The Challenge of Child Abuse and Neglect in Hawaii

In 2007 there were more than 2,000 confirmed cases of abuse and neglect of children in Hawaii. Most of these abused and neglected children were placed in foster care because they are unable to live safely at home.

Imagine what it would be like to lose your parents, not because of something you did, but because they cannot or will not take care of you. Now, into these children’s lives come dozens of strangers: police, foster parents, therapists, social workers, judges, lawyers and more.

Hopefully, one of these individuals is a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children. CASA volunteers watch over and advocate for these children to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal system or languish in an inappropriate group or foster home. They stay with each case until it is closed, and the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. For many children, their CASA volunteer will be the one constant adult presence—the one adult who cares only for them.

Too many children in Hawaii live in fear: Fear of what their father or mother might do to them. The fear of being totally alone and neglected. And the fear they will never have a home they can call their own.

Every day, CASA volunteers throughout Hawaii help children replace their world of fear with one of hope. Our volunteers are everyday people. They are teachers, retirees, stockbrokers, construction workers and stay-at-home parents. The only special background or equipment they need is the heart to care for some of the most vulnerable children in our community, and the determination to do something about it.

They have the power to change children’s lives. Last year, over 200 volunteers here in Hawaii helped many of these children find safe, permanent homes and the opportunity for better lives.

In Hawaii CASA programs, on all islands, recruit and train community volunteers to advocate for children in court, helping them to find loving homes. Through the work of these extraordinary individuals, these vulnerable children find safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible. These children have been given a second chance for a positive future. But there are still many children in Hawaii in need of a CASA volunteer.