THE CHILDRENS LAW PROJECT OF HAWAII

As Guardians ad Litem for children in foster custody and as attorneys for parents whose children have been removed into foster care, we take a broad view of our client's needs. By following best practices, engaging mental health and lived-experience professionals, and advocating for trauma-informed care, we seek to connect our clients with the services they need to heal from their experiences. We strive to give our clients a voice and empower them to participate in child protective services process. As we advocate for our clients, we investigate the circumstances of the case, report to the parties and the court, encourage settlement in children's best interest, and connect the family with community resources. As part of this program, CLPHI also provides comprehensive family-centered advocacy for parents navigating the child welfare system. Served 113 clients

Through Project Permanence, we work to establish adoptions and legal guardianships for children whose parents are not able to safely care for them. First, we seek to prevent child welfare involvement by establishing a legal relationship between children and non-parent caregivers. Second, Project Permanence seeks to get children already involved with Child Welfare Services out of the foster care system by establishing guardianships and adoptions. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to help children live in permanent homes and forge life-long connections to stable families. Our Multidisciplinary Teams focus on providing holistic legal advocacy for our Guardian ad Litem (GAL) clients. In addition to an Attorney, our MDTs are staffed by a Children's Law Project of Hawai'i (CLPHI) Social Worker and/or a Lived-Experience Advocate. All of our GAL clients assigned to an MDT have a comprehensive legal case plan developed and implemented for them that ensures advocacy across multiple domains (i.e. education, physical/mental health, and public benefits.) We engage families, youth, and qualified professionals to develop and implement tailored plans to best serve our clients. The expertise of a multi-faceted team provides the guidance necessary and ensures better outcomes for our young clients. CLPHI recently expanded this program to include parents whose children are in Foster Custody, and young adults who have aged out of the Foster Care system. Serve 6 children.