Hawai'i 'Ohana Project

The Hawai’i ‘Ohana Project (HOP) had a budget of $13 million over six years and served youngsters with serious emotional disturbances and their families in the mental health catchments of the Wai’anae Coast and Leeward O’ahu. The parent-run non-profit Hawai’i Families As Allies contributed the family perspective to the grant application and the project’s governing council, and was contracted to employ paraprofessionals providing supports for parents. The HOP was designed to promote systems change through the System of Care approach based on the values of being (1) child-centered and family-focused, (2) community-based, and (3) culturally competent. To this end a broad range of direct service, family support, training, technical assistance, and evaluation activities were developed and implemented, and the number of youngsters and families served was approximately doubled. As the HOP was getting underway, the State of Hawaii was entering into a Federal Court consent decree (known as the Felix Consent Decree) to implement the System of Care values and principles throughout the state. With its federal grant resources, the HOP was able to take the lead in System of Care development and serve as a model for the rest of the state. As a result of these efforts and a great increase in State funding to meet Felix Consent Decree requirements, Hawai’i now ranks among the country’s top states in child and adolescent mental health services (compared to being at the very bottom when the HOP started).

Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Stodden

Primary Contact: Dr. David Leake

Team: Kate Pahinui; David Leake; Zijing Yang; Cathy Joseph; Deborah Toth-Dennis

Partners:

• Hawai’i State Department of Health – Child and Adolescent Health Division
• Hawai’i Families As Allies
• Hale Na’au Pono
• Hawai’i Department of Education
• Susannah Wesley Community Center