It Takes an 'Ohana
Hawaii's Foster Care ResourceIt Takes an ‘Ohana is a program of Family Programs Hawaii. We provide the latest news in foster care and updates to Hawaii’s child welfare laws. For more information on foster care and strengthening families in Hawaii, visit our main website by clicking the button below.
Summer of Conferences and Support
We look back to the summer with many new resources and support for resource caregivers. FPH’s Resource Families Support Services (RFSS) Annual Conferences statewide was successful despite the many challenges from flooding on Kauai to lava on the Big Island of Hawaii. Resource caregivers, foster parents, learned many take home messages and were motivated by the power of being together.
The Ohana is Forever conference took place on July 20th, with youth from all across the state attending this youth-led conference on Oahu. Youth get to learn from each other about the many ways they can succeed and rise above their circumstances. Youth leaders who could not attend, sent in videos to share their story about their triumphs over major obstacles in their lives.
Support group services for resource caregivers are now being offered via teleconferencing four times a year with FPH’s RFSS program. Although support groups are offered in person monthly, we’ve added video conferencing as an option for the convenience of the resource caregivers.
*all events are free for participants and paid for with the support of private grants, government funding, and private donors.
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ITAO Kaukini Award
The ITAO Advisory Committee created the Kaukini Award in 2013 to honor DHS staff that goes above and beyond in accessibility, advocacy, commitment and dedication to bring about positive outcomes for children and families affected by child welfare.
The name of this award comes from the chant “‘Ike iā Kaukini he Lawai‘a Manu.” Kaukini was a legendary bird catcher of Waipi‘o Valley. He and his wife Pōkahi were chosen by the gods to become the adoptive parents of the infant girl Lauka‘ie‘ie who would, in time, became one of the guardian goddesses of hula. Their devotion to the girl has become symbolic of dedicated, selfless service to a person or ideal of great value; to serve in this manner was their one desire, their greatest burden, and their greatest delight ~ all rolled up in one. Such service can be characterized as “luhi” (laborious…to care for and attend with affection; a child raised with devoted care): it can be exhausting, but it is always inspired and rejuvenated by love, and it is always its own best reward. The chant calls on us to see, know, and understand these parents and to follow their lead by identifying and serving our own “luhi” with the same determined, joyful purpose.
Follow link to see list of awardees!
“Needs and Creative Planning” Conference Handouts
Follow link for the handout, Needs and Creative Planning, that was presented by Patricia Miles at the Hawaii Youth Engagement Conference in October 2015.
Supporting Foster Youth Attendance at Court Hearings
Attending their court hearings benefit both the foster youth and the court. Youth develop a sense of control over the process when they actively participate. They also have the opportunity to understand the process by seeing the court proceeding firsthand. The court learns more about the children than simply what is presented in reports. Follow link for more benefits and how to support a foster youth attending his or her hearings.