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They are essential to the success of Hawaii’s child welfare system.  They take in abused and neglected children, some with complicated physical or emotional problems, and temporarily care for them, house them and nurture them.

Without the hundreds of foster parents who shelter more than 1,100 foster kids statewide each month, the system, overseen by the Department of Human Services, could not function.

"I see our resource families as partners," DHS Director Pat Mc­Mana­man said, using the more formal name for foster families.

McManaman’s view is not universally shared by foster parents.

In interviews with nearly two dozen current and former ones, most told the Hono­lulu Star-Advertiser that they felt unappreciated by DHS, were treated as if their main role was to be told what to do, and frequently were not informed about what was happening with their child’s case. Attorneys who have represented foster families said their clients expressed some of the same sentiments.

While many of the foster parents spoke of the joy and immense satisfaction they received from caring for some of Hawaii’s most vulnerable children, they described the frustration of dealing with a large bureaucracy and what they called inadequate support, financially and otherwise, from the state.

"They don’t want to give you anything more than they have to," said Kaha­luu resident Raynette Ah Chong, who with her husband, Eddie, has cared for more than 100 foster children since 1994 while raising five kids of their own. "You have to jump through hoops. You have to crawl through tunnels for certain things."

Daniel Pollard, managing attorney for Legal Aid Society of Hawai‘i’s Hono­lulu family unit, put the issue in a broader context.

"The single biggest failure within the CPS system is that not enough is being done to recruit, train and support appropriate foster homes," Pollard said, referring to Child Protective Services, the part of DHS that investigates child abuse cases and most commonly is associated with the foster care system.

McManaman said she appreciates the love, care and support that foster families provide. But given the feedback the newspaper received, she has asked her staff to hold listening sessions statewide to learn more about the challenges facing foster families.

She said the state tries to respond to reasonable concerns, noting that monthly board reimbursements to foster families recently were increased for the first time in 20 years and that the per-child clothing allowance was boosted to $600 annually from $500.

She also referred to the many state assistance programs available to foster children and their families, including having the children’s medical care covered by Quest, providing funding for camping and other activities, offering respite care to give parents a break, and paying up to $570 a month for difficult cases in which a child needs extra care.

And Hawaii recently launched a heralded program that allows foster children who "age out" of the system when they turn 18 to continue receiving assistance until age 21, as long as they are going to school, working or undergoing employment training.

But most of the foster parents who spoke to the Star-Advertiser — some would not speak on the record, fearing retaliation from the department — said the assistance they receive from the state does not come close to covering expenses.

A class-action lawsuit filed last year over the adequacy of the monthly board payments is pending.

Ah Chong said she knows people who went through the training sessions to become new foster parents but never pursued getting licenses because they realized the financial burden would be too great. She also said she knows foster parents who no longer provide care because the department kept adding new responsibilities to what was expected of them.

The number of foster families in Hawaii has dropped significantly in recent years, partly reflecting a big decrease in the number of children entering foster care.

Hawaii currently has about 960 foster homes, down 50 percent from a decade ago. The average monthly number of children in foster care statewide has dropped more than 60 percent over that same period, according to DHS data.

Jan Hanohano Dill, who heads the Partners in Development Foundation, a nonprofit that trains new foster parents for the state, said the slow economy, families doubling up to cut housing expenses, and other circumstances have contributed to fewer people pursuing foster care licenses.

In 2007, Dill said, more than 150 were trained. Not even half that amount get licenses now, he added.

New foster parents are required to undergo nine hours of classroom training plus view a DVD. Those with general licenses also must get recertified every two years, including undergoing more classroom training.

Dill said the majority of prospective foster parents who start the training but don’t finish cite nonfinancial reasons.

Foster parents generally serve as temporary caregivers, sometimes for only a few days or weeks, sometimes for months. In the majority of cases, the child or children eventually return to their biological parents or original caregivers, or are placed elsewhere.

"That makes this one of the toughest jobs imaginable," Pollard, the Legal Aid attorney, said of the caregivers. "They have to love these kids so much that they would be willing to give them up."

In a minority of cases, foster arrangements become permanent through adoptions or legal guardianships.

While many of the foster parents told the Star-Advertiser that the state’s financial support was inadequate, they said they wouldn’t mind that so much if the state treated them as true partners.

Several, however, said the state treated them with disdain, especially after they challenged DHS actions in their respective cases.

When Scott and Beverly Hawver questioned the department’s plan to reunite their foster child with her biological family in 2006, DHS responded harshly, the Hawvers said.

"It was awful. We were treated like we were the bad guys," Beverly Hawver said.

The child eventually was assaulted by her biological mother.

Manoa residents Cathy-Anne and Paul McKimmy said their recent experience dealing with DHS over two boys they were fostering quickly soured because of what Cathy-Anne called the "worst caseworker in the world." The social worker wouldn’t return phone calls, didn’t keep them informed about court dates involving the boys, made weekend plans for the children without letting the McKimmys know ahead of time, and failed to make any of the required visits to the couple’s Manoa home, they said.

They complained repeatedly to the worker’s supervisor but to no avail, Cathy-Anne said. "We were dumbfounded as to how they could treat us the way they did," she added.

DHS would not comment on the case, citing confidentiality requirements.

In a 2013 anonymous survey that Dill’s organization sent to all foster parents, respondents indicated they were generally satisfied with DHS services, though they cited some areas needing improvement, according to the department. The agency uses the annual surveys to help make improvements.

When asked to describe their overall experience of being a DHS foster parent, 62 percent of respondents to the 2013 survey called the experience positive or very positive.

When asked how the department could better support them, nearly half said they wanted more contact with the social worker.

"We owe it to them to be clear in what their needs are and to be able to respond where we can respond," Mc­Mana­man said of the caregivers.

Hawaii Kai resident Jenny Matsu­­moto-Hussey, who with her husband, Kaipo, is fostering an infant, described the level of state support as low. She expressed many of the same frustrations that other foster parents voiced to the Star-Advertiser.

But she said the rewards of helping vulnerable children more than make up for the frustrations.

Matsumoto-Hussey recalled fostering two homeless kids, whose response to everyday things made her realize how fortunate she was with her lot in life.

"They were excited to have hot water to bathe in, cold water to drink, a bed to lie in and toys to play with," she wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser. "The things we take for granted they valued the most."

The system is frustrating, Matsu­moto added. "But is it worth it? Without a doubt, the answer is YES."

ENLARGE PHOTO.

ENLARGE PHOTO.