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.
ITAO Book Club
ITAO’s virtual Book Club was developed for resource, adoptive, guardianship, permanency and kinship families to provide support and at the same time add to their expertise related to the needs of the children and youth in their home. We finished our first book, “The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog” by Dr. Bruce Perry and Maia Szalavitz, in April, 2015. We are getting ready to start our next book, “Are We There Yet: Adopting and Raising 22 Kids!” by Sue and Hector Badeau. Sue was in Hawaii this month speaking at our “traveling” conference. This book has been approved by DHS for 7 credit hours. ITAO has several copies of the book so contact me if you need one at 808.540.2543 or jwilhoite@familyprogramshi.org.
All books read will be from the HI DHS Approved Ongoing Training List, allowing resource caregivers who read the book and complete the DHS Training Verification form to receive training hour credits.
The ITAO Book Club is a closed Facebook Group. To join, click here or search for ITAO Book Club while in Facebook and click on the green “+Join Group” button. We will then send you a personal message to verify that you are part of a resource (foster) or adopt family. Please check your FB Messages folder for this message.
We post questions and/or comments to encourage discussion. Members are able to participate at their convenience, logging in anytime to join us.
Resource caregivers who wish to obtain the credit hours for the books read must complete the DHS Training Verification Form and give that to their licensing worker. Please contact us with any questions regarding this.
We have book scholarships available for families that purchasing the book would be a burden. To inquire about scholarships, contact us at (808) 540-2543 or jwilhoite@familyprogramshi.org.
We believe that when parents have the tools they need plus the hope that they will make a difference, they will! We hope we can help all who are on this journey!
ITAO sends a big MAHALO to the Victoria S. and Bradley L. Geist Foundation and the Hawaii Model Court Program for their continued support and to the North American Council on Adoptable Children for the technical assistance it provided to create this Facebook Group.
Ho Ola Na Pua’s Smart Courage Program: Stranger Danger of the 21st Century for Teens
Did you know that sex trafficking is: 
- A multibillion dollar industry
- One of the top three largest criminal industries on the planet
- Drugs, human trafficking, illegal arms sales
- The fastest growing criminal enterprise in the 21st century
Some studies show that 60% of domestic sex trafficking victims are current or former foster youth. Thus we were happy to have Kaleo Schneider, director of Hoola Na Pua’s Smart Courage Program, present youth and adults information to help protect youth from becoming victims. Here is a link to the PowerPoint Kaleo presented:
In addition, here is the list of resources that Kaleo spoke of:
Hoʻōla Nā Pua
Shared Hope
Courage Worldwide
Polaris Project
Traffick Jamming
Missing Kids
Mahalo for all you do to help keep children and youth safe!
More Articles
Update on 2013 Legislation
Follow this link to read the results of this year’s legislative session regarding foster care in Hawai`i. We send a big “Mahalo!” to all who helped us move these initiatives forward this year – we couldn’t have gotten this far without your help! We also thank our State Legislators – their support was phenomenal!
ITAO’s Advisory Committee (IAC)
It Takes An `Ohana’s Advisory Committee identifies focus areas we believe to be most pressing for resource families and work to improve them. Follow link to learn more.
Transition Guides to Assist Foster Youth and Supporting Adults
Follow this link to download guides with help for both current and former foster youth and their supporting adults. The guides help take inventory of Youths’ current assets, identify resources and plan for a bright future. Each domain lists assets and skills Youth need to develop and hone prior to entering adulthood.