There are frequent fliers, and then there's the administrator for the state's mental health centers.

The holder of that job, Wayne Law, has been regularly commuting three times a week from his home on Kaua'i to O'ahu with added trips to other Neighbor Islands for about 12 years.

That's an average of 150 roundtrip airfares a year, which along with per diem, rental car and parking expenses are paid for by Hawai'i taxpayers. In the past fiscal year, his travel expenses totaled nearly $40,000.

Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said the commuting expenses started when Law took the job about 12 years ago.

Following Advertiser inquiries into Law's commuting practices, the Department of Health said that as of last week, Law's trips to O'ahu were cut to once a week with optional trips to Neighbor Islands reduced to once a month.

When Law assumed his current position, the state was ramping up the delivery of mental health services in response to a 1991 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights branch over conditions at the Hawai'i State Hospital, Okubo said. That resulted in a consent decree that kicked off 15 years of federal oversight over its delivery of mental health services and treatment.

"At that time there was a very fast and extensive expansion of the system," Okubo said. "We were struggling to meet all of the court requirements and deadlines and (Law) was the most experienced in that area. He did live on Kaua'i at that time and at that time there was no requirement for the position to live on O'ahu because the system was statewide on all islands."

During the fiscal year ended June 30, Law's commuting expenses totaled $39,324, according to the Health Department.

Law declined to comment for this story.

STATE CUTBACKS

The Department of Health said Law's extensive traveling, which includes regular commutes to most Neighbor Islands, was justified. However, the agency said the state's current fiscal problems prompted a review of ways to cut back on those costs.

"He has to go visit all of (the Neighbor Island mental health centers) to do the training (and) make sure that the operations are working the right way," Okubo said.

She added the department is now looking at the possibility of telecommuting.

"That's happening right now of course because of the budget situation for the state," she said.

The position of statewide administrator for the state's mental health centers has been key to standardizing the delivery of services at mental heath centers in Hilo, Kona, Maui, Kaua'i and O'ahu, said Bill Sheehan, acting chief for the Adult Mental Health Division.

"You ought to be able to get the same kind of care whether it be Hilo, Kaua'i or anywhere on O'ahu," Sheehan said. "Before, we didn't have that. It was all over the place. Now you get roughly the same experience at any center statewide and I think that's because we have a statewide administrator doing that.

"It's not just cost, cost, cost. There is substantial benefit."

The Health Department would not say what portion of Law's $39,324 travel expense was for trips to O'ahu and what portion was for Neighbor Island trips.

Law's salary fell within a range of $71,600 to $102,120, the department said. The department also said frequent-flier miles generated from Law's work-related travel is used by the state to acquire plane tickets for added travel.

Law's nearly $40,000 travel bill is relatively small when compared with the $106 million spent by Adult Mental Health Division from June 30 to Dec. 31, 2008. However, those intrastate travel expenses come amid cutbacks in mental health and other social programs.

Last November, the state Health Department announced that mental health services statewide would be cut dramatically in an effort to save more than $25 million. That plan involved capping reimbursable case management hours per client to just 3.5 hours a month — from three hours a day — and reducing programs that serve thousands.

In July, the department closed its Kailua Counseling Center, which forced about 100 severely mentally ill clients to go to Kane'ohe for services. The closure of the center — which will save the agency about $50,000 a year in lease rent — is aimed at helping avert a budget shortfall at the state Adult Mental Health Division in the current fiscal year.

'IS THIS COMMON?'

House Finance Chairman Marcus Oshiro, D-39th (Wahiawa), said he was not aware of the state's paying for any workers to regularly commute between islands. He welcomed the department's recent change in Law's commuting schedule.

"Better late than never for them to correct what at first blush seems rather extravagant," Oshiro said. Still, "it's something that we'll be looking at. Is this a common practice? Is this something that occurs at other departments?"

Oshiro noted that the state's Adult Mental Health Division regularly seeks and receives emergency funds. Since the beginning of 2005 the division has received $35 million in emergency appropriations including $8.1 million from the state's rainy day fund, Oshiro said.

"This is a program boss that has chronic shortfalls and has over the last several years come in for emergency appropriation requests, so we know that's one division that's always short of cash," he said.

"Perception counts for a lot in this business. One individual receiving this kind of privilege of (commuting) from one's home on Kaua'i and raking up that kind of mileage and (with) the cost being borne by the department, one wonders whether there might be a better way."