|
|
|
|
2022 Ho'oikaika Annual Conference
Holomua Ike Kūpuna
“Going Forward in the Wisdom of Our Ancestors”
Mark your calendars for Thursday September 29, 2022 from 8:15 am – 3:30 pm.
Click here to Register
Registration is FREE thanks to our generous sponsors:
Kamehameha Schools and Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui.
From the beginning, Ho’oikaika Partnership’s mission has focused on educating providers and the wider community about protective factors as a fundamental strategy to prevent child maltreatment and strengthen families. This year, we aim to deepen our understanding of protective factors and trauma-informed approaches, with a focus on integrating traditional Hawaiian knowledge and honoring the diverse cultures of Maui County.
Learning Goals
Our intention is to go beyond “what are protective factors and why are they important” and offer practical ideas and culturally responsive approaches to apply these concepts in our work with children and families. Additionally, we will offer “how to’s” to strengthen our collective capacity to advocate and mālama – ourselves, our ‘ohana, and our organizations.
Learning Tracks
- Applying Protective Factors with a Cultural Lens
- The Intersection of Hawaiian Values and Protective Factors
- Trauma-Informed Interventions for Diverse Cultures
- Can You Hear Me Now? Tools for Child and Family Advocacy
- A Journey to Healing: Ourselves, Our ‘Ohana and Our Organizations
Stay tuned for the full schedule and more information on session presenters!
Deb Marois, Ho'oikaika Partnership Coordinator
Back to Top
|
|
|
RSVP for Ho'oikaika Partnership August 10 Meeting
Mark your calendars - our general meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month. The regularly scheduled monthly Ho'oikaika Partnership meeting will take place on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, from 11:30am–1pm.
All meeting materials can be accessed in the 2022-06-08 HP General Meeting folder on Google drive. The meeting agenda is available as a PDF and a MS Word document.
Join us this month to learn more about how CWS is changing how they serve children and families. Charlotte Kamauoha, Program Manager at Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Services Branch will present an overview of Family First Hawai'i (FFH), including the moʻolelo of FFH and how changes to service delivery will help prevent children from entering foster care by providing family strengthening services to keep families safely together. We will also hear about client eligibility and opportunities for stakeholder participation.
Watch a video to learn more about FFH and the Pūʻolo Metaphor
RSVP for the meeting by clicking on one of the links below. The green button will take you to a registration page. You will receive the Zoom link after you register.
Back to Top
|
|
Partner Updates
Hana Youth Fest
On Saturday July 23rd, several Ho'oikaika Partners joined the first Hana Youth Fest, sponsored by Friends of the Children's Justice Center of Maui with local resident Claire Kamalu Carroll, Maui County Council's East Maui representative. The event was organized in response to community meetings where the need for services and supports were raised.
Ho'oikaika Navigator Heidi Allencastre coordinated with the following partners to participate:
- American Red Cross
- Child and Family Services
- Hui No Ke Ola Pono
- Imua Family Services - shout out to Genevieve Derego!
- Maui Family Support Services/Kane Connections - shout out to Kawika Mattos!
- Project Vision Hawaii
She also distributed information/resources from the following partners:
- Early Literacy, Maui Family Support Services
- Ma'i Movement
- Patch Maui
- WIC Maui
- 3000 COVID self test kits, Department of Health - shout out to Jenny Bissell.
- Malama Family Recovery Center
- Kakou for Keiki
There were 350 children registered and over 200 parents/grandparents/caregivers. Heidi distributed the following to participants:
- 150 backpacks and school supplies
- Diapers and wipes in varies sizes to all Makua with infants
- 85 women's hygiene kits to teenage girls, Shout out to Ma'i Movement
- Skin to Skin information with blanket, Shout out to Kakou for Keiki and Larae
- 100 bookmaking kits, children's books and book bags for prize giveaways Shout out to Early Literacy and Traci Robello at MFSS
- 130 Ohana/Keiki Dental hygiene bags
- 100 age specific books from PATCH Maui
- Information about Hana Hi'ipoi, Kane Connections, Maui County Childcare Subsidy program and all other MFSS programs.
- Information about WIC and applying for children under 5.
- Information about Malama Family Recovery Center and treatment services available for pregnant and parenting women.
Mahi Pono donated produce, watermelon, onions, beets, squash , spinach and kale. Mahalo nui loa!
Click here for a short video on the Hana Fest - beautiful to see the happy, smiling faces of keiki!
Congratulations to all Partners who worked together to create this successful event!
Back to Top
|
|
Partners Invited: 27th Annual Stand for Children Rally and Celebration
Maui Family Support Services, Inc. are cordially inviting you and your staff to the 27th Annual Stand for Children Rally and Celebration which will be held on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at the JW Cameron Center from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm.
This event has been embraced in the past by the families of Maui and we believe your participation has contributed to its past success. We hope that you will participate again this year, and we look forward to working with you once more. If you can join us, please complete the Registration Form link below:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SFC2022
Please submit your registration by August 31, 2022.
Here are a few additional details about the event.
- First 20 programs/agencies to register will not need a tent. You will be assigned a space along the shaded walkways at the Cameron Center.
- If you are doing an on-ground keiki activity, space is limited to about a 5x5 area next to your table to allow people to pass by.
- We hope to serve over 100 children during the three-hour event.
- Please prepare activities/handouts for at least 100 children, besides whatever you will be providing to parents/caregivers.
- Set up starts at 8:00 am.
- This is an in-person event. We encourage you and your staff to mask up when interacting closely with event patrons for health and safety. Make hand sanitizers available before and after they do an activity with you. Encourage safe spacing at your designated booth.
- Please provide a keiki friendly giveaway for prize drawings. Giveaways can be anything geared toward children birth-12 years old.
- Please bring your own table/tent/chairs and necessary supplies.
Please promote the event using the attached flyer on your social media and the families you serve.
We hope you will join us for this event! If you have any questions please, email keikimatters@mfss.org or call 808-242-0900.
|
|
A Taste of PLTI Maui
Hawaiʻi Parent Leadership Training Institute
The next cohorts begin in September 2022! In-person cohorts are available on Oʻahu and Maui, and a virtual option is open to residents statewide.
PLTI is open to anyone who cares about the well-being of children. Over the course of 20 free weekly sessions, you’ll learn to be an effective advocate for children and a change agent for your community. You’ll also complete a community project that will put into practice what you are learning. PLTI teaches you how to identify problems affecting children — in schools, communities, and local and state government — and work toward solutions. Since 2016, PLTI has trained over 95 alumni in Hawaiʻi.
By exploring your own passions, strengths, and ideas, you’ll develop leadership, interpersonal, and communication skills. By learning about government and the media, you’ll understand how to engage with the political system to get your voice heard.
Apply for PLTI and get the training you need to change your community! Hawaiʻi PLTI is a chapter of the National Parent Leadership Institute.
Learn more: www.hawaii-can.org/plti
Contact: plti@hawaii-can.org
|
|
Huaka’i o Maui: An Island Guidebook for Families
More than just a children’s book! Increasing Literacy, New Island Experiences, and Quality Time for Families of Maui County.
Jenny Coon and Nicki Barsamian, owners of Waikapu Publishing Company, were contacted by Maui Family Support Services Early Literacy Coordinator, Traci Robello, in November 2021 with an exciting proposal. “After learning about the Early Literacy Project and the need for a comprehensive book, we wanted to be the company to make it happen! What a unique and powerful way to serve our community, encourage reading, and increase family experiences around the island.”
Maui Family Support Services (MFSS) received a grant for their Early Literacy Project to provide training and support in early literacy evidence-based practices for families of Maui County with children in the birth through 5 age group. The grant is from the US DOE, through the Hawaii DOE, and is administered by Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education at the University of Hawaii. The three primary initiatives of the grant are: 1) child literacy, 2) family literacy, and 3) culture-based education. MFSS believed one of the best ways to meet all the grant requirements and implement proven literacy evidence-based practices was to create a book that could capture it all.
The result is “Huaka‘i o Maui: An Island Guidebook for Families,” a children's book that showcases beautiful places on Maui that local families love to visit. Traci Robello states, “The aim here is place-based learning; our local children and families will see familiar places with people who look like them, doing the things they do. This type of learning will increase a desire in children to read, look and talk about the pictures, listen to the words and rhymes, and inevitably build their love for books. This book will also act as a catalyst, encouraging local families to explore new places around the island and have new experiences with one another!” Parks, beaches, and farms from all over the island are highlighted in the book including four family friendly businesses.
Hardbacks are available at https://waikapupublishing.square.site/
Paperbacks are available through Amazon.com.
Back to Top
|
|
Hawaiʻi establishes nation’s first statewide legislated Office of Wellness & Resilience
Senator Donovan Dela Cruz joined Kamehameha Schools, the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, and numerous community organizations to announce that Senate Bill 2482, now Act 209, was signed into law, creating the first statewide-legislated Office of Wellness & Resilience in the nation.
By sponsoring legislation for the Statewide Trauma Informed Task Force (ACT209) in 2021 and introducing SB2482 (ACT209) to establish the Office of Wellness & Resilience, Sen. Dela Cruz said the legislature is committed to creating a “trauma-informed state” that will better serve families and improve community health and wellness outcomes.
Read More About the Office of Wellness & Resilience in Maui Now
Back to Top
|
|
Access to Care Statewide Survey Results
Community First has partnered with health, social service, and government organizations across Hawaiʻi on Access to Care. To improve health and health care in Hawai'i, they first wanted to understand current conditions across the state.
Highlights from a survey conducted this spring of 3,287 residents and 324 healthcare providers:
- 40% of the public report worse economic insecurity.
- 52% report making cuts to their food and grocery budgets for personal financial reasons while 36% say they have cut back on medical care or medicine in the past year because they were short on money.
- Nearly 6 in 10 residents 58% experience health care delays in the past year. One in 521% characterize the wait time issue as significant and providers confirm this. Both populations say a provider shortage is one of the main issues. Many providers are contemplating reducing their hours, leaving or retiring from medicine and or moving to the mainland. The issue is only going to get worse and suggests that Hawaii has a recruitment and retention problem.
Click here to read Access to Care Health for Our Communities July 2022
Click here to read the Summary Report
Learn More about Access to Care
Back to Top
|
|
Tell Congress Zero Funding for Child Care is Unacceptable
 The final chapter of Budget Reconciliation 2022 is being written and, in its current form, represents a monumental missed opportunity to address a near-universal challenge for families with young children: the lack of access to affordable, high-quality child care.
From the beginning, baby advocates have fought to ensure that key investments like child care for young children and families would be part of the deal. Last week, a preliminary deal was finally announced, and needed investments in child care were left out of the package entirely. Time is running out, but there is a narrow path for changes to the legislation to ensure child care investments for families with young children are not left behind.
Get Involved and take action today. Be a Big Voice for Little Kids™ and urge your Senators to include funding for child care in reconciliation before it’s too late.
We can only turn this around if policymakers hear from you! Use this easy, on-line form to call your Senators today and tell them the true cost of not investing in child care and what that means for babies, families, and educators.
Back to Top
|
|
Commit to Keiki: Storytelling for Change!
- What is your biggest struggle as a new parent?
- What can government do to help young keiki?
Your story is critical to making sure the next Governor understands what families need to thrive. Commit to Keiki is gathering and sharing family and community stories of raising young children and how the next Governor can help. With your permission, your story will be shared with gubernatorial candidates, on websites, social media, and with other supporters of this cause including Ho’oikaika Partnership.
If you’re interested in sharing your story or know of someone who would be good, please email Laurie Au, call (808) 371-2809 or complete this interest form.
Commit to Keiki is an issue-based campaign with the goal of ensuring Hawai’i’s next Governor invests more government funds into our youngest keiki from ages 0-5.
Back to Top
|
|
Early-Childhood and Climate Movements Need to Join Forces
Many early-childhood advocates and donors don’t view climate change as directly relevant to their work. But climate change puts all their efforts at risk by harming the physical and mental health of the children they seek to help. How effective is a child-care center that is destroyed by wildfires? How helpful are school-readiness programs when children are experiencing the fallout of devastating floods?
Each movement has assets the other needs. The climate movement brings funding and political clout, while the early-childhood movement brings a massive number of constituents and the emotional weight of young children. Together, they have the knowledge and skills to drive action toward a healthier, cleaner, and safer planet.
Read more about how these movements can collaborate
Back to Top
|
|
Gov. David Ige Vetoes Child Welfare Bill
Drafted in response to the Isabella Ariel Kalua tragedy, the bill would have increased resources for Child Welfare Services. It would also have allowed social workers to respond to complaints about any foster or adoptive family, even after parents become legal guardians. Ige said the bill is unconstitutional, but added he supports its intent.
Read more about the veto in Hawaii News Now
Read more about HB2424
Back to Top
|
|
Investing in Families Prevents Child Welfare Involvement
This brief from the Center for the Study of Social Policy highlights policies that can make a significant impact for children and families. The path forward is clear: strengthening household financial security can reduce child abuse and neglect by improving the opportunity for parents to meet their children’s basic needs, provide developmentally appropriate child care, and reduce parental stress and depression, both risk factors for child abuse and neglect. Overall, research has shown that children in households with low socioeconomic status experience “neglect” at about seven times the rate of other children and that risk factors for child abuse and neglect include low parental income, parenting stress, community violence, and concentrated neighborhood disadvantage.
Systemic racism compounds these challenges associated with poverty for families of color, driving them to the attention of child welfare at disproportionate rates. To truly take an anti-racist approach to prevention, child welfare and safety net policies must address the organizational structures and injustices contributing to and perpetuating systemic racism and to meet the underlying economic and concrete needs of children and families.
Click here to read more about needed policy changes
Back to Top
|
|
Human Services Program at Maui College
Registration for Fall 2022!
Deadline to Apply: AUGUST 8
HSER 140: Individual Counseling CRN #45159, 3 credits
Wednesdays 5:00 – 7:45 pm, on Zoom
Starting August 24th
Instructor: Selene LeGare
HSER 101: CHW Fundamentals 3 credits
Tues 5-7:45 pm via Zoom video conference
Back to Top
|
|
|
Parent Line Virtual Workshops
|
|
|
2022 Monthly Safe Sleep Workshops
|
|
Parent Advisory Committees Training
Developing and Sustaining Effective Parent Advisory Committees Training
When: August 23 & 24, 5:30am-11:00am HT
Cost: $175
How can an active Parent Advisory Committee enhance a Program's work with families?
This unique, highly-rated training is designed for program managers and direct service staff who work with, or would like to develop, a Parent Advisory Committee (PAC). Whether Programs are exploring setting up a new PAC, or seeking to strengthen an existing one, this training will provide staff with the strategies and tools to maximize the great potential of shared staff-parent leadership. The training is co-conducted by a National Family Support Network staff member and an experienced national Parent Leader. Please note that the participation of Program leaders (Executive Directors, Directors, Managers) is needed in order to be able to implement the model effectively. Click here for more information and to register by 8/11
Back to Top
|
|
Historical & Intergenerational Trauma and Resiliency
WHEN: August 29, 2022 from 6 – 7:30 a.m. HT
COST: FREE
Understanding historical and intergenerational trauma is essential to providing culturally competent and person-centered care. Join the Social Justice Leadership Academy’s (SJLA) August Learning Series Event as Tamanna Patel, MPH, and Terence Fitzgerald, Ph.D., explore these specific forms of trauma, the impacts they have on individuals and communities and how you can shift your work toward a trauma-informed, resilience-oriented model.
Click here to Register for this Webinar
|
|
How To Deliver Training With Pizzazz
Many service providers deliver trainings as part of their job. In this session, we’ll provide tips on how to develop effective trainings and deliver them with energy and style, as well as strategies on how to design and deliver trainings that focus on communities of color. We’ll examine how you can create effective PowerPoint slides, engage participants, and increase your comfort when training others.
When: August 31, 2022; 8:00–9:15 a.m. HT
Click Here for More Information
Click Here to Register
Back to Top
|
|
The Importance of Relationships and Trust in Home Visiting Outreach and Recruitment
Trusting relationships are at the heart of home visiting, a service delivery strategy that depends on connections between home visitors and families.This brief summarizes three relationship-building strategies and promising practices that emerged from the study findings:
- Leveraging trusted referral sources
- Enlisting home visitors in recruitment
- Nurturing relationships with referral partners
Click Here to Download the Brief
Back to Top
|
|
Partnering with Parents to Support the Development of Creativity
 No one is more creative than young children. Supporting and nurturing their creativity is all about the process! Making something out of nothing — and anything out of everything — sums up the process of creating and exploring the world around. Explore creativity in this home visiting webinar. Learn how home visitors partner with parents to nurture creative minds, support the development of critical thinking, and foster problem-solving.
Click here to watch the webinar. Also includes transcript, slides and viewer's guide from the Home Visitors Series produced by the Office of Head Start, Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) US Dept of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
