They are unassuming buildings on the outside that often look like any other house along the block of a local residential neighborhood.
But on the inside of Neighborhood Drop-In Centers, known as Neighborhood Places or Family Centers, families in need coming in for necessities such as food and clothing will also find new possibilities and hope for a life free of child abuse and neglect, domestic violence or elder abuse.
Child & Family Service is the state’s most comprehensive private nonprofit, providing more than 30 treatment as well as prevention programs for the most serious life issues affecting Hawaii families. We operate three family centers: Nana’s House in Waimea, Hale Ho‘omalu in Kapaa and the most recent addition, Neighborhood Place of Wailuku.
Neighborhood Drop-In Centers are based right in the community and families can walk in without an appointment and no family is ever turned away. This one-stop family service center is a model for Child & Family Service prevention services, providing a safe environment for families and an opportunity for needs assessment by our staff.
Sometimes the immediate request by the family is for food or clothing at the center, but once the family receives services, it often becomes clear that many of these families can benefit from additional help with parenting education and other services.
We have been providing the Kauai Family Center services for more than 15 years, but in 2011 a primary source of funding was eliminated. The Legislature provided a grant-in-aid for fiscal year 2013 to keep the centers open, and Neighborhood Place of Wailuku is supported by Blueprint for Change, a nonprofit organization that oversees all of the Neighborhood Places. Future funding is less certain for the Kauai Family Centers.
Kauai is the only major island that still does not have funding for Neighborhood Drop-In Centers. The state Department of Human Services budget under legislative consideration hopefully will be able to support Neighborhood Places on Kauai.
These centers strengthen the family and lower the risk of child abuse and neglect. Without these services, families could end up in the child welfare system at higher cost to the state. If we prevent five children from entering the child welfare system, we prevent costs of foster care and other child abuse and neglect services that can be as high as $188,620. These centers can easily pay for themselves in reduced costs or cost avoidance within the child welfare system.
Earlier this month, we celebrated the expansion of our services on Maui to include the programs offered to the Wailuku/Happy Valley community by Neighborhood Place of Wailuku. Its programs are renowned on Maui for their inclusion of relevant Hawaiian values that are incorporated into real-life practices.
The strength and stability of Child & Family Service is a perfect complement to the family support system provided to local families through Neighborhood Place of Wailuku. Through its family strengthening program called Kamalama, or The Light, parents learn lifelong valuable parenting information based on Hawaiian cultural values and practices. It is The Light of culturally relevant services in our neighborhood that will strengthen our collective ability to instill hope and the courage to change for Hawaii’s families.