A panel created to propose reforms to Hawaii’s child welfare system has described an array of troubling defects in the system, and its draft report calls for a surge in government support for disadvantaged families so fewer children will be removed from their homes.

The Malama Ohana Working Group was created in 2023 partly in response to the disappearance of 6-year-old Isabella Kalua — formerly known as Ariel Sellers — from her home in Waimanalo. That case triggered a furious community outcry. Ariel’s adoptive parents were eventually charged with her murder, although her body has never been found.

After months of hearings and discussions, the working group contends the Child Welfare Services branch “must be reimagined. It is the most visible part of our child welfare system, and it is tasked with more than it can and should be asked to do.”

That transformation should include creation of a new state entity to support struggling families before CWS removes the children, including cases where children lack food or are homeless because of poverty, according to the report.

‘Not Human Friendly’

For those facing persistent challenges such as untreated mental illness or substance abuse, the report suggests the new agency would connect families to long-term services.

Malama Ohana will brief the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on its proposals Thursday at a hearing at the State Capitol. Also on the agenda is a state audit released last spring detailing problems in the state Child Welfare Services branch.

The working group invited parents, foster parents, foster children and child welfare workers to a series of meetings across the islands. What emerges in its 68-page draft report is a portrait of a system described as “not human-friendly.”

The report, which will be finalized and submitted to the Legislature by next month, reads like a catalogue of wounded Hawaii children and families.

Foster youth described being separated from siblings and frantically searching for them after the agency placed them in separate foster homes. Youth in the system said “that being in foster care feels like being placed somewhere and forgotten.”

“Young people repeatedly said that they were emotionally and physically hurt by the trauma they had experienced in their lives, and they did not have access to supports or services that would help them heal,” the report said. “They felt isolated, alone, and lonely.”

Parents related “the loneliness of challenges they faced, compounded by the fear of being judged, punished, or having their children removed. They know that most official sources of help are mandated reporters. CWS is viewed as the agency that takes children, not as a resource that helps parents.”

Need For Investment

While the report acknowledges children need to be protected from abuse, people swept up in the system described it as a collection of laws and policies that are “implemented unevenly by overworked and underpaid humans with varying degrees of training, compassion, and abilities.”

“Families described it as a ‘system of luck’ — the systemic inconsistencies in policy implementation and family engagement were so pervasive that positive outcomes were simply a matter of chance.”

Another portion of the report found that many people in the system including experienced foster parents “observed that caseworkers appeared undertrained, under-supported, and overwhelmed.”

Of particular concern is the child welfare system response to domestic violence, according to the report. Participants said child welfare case workers urgently need specialized understanding about the dynamics of family violence.

“One grandmother shared about how her daughter, a victim of domestic violence, sought help from the police, but they repeatedly failed to intervene. After the daughter died by suicide, CWS placed the children with the abusive parent,” according to the report.

State Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, said Wednesday the report demonstrates the need for a substantial, continuing investment of money to solve the problems within CWS.

In particular, San Buenaventura said she hopes for a continued focus on training, recruitment and retention of social workers. That has been a huge problem, with the department reporting last year CWS caseworker positions had a vacancy rate of 40%.

New Ombudsman Needed

Department of Human Services Director Ryan Yamane said he agrees with the working group that a substantial investment in services for families is needed, but said the department does not have the money to launch an initiative like that right now.

“If they’re able to secure funds, additional funds to support community-based programs, there is a need in the community to have more robust and various services,” he said. “We’re not opposed to that, but currently we are not pursuing that as a current stratgy within our budget constraints.”

Instead, he said the department will be focused on training in cultural sensitivity and what is called “trauma-informed care,” both of which the Malama Ohana report says are urgently needed in the CWS system. He said a review of the department’s rules, policies and procedures will also be done.

“We also are looking at ways moving forward how we can work with other entities like community partners, judiciary, and other entities,” he said.

Among other changes, the working group is proposing a new, independent ombudsman’s office to provide oversight in cases when the state has intervened because of alleged child abuse or neglect. That ombudsman would have the power to compel document production and testimony.

The new ombudsman would be responsible for investigating the circumstances surrounding deaths and serious injuries to any child who has received services from CWS, according to the report, and would not be part of the Department of Human Services where CWS is based.

The report also calls for adequate staffing for death reviews, and a “reconsideration” of current policies that prevent information from death reviews from being made public today.

“Most importantly, death review findings must actively drive system change,” according to the report. “These reviews often reveal critical gaps and needs in our system — findings that should directly inform and shape prevention strategies and system improvements.”

The report also calls for modernizing the data systems used by CWS — an effort already underway — and for more detailed collection of information on the factors that trigger foster placements.

Civil Beat’s community health coverage is supported by the Atherton Family Foundation, Swayne Family Fund of Hawaii Community Foundation, the Cooke Foundation and Papa Ola Lokahi.