March 2024
Wednesday, March 6John Hill: Hawaii May Finally Move In The Right Direction On Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
September 2023
Sunday, September 3Hawaii Said This Big Island Dad Abused His Son — Then Three Years Later Changed Its Mind
March 2023
Thursday, March 23Legislature Kills Measures To Protect Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
February 2023
Tuesday, February 7Bills Would Force Hawaii To Seek Court Orders In Many Child Welfare Cases
December 2022
Monday, December 19A Gag Order In A Foster Death: When Child Welfare Secrecy Goes Too Far
Monday, December 12Racial Disparities Vex Hawaii’s Child Welfare System. Can They Be Fixed?
November 2022
Tuesday, November 22Hawaii Sent At Least 10 Foster Children To An Abusive Home At The Center Of A Drug Ring
Monday, November 21Hawaii Judges Were Trained To Run Better Child Welfare Hearings. Their Performance Plummeted
Monday, November 7‘Just A Number’: Parents Who Face Losing Their Kids Say Court-Appointed Attorneys Don鈥檛 Do Enough
October 2022
Monday, October 3Hawaii Senator Says Changes Are Needed To Curb ‘Illegal, Knee-Jerk’ Child Abuse Investigations
September 2022
Sunday, September 25‘You Need A Warrant!’: Hawaii’s Dubious Practice Of Taking Children Without A Court Order
July 2022
Thursday, July 7Government Workers Wrongly Seize A Child From Parents. Should They Be Made To Pay?
June 2022
Thursday, June 23She Took Her Fight For Her Grandson Public. A Hawaii Judge Said She Went Too Far
May 2022
Wednesday, May 18A Judge Took Away These Kids For Good — Until A Higher Court Found A Mistake
March 2022
Wednesday, March 2‘Grab And Go’: How Officials Seized A Fifth Grader To Live With A Father She Barely Knew
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022
John Hill: Hawaii May Finally Move In The Right Direction On Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
Two bills already approved by their respective houses aim to correct a longtime shortcoming, though it remains to be seen if it’s the right approach.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022
Hawaii Said This Big Island Dad Abused His Son — Then Three Years Later Changed Its Mind
In the meantime, Carlos Valdez lost custody of his son in a case that sheds light on the state’s procedure for deciding whether to label parents as abusers.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019
Legislature Kills Measures To Protect Parental Rights In Child Welfare Cases
Critics say Hawaii’s current policy flouts federal precedent and leaves it vulnerable to lawsuits.
Ludwig Laab/Civil Beat/2021
Bills Would Force Hawaii To Seek Court Orders In Many Child Welfare Cases
The measures would dramatically narrow the rules for when children can be taken from their parents absent a judge’s order.
Hawaii News Now
A Gag Order In A Foster Death: When Child Welfare Secrecy Goes Too Far
The child welfare system is shrouded in secrecy to protect children. Does it also block scrutiny and reform?
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019
Racial Disparities Vex Hawaii’s Child Welfare System. Can They Be Fixed?
The causes are complex, but Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander parents are far more likely to have children removed by the state.
Hawaii News Now
Hawaii Sent At Least 10 Foster Children To An Abusive Home At The Center Of A Drug Ring
Hawaii Child Welfare Services may have had no reason not to approve Yvonne and Paul Caitano as foster parents. But when did it find out that things had gone wrong?
Ludwig Laab/Civil Beat/2021
Hawaii Judges Were Trained To Run Better Child Welfare Hearings. Their Performance Plummeted
The hearings can determine whether parents lose their children, but topics that could help avoid that are rarely or never discussed.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022
‘Just A Number’: Parents Who Face Losing Their Kids Say Court-Appointed Attorneys Don鈥檛 Do Enough
A Civil Beat review found that parents almost never win on appeal, and that the appellate court finds procedural flaws in half the cases.