-needs criteria, but the program must assess your child; the diagnosis is not automatic acceptance. Your social worker can help describe the expected duration, specialist needs and care-coordination difficulties and, with your consent, share the referral form and relevant records.
What you get
- A care coordinator at no cost to your family.
- Help connecting medical care, school and other services.
What the help covers
- Five regional offices support families. The coordinator helps connect services rather than replacing the treatment team.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the hospital social worker about a Specialty Support Program referral.
- Sign the parent or guardian consent and share the specialist’s information, or contact your island office.
Specialty Support Program; contact the regional office listed in the details. · Official page ↗
What happens next
- The Department of Health reviews the referral after parent or guardian consent.
Good to know
This program coordinates care. It does not pay oncology or travel bills.
Other details
- Oahu: 808-733-9055. Kauai: 808-241-3376. Maui County: 808-984-2130.
- East Hawaii: 808-974-4288. West Hawaii: 808-322-4882.
Official sources
“Would a state care coordinator help us connect treatment, school and other services? Is there any downside, and could you help with a referral if it fits?”
Why I’m asking: I would welcome help keeping the different parts of my child’s care connected.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Sign the consent on the referral form.
Your social worker
The oncology social worker completes and sends the referral.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Department of Health branch reviews the referral.
- Ask your social worker
- “Can you send a referral to the state Specialty Support Program for us? I will sign the consent today.”
How to apply
First step: Ask the oncology social worker to send the referral form, or call the office for your island.
- Ask the oncology social worker to send the referral form with your consent.
- Call your island office directly if you would rather start it yourself.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the hospital to send the referral form, or call your island office: Oahu 808-733-9055, Kauai 808-241-3376, Maui County 808-984-2130, East Hawaii 808-974-4288, West Hawaii 808-322-4882.
What to gather
- The child’s diagnosis letter
- insurance details
- your island and address
How long: Not published.
What a yes looks like
A named coordinator who calls you.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask which bullet the branch thought was unmet; the criteria are general, not diagnosis-based.
Watch out
- It coordinates; it does not pay oncology bills or travel.
- A leukaemia entry on any diagnosis list was not found, so ask for a review under the general rules.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A care coordinator at no cost to the family, through five regional offices.
- $0 — Cost to the family
Covers: Care coordination · Help linking services across health, school and community
What it costs the family: Nothing.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- under 21
- Residency
- Hawaii
- Condition
- a health condition that will or may last one year or more
- Care
- under the care of a specialist
- Consent
- parent or guardian consent is required before a referral
The trap: This is coordination, not treatment money. No leukaemia entry on a diagnosis list was found, and no fund that pays oncology bills, travel or insurance gaps was found. Do not describe it as free cancer treatment.
Where I read this
- Specialty Support Program — Hawaii Department of Health, Children with Special Health Needs Branch, read September 10, 2026
- Specialty Support Program brochure — Hawaii Department of Health, read September 10, 2026
- Specialty Support Program referral form — Hawaii Department of Health, read September 10, 2026