7:30 a.m. REGISTRATION

8:00 a.m. WELCOME
Honorable Brian Costa, Family Court of the First Circuit
Joseph Campos, Deputy Director, Department of Human Services
Kevin Adaniya, J.D., Program Emcee

8:05 a.m. CHILD WELFARE STATUTORY CHANGES AND APPELLATE DECISIONS
Patrick Pascual, J.D., Deputy Attorney General, Family Law Division
(Q&A to follow)

8:35 a.m. JUDICIARY AND EXECUTIVE BRANCH: CHILD WELFARE INITIATIVES, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, AND PLANS FOR 2022-2023
Family Court: Honorable Brian Costa, Family Court
Department of Education: Yvonne Humble, Ph.D., Director of Student Support Services
Department of Human Services: Daisy Hartsfield, J.D., DHS Social Services Division Administrator; Timothy Hitchins, MSW, DHS Social Services Division Assistant Administrator
Department of Health: Kurt Humphrey, M.D., Medical Director, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division
(Q&A to follow)

9:25 a.m. BREAK

9:40 a.m. RESOURCES AND SUPPORTS FOR YOUTH IN FOSTER CARE
HI H.O.P.E.S. Board Members, Melissa Mayo and Anastasia Neumann

Discussion facilitated by Delia Ulima, J.D., HI H.O.P.E.S. Statewide Initiative Manager

10:20 a.m. NAVIGATING TESTING FOR SUBSTANCE USE: DHS POLICY AND LABORATORY TESTING
Clifford Gregory Wong, Ph.D. D-ABFT-FT
Michael Tovey, M.S., Lead Systems Trainer, DHS Staff Development
Facilitator: Crystal Asano, J.D.

12:05 p.m. LUNCH AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS UPDATES
Rebecca Liebowitz, Esq., Legal Aid of Hawaii: Special Immigrant Legal Status services
Makua Allies, Child Parent Psychotherapy: Erica Warner, Kimberly Nabarro, AA
Tia Hartsock, MSW, MSCJA, Office of Wellness and Resilience

1:05 p.m. PLACEMENT DECISION-MAKING: KEY ACTIONS ALONG THE FOSTER CARE PLACEMENT CONTINUUM
Honorable Brian Costa; Elladine Olevao, B.A. Branch Administrator, Child Welfare Services; Stacie Pascual, B.S.W., Assistant Program Development Administrator, Child Welfare Services; Kimberlie Tamori, B.A., Family Finding/EPIC Ohana;
Facilitator: Julio Herrera, J.D.

2:35 p.m. BREAK

2:45 p.m. SERVICES AND PLACEMENTS FOR CHILDREN WITH HIGH OR COMPLEX NEEDS
Honorable Andrew Park; Honorable Darien Nagata; Scott Shimabukuro, Ph.D; Kurt Humphrey, M.D., Medical Director, DOH CAMHD; Curtis Toma, M.D., Medical Director, Hawaii Medicaid (Med-Quest); Ryan Lee, M.D., Medical Director, DOH Developmental Disabilities Division; Emily Hills, J.D.; Tonia Mahi, M.S.W., Assistant Branch Administrator, Child Welfare Services
Facilitator: Julio Herrera, J.D.

4:30 p.m. CLOSING REMARKS
Kevin Adaniya, J.D.

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KEVIN ADANIYA
Kevin Adaniya is a graduate of McGeorge School of Law and has been licensed to practice law in Hawaiʻi since 1996. He has been practicing family law, including as an attorney for parents and as guardian ad litem in child welfare cases.

CRYSTAL ASANO
Crystal M. Asano, J.D., has been practicing in the area of Family Law for over 20 years.  She began her career as a Deputy Attorney General in the Family Law Division prior to going into private practice.  She has been representing parents in Child Protective Act cases for almost a decade now.  She also represents minors and resource caregivers, as well as legal guardians.

JOSEPH CAMPOS
Joseph Campos II was appointed as deputy director of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS) since September 2020. Since 1994, he served as a State of Hawai‘i employee in various capacities and has extensive administrative experience with a strong understanding of the State system. Campos is a Maryknoll high school graduate and continued his education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where he completed his Ph.D. in Political Science specializing in security studies and international relations in 2005. He is an author, a respected scholar in security and peace studies, and brings his passion for rectifying issues of injustice to DHS. As deputy director and as a dedicated public servant, he is committed to furthering the DHS mission – to encourage self-sufficiency and support the well-being of individuals, families, and communities in Hawai‘i.

HONORABLE BRIAN COSTA
Brian A. Costa is a District Family Court Judge in the Family Court of the First Circuit, State of Hawai‘i. He received his undergraduate degree from Hawai‘i Pacific University in 1998, and his Juris Doctor degree from the William S. Richardson Law School in 2001. He was appointed to the bench in February 2015 as a per diem (part-time) judge in the family district court by Chief Justice Recktenwald, and was later appointed as a full-time judge in June 2017. He has previously served as the lead judge of the Domestic Division, and he is currently the lead judge of the Juvenile Division. Judge Costa has also been the presiding judge for Juvenile Drug Court since December 2017. Prior to being appointed a as a judge he was employed at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel as an associate attorney, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney for the city & county of Honolulu, a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Simeon Acoba, Jr., and a lawyer in private practice at his own firm, Costa & DeLacy, LLLC.

DAISY HARTSFIELD
Daisy Hartsfield brings to the Department of Human Services (DHS) a broad and diverse experience in the child welfare system.  She served as a Guardian Ad Litem, Counsel for the CASA Program, and on a limited basis represented parents and children in FC-S cases.  Daisy has come full circle as a government employee – she started as an investigator of child abuse and neglect, was a juvenile probation officer, a deputy public defender, deputy attorney general in the Family Law Division, supervisor of the Hawaii Drug Court Program, deputy prosecuting attorney, returned to DHS in 2019 as special assistant to former DHS Director Pankaj Bhanot, and has been Social Services Division Administrator since October 2020.

TIA L.R. HARTSOCK
Tia Hartsock, MSW, MSCJA, is Executive Director, Office of Wellness & Resilience . Tia L.R. Hartsock is an independent consultant and a researcher and evaluator on criminal justice and mental health systems for non-profits, state departments and federal agencies. She was most recently the Project Director of a federal Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) initiative in the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division in Hawai`i’s Department of Health, to impact the use of data to inform clinical decision-making in mental health treatment. Ms. Hartsock has an appointment as an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Hawai`i’s Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health and lectures in both the bachelors and master’s programs. She received her Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University with a specialization in juvenile justice and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Hawai`i with a specialization focus on mental health. She is a certified Trauma-Informed Care trainer by SAMHSA’s Gains Center.

Previously, she was the Project Director on two separate SAMHSA initiatives within the Department of Health to develop and provide mental health services for adolescents involved in the juvenile justice, mental health and/or the child welfare systems. In those capacities, she oversaw multi-agency collaborations to improve Hawai`i’s mental health system’s delivery of services for trauma survivors from a gender-specific and trauma-informed foundation. 

In 2021, Ms. Hartsock was named the Chair of the Act 209 statewide Trauma-Informed Care Task Force, and has been a part of a local and national effort to address the disproportionate representation of Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in Hawaiʻi’s system of care.  In July 2022, in partnership with the national Vera Institute of Justice, Hawaiʻi achieved Zero Girls Incarcerated and received national attention for this accomplishment. In December 2022, she was appointed by the Governor of Hawaiʻi as the Executive Director of the newly established Office of Wellness & Resilience in the Office of the Governor. Ms. Hartsock has been working to improve the child and adult serving systems in mental health and criminal justice in Hawai`i for nearly 25 years. 

JULIO HERRERA
Julio Herrera is the Supervising Deputy Attorney General for the Family Law Division of the Department of the Attorney General, and is a graduate of the Santa Clara University School of Law. He has been working in the Family Law Division representing various state agencies in family court since 1999.

HI H.O.P.E.S INITIATIVE
The Initiative works to ensure that young people who’ve experienced foster care — primarily those between ages 14 and 26 — have the relationships, resources and opportunities they need for success. They do this by working with public and private partners on the state and local level to improve policies and practices, promote youth voice and engagement, apply evaluation and research, and create community partnerships. Our work creates opportunities for young people to achieve positive outcomes in permanency, education, employment, housing, health, financial capability, and social capital.

The HI H.O.P.E.S. Initiative is a partner of the national Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative and the Anne E. Casey Foundation.

EMILY HILLS
Emily M. Hills is currently a Senior Attorney in the Family Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i.  Her caseload is balanced between work as a Guardian Ad Litem, representing the best interests of children involved in child welfare cases, and work on the divorce/paternity calendars primarily working with survivors of domestic violence.  Emily started her career as a public defender in Colorado, before moving to Hawai‘i to clerk for Judge Mark J. Bennett on the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and then for Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald on the Hawai‘i Supreme Court.

TIMOTHY HITCHENS
Tim Hitchens is the Assistant Administrator for the Social Services Division of Hawaii’s Department of Human Services.  He earned his BSW from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY and his MSW from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.  Tim Spent 11+ years with the City of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services as a front-line Social Worker, Social Work Supervisor, Policy and Planning Supervisor, and after-hours Administrator.  He also taught at Temple University’s School of Social Work.  In 2017, Tim and his family moved to Hawaii, where he took a year off to explore Oahu with his then-toddler son and then spent almost 3 years as the Education and Training Program Manager for Ho’ola Na Pua, a Hawaii-based human trafficking prevention nonprofit.  He joined the Department in his current role in January of 2022.  Tim and his wife have a 7-year-old son, 2-year-old daughter, and 18-month-old puppy.

YVONNE HUMBLE
Dr. Yvonne Humble has a Bachelor of Science degree, a master’s degree in Special Education, a Specialist Degree in Behavior Disorders, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, with an emphasis in Special Education. She has over 40 years in the educational system as a teacher, special education teacher, Behavioral Specialist, Director of Special Education, District Education Specialist and is currently the Director of Student Support Services for the Hawaiʻi Department of Education. 

KURT HUMPHREY
Dr. Kurt Humphrey is Medical Director of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division, State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health.  Kurt is originally from Colorado and received his M.D. from the University of Colorado – Denver.  He stayed in Colorado for his residency and fellowship training in adult and child and adolescent psychiatry.  After moving to Hawaiʻi in 2014, Kurt joined the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division’s Family Court Liaison Branch before transitioning into the Medical Director role.  Kurt’s clinical interests include trauma and related disorders, telepsychiatry and mental health issues in the LGBTQ+ population.

RYAN LEE
Dr. Ryan Lee was born and raised on Oahu, and currently resides in Nuuanu. He is a pediatric neurologist with specialty in neurodevelopmental disabilities. He received training at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. He has done research in brain imaging and genetic causes for autism. He is the medical director for the Department of Health, Developmental Disabilities Division. He is passionate about helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

REBECCA LEIBOWITZ, J.D.

Rebecca is the managing attorney at the Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center at the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii (HIJC). HIJC provides services to low- income immigrants in need of assistance and immigrant survivors of domestic violence and other crimes. 

TONIA MAHI
Tonia Mahi is Assistant Child Welfare Services Branch Administrator for Department of Human Services.  She graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and from the University of Southern California with a master’s degree in Social Work.  She has been with Department of Human Services since 1991, working as an assessment worker, supervisor, trainer, and section administrator until assuming her current position in May 2019.

MELISSA MAYO
Melissa Mayo is an alumna of foster care. She spent five years in the foster care system and is now the President of the HI H.O.P.E.S. Youth Leadership Board in East Hawaii. Melissa is also a current Jim Casey Fellow with Jim Casey Initiative. She has been an ambitious leader, with a passion for creating positive change and empowering her peers in the Child Welfare System. Melissa also uses her advocacy work in her role as the Pono Process lead at EPIC ‘Ohana Inc., promoting youth self-advocacy and assuring the rights of children and youth are being honored and upheld while in foster care. In addition to Melissa’s advocacy work, she is currently working on obtaining her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Administration of Justice at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She is also a currently an adoptive mom to her beautiful niece. 

KIM NABARRO
Kim’s a mom who navigated addiction, adult probation, domestic violence, homelessness, and the CWS system.  Kim is a Hawaii Certified Peer Specialist by the Hawaii State Department of Health She completed a Human Services AA degree program and Certificate of Completion for Substance Abuse Counseling. Kim works as a Parent Partner at EPIC `Ohana, and serves moms with addiction issues in the Makua Allies program. She’s also a Parent Leader Consultant for Infant Toddler Court Programs National Resource Center, and is a Lived Experience Advisory Board member for Oahu’s Partners in Care Advisory Board.

HONORABLE DARIEN NAGATA
Judge Darien W.L. Ching Nagata is a District Family Court Judge presiding in the Third Circuit.   Chief Judge Mark E. Recktenwald appointed her to the bench in 2016.  The Hawaii Women Lawyers recognized Judge Nagata as the 2021 Outstanding Judicial Achievement Award recipient.   Judge Nagata is Hawaii’s statewide Child and Family Services (CFSR) Program Improvement Plan (PIP) judge.  She serves on numerous committees such as the: Statewide Child Protective Act Benchbook Revisions Committee (Co-Chair), Statewide Child Support Guidelines Committee, Committee on Operational Solutions (Family Court Co-Chair), Permanent Committee on Family Court Rules, Hawaii State Bar Association Nominating Committee, Court Improvement Program Advisory Committee, Statewide committee to apply for and manage the Children’s Justice Grant, and Standing Committee on Children in Family Court.  Prior to her appointment, Judge Nagata served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the County of Hawaii Office of the Prosecuting Attorney from 1998 to 2016.  She is a graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law, and was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 1997. 

ANASTASIA NEUMANN
Anastasia Neumann is the president of the Oahu HI HOPES Youth Leadership Board and has served on the board for four years. She has lived experience in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Anastasia is 21 and currently works as the Pono Process Navigator at EPIC ‘Ohana, helping foster youth with concerns about their rights while in care. Anastasia also serves as the Chair of the Youth Committee of the Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council.

ELLADINE OLEVAO
Elladine Olevao is Child Welfare Services Branch Administrator for the Department of Human Services. She began her work as a social worker on Molokaʻi. Prior to becoming the Child Welfare Services Branch Administrator in 2018, she was Section Administrator for the County of Maui. She received her bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaiʻi.

HONORABLE ANDREW PARK
The Honorable Judge Andrew Park was appointed to the District Court of the First Circuit and assigned to Family Court on November 16, 2020, where he sits in the Juvenile Division and presides over Child Welfare and Juvenile Offender cases. Prior to his appointment, he served as a per diem judge of the District Family Court where he presided over all types of family court cases, was an attorney in private practice handling criminal cases, and was a deputy prosecuting attorney for the City & County of Honolulu. Judge Park is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the William S. Richardson School of Law.

PATRICK PASCUAL
Patrick Pascual is a graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. Patrick has worked as a Deputy Attorney General in the Family Law Division with the Office of the Attorney General for over 20 years.

STACIE PASCUAL
Stacie Pascual completed her undergraduate studies at the University of San Francisco and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2000.  Upon graduating, she began her state career with the Department of Human Services’ Child Welfare Services Branch.  Stacie initially started as a case manager and then took a position as an investigator.  Stacie was an investigator for the department for five years before taking on a new challenge in 2006 at the CWS hotline.  Stacie dedicated 10 years to the hotline before being promoted to the Program Development Office as an Assistant Program Administrator.  Her program areas include Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC), Child Death, Child Abuse Prevention Treatment Act (CAPTA), Fingerprinting, and Criminal History.  Stacie serves as Deputy Compact Administrator for Hawaii’s ICPC and as Child Welfare Services Family Court Liaison.

SCOTT SHIMABUKURO
Dr. Scott K Shimabukuro is a clinical psychologist, board certified in family psychology and is the practice development officer for the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division. His interest is in improving family functioning, training different role groups that come in contact with these families and helping to build a more responsive system of care.

KIMBERLIE TAMORI
Kim has worked with children and families for over 20 years. For the last eight years, she has been employed at EPIC `Ohana as an `Ohana Finding Specialist. Prior to her job at EPIC, she worked for Hawaii Child Welfare Services as a permanency social worker and unit supervisor, and at Kapiolani Child Protection Center as a Team Coordinator for two years. In her role as `Ohana Finding Specialist, she conducts research to identify and locate additional family members and kin for children in foster care, has direct phone contact with parents and their relatives, assists with reviewing cases for closure, and trains and mentors newly hired specialists. Kim has a Bachelor’s degree in social work from UH Manoa.

CURTIS TOMA
Curtis Toma is the Hawaii Medicaid (Med-Quest) Medical Director. Curtis is a graduate of the John A Burns School of Medicine and completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the Queens Medical Center and Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children (KMCWC). Interest in the CWS population started during pediatric residency and continued on over the next 10 years as a provider and medical director at the community health centers in Hawaii. Current work as Med-Quest medical director has allowed me to participate in some healthy collaborations on some challenging cases with CWS, CAMHD, DDD, KMCWC, and the Quest plans. Other interest areas include transition to adulthood for complex cases, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT), SMI/SA, and homeless populations.

MICHAEL TOVEY
Michael Tovey is currently a Staff Development Specialist for the State of Hawai’i Department of Human Services – Social Services Division. He has a M.S. in Psychology and B.A. in English Literature. He has been with the Department for over five years, spending four years as a case manager and now as Lead Systems Trainer. Prior to working for DHS, he worked in the DOE and in the private sector for clients with Autism.

 DELIA ULIMA
Delia Ulima is the HI H.O.P.E.S. Initiative Manager at EPIC ‘Ohana. HI H.O.P.E.S. brings together youth voice and community partners to improve policy, practice, relationships and outcomes for young people impacted by foster care in Hawai’i. Delia graduated from Kamehameha Schools, holds a BA in Political Science, a Graduate Certificate in Conflict Resolution, an MA in Pacific Islands Studies and a Juris Doctorate. She is an adjunct faculty member with the Spark Matsunaga Institute for Peace at UH-Mānoa, where she teaches a Children’s Rights and the Law course. Delia serves as the vice-chair of the Juvenile Justice State Advisory Council, sits on the Kalihi-Pālama Neighborhood Board and serves on the Native Advisory Council (Hawaiʻi Region) to the Congressional Commission on Native Children. Delia was born and raised in Kaluaopalena, Kalihi and lives there with her ʻohana.

ERIKA WARNER
Erika Warner believes that Infant Mental health practice is social justice work and is deeply committed to all families having access to relationship based, trauma informed and culturally sensitive care and attention. She has worked with families with young children for more than 11 years, and now serves as the Clinical Specialist at the Association for Infant Mental health In Hawaiʻi (AIMH HI), and continues her direct practice work in her private practice REFLECT & CONNECT. 

CLIFFORD GREGORY WONG, Ph.D. D-ABFT-FT
dba Hawaii DUI Toxicology Consulting
Forensic Toxicology Consultant
47-286-D Hui Iwa Street,
Kaneohe, Hawaii 96744

Academic Training/Certifications:

American Board of Forensic Toxicology 2011- present
Board Certification-Forensic Toxicology Specialist

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CHIYO CHURCHILL
Chiyo Churchill, LMFT,  Program Administrator of the Counseling Center, Catholic Charities Hawaii.  Chiyo graduated from Argosy University in 2005 and became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in 2008.  She had a private practice for 9 years and continues to work at Catholic Charities Hawaii for a total of 14 years.  She has been trained in working with families who experienced intrafamilial sexual abuse since 2004.

PHILIPPE GUEDJ
Philippe Guedj, LCSW, is the Program Director II of the Counseling Center, Catholic Charities Hawaii.  Philippe graduated from the UH School of Social work in 1999. He has 15 years of experience working with severely mentally ill adults, 5 years of experience working in intrafamilial sex abuse and 18 years of managerial experience. He has been licensed since 2014.

ARLENE HARADA-BROWN
Arlene Harada-Brown is a graduate of the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law and has been licensed to practice law in Hawaiʻi since 2000.  She clerked for then Judge Sabrina McKenna and Judge Virginia Crandall.  Arlene has served as Deputy Attorney General in the Family Law Division, a Deputy Disciplinary Counsel for the ODC, and represented parents in child welfare cases.   She has been a guardian ad litem in child welfare cases since December 2008.

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Law Update: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7Y9LCZN

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