[Senate Hearing 107-451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 107-451
NATIVE HAWAIIAN EARLY EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND CARE
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
TO RECEIVE TESTIMONY ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
__________
APRIL 5, 2002
HONOLULU, HI
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
79-695 WASHINGTON : 2002
________________________________________________________________________
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
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COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii, Chairman
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado, Vice Chairman
FRANK MURKOWSKI, Alaska KENT CONRAD, North Dakota
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, HARRY REID, Nevada
PETE V. DOMENICI, New Mexico DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming PAUL WELLSTONE, Minnesota
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
JAMES M. INHOFE, Oklahoma TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
Patricia M. Zell, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
Paul Moorehead, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements:
Akaka, Hon. Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii.............. 2
Akau, Nanea, student, Child and family Service Alternative
School..................................................... 21
Akina, Charman J., M.D., medical director, Waimanalo Health
Center..................................................... 28
DeCambra, Ho'oipo............................................ 9
Durand, Momi, executive director, Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool. 24
Fallin, Lynn, special assistant and policy advisor on
children and families, Office of the Governor.............. 32
Fitzgerald, Mike, president and CEO, Enterprise Honolulu..... 30
Inouye, Hon. Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii, chairman,
Committee on Indian Affairs................................ 1
Jenkins, Leialoha............................................ 19
Johnson, William............................................. 12
Matsuoka, Lori, parent, Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool........... 17
McCubbin, Hamilton I., chief executive officer, The
Kamehameha Schools......................................... 4
Robins, Kalau'ihilani, assistant director, Punana Leo O
Kawaiaha'o................................................. 12
Silva, Brandy, parent........................................ 11
Thompson, Myron K............................................ 3
Appendix
Prepared statements:
Akaka, Hon. Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii.............. 37
Akau, Nanea.................................................. 75
Akina, Charman J. (with attachments)......................... 79
Apoliona, Haunani, trustee, Office of Hawaiian Affairs....... 139
DeCambra, Ho'oipo............................................ 42
Durand, Momi................................................. 77
Earle, Erik Kaimiola......................................... 141
Fallin, Lynn (with attachments).............................. 116
Fitzgerald, Mike (with attachments).......................... 92
Goo, Sherlyn Franklin, executive director, Institute for
Native Pacific Education and Culture....................... 130
Jenkins, Leialoha............................................ 72
Johnson, William............................................. 46
Kenui, Cynthia K............................................. 128
Matsuoka, Lori............................................... 70
McCubbin, Hamilton I. (with attachments)..................... 48
McKenzie, Tara Lulani, president and CEO, ALU LIKE, Inc...... 133
Midkiff, Robert, president, Board of Directors, Good
Beginnings Alliance........................................ 135
Morris, Joanne Sebastian, program director, Pacific Resources
for Education and Learning................................. 125
Oneha, Mary Frances.......................................... 37
Rawlins, Namaka, director, 'Aha Punana Leo................... 143
Robins, Kalau'ihilani........................................ 44
Silva, Brandy, parent........................................ 38
Thompson, Myron K............................................ 40
Wilson, William H., Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani College of
Hawaiian Language, University of Hawai'i at Hilo........... 39
Additional material submitted for the record:
Profile of Young Hawaiian Children........................... 147
Note: Other material submitted for the record are retained in
committee files.
NATIVE HAWAIIAN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, DEVELOPMENT AND CARE
----------
FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2002
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Indian Affairs,
Honolulu, HI
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 1 p.m. at the
Disabled American Veterans Center, Honolulu, HI, Hon. Daniel K.
Inouye (chairman of the committee) presiding.
Present: Senators Inouye and Akaka.
Mr. Thompson. I'm going to read the pule that my father has
been using for the last 20 years.
Let us call forth the supreme powers of our individual
spiritual beliefs to join us. For those of us who have them,
call forth our Aumakua, our guardian angels, to be with us
today. Now reach inside ourselves and touch the spirits of
family members and special friends who have assisted us to be
people who care, want to share, and dare to achieve impossible
dreams. Let us gather our spiritual strengths so we can aloha
them, thank them for their continued encouragement, guidance
and protection as we proceed through life.
Now for our supreme powers' blessings upon this gathering.
In the words of my grandmother, in the language of comfort, na
ke akua e hoopo maikai I'a oukou. Aloha, aloha pumehana.
STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII,
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
The Chairman. Thank you very much. The Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs meets today to receive testimony on early
childhood education. Our dear friend and colleague Pinky
Thompson had a vision. His dream was that all the children in
Hawaii would be afforded the very best start in life, and
studies inform us that the most important determinant of one's
potential in life is predicated on the growth and development
of the brain, which begins, as we all know, well before birth.
But what may be less well known is how important it is that
from the earliest time of life, babies and children are
surrounded by stimulation. It may be as simple as making
certain that a baby is active, that the baby receives the
attention and care of his or her parents and others in the
family. The simple act of playing with a baby may be more
important to his future than any of us have previously known.
Studies indicate that children who are in institutional care
for one reason or another and who may lie in their cribs for
hours without any attention from another human being show
permanent and long lasting effects on their subsequent ability
to learn and respond to the world around them.
So today we will hear from those in our community who have
studied these matters and are working with Hawaii's keiki to
assure that they have a healthy and promising start in life.
This will be the first in a series of hearings on these
matters. We will follow with hearings in Washington. But today
we dedicated this first step to our beloved friend, Pinky
Thompson. Pinky we thank you for your vision, and for the
values that you so often expressed. You will serve as our guide
as we walk this path.
And may I now call upon my distinguished and beloved
colleague, Senator Akaka.
STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I want to
thank you very much for holding this hearing today to gather
information that will help the Federal Government to assist in
the efforts of public and private educators, health care
providers and families who provide the support and nurturing
necessary to help children in the critical years of child
development. It is very important to all of us.
And Mr. Chairman, I'm going to ask that I be allowed to
make a brief statement and that my full statement be included
in the record.
The Chairman. Without objection, so ordered.
Senator Akaka. I'm pleased to participate in this
afternoon's hearing on Native Hawaiian Early Childhood
Education, Development and Care. I join you in paying tribute
to our dear friend, my brother, Pinky. Pinky Thompson devoted
much of his life to working to build a better future for Native
Hawaiians. It is with great pleasure that I join your efforts,
Mr. Chairman, and all of you here gathered to make Pinky's
vision for Native Hawaiian children a reality.
As a former educator, I believe there is no greater tool
for success than the quality education which we can provide to
our children. Education in Hawaii takes on greater significance
as we consider the continuing need to preserve our culture, our
language and our heritage in a rapidly changing and
technologically based environment. Innovative programs that
encourage family and community participation to preserve
culture and increase Native Hawaiian access to quality
educational opportunities play a significant role in ensuring a
bright future for all of us.
I am pleased to see the success of parent participation in
preschools such as Keiki O Ka `Aina, and to hear from parent
participants about the value of this important program. I am
equally impressed with the Pulama I Na Keiki program which
focuses on prenatal care. I am encouraged to learn of the
progressive actions taken by the Kamehameha Schools to meet
more of the educational needs of Hawaiian families and
children, as the Kamehameha schools increases outreach, public-
private partnerships and collaboration with communities as well
as other Native Hawaiian agencies and organizations to increase
educational opportunities and access for our people.
I am interested in hearing more on how the mana'o is
developed by Ho'owaiwai Na Kamalii and how its guiding
principles will be implemented. I look forward to working with
the State of Hawaii to fulfill its goal that all of Hawaii's
children will be safe, healthy and ready to succeed.
Again, I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing us all
together on the vision of our great brother and friend, Pinky
Thompson. Thank you very much.
[Prepared statement of Senator Akaka appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Senator.
Our first panel consists of Myron K. Thompson and Hamilton
I. McCubbin, the chief executive officer of The Kamehameha
Schools.
Mr. Thompson.
STATEMENT OF MYRON K. THOMPSON
Mr. Thompson. Thank you, Chairman, Senator Akaka, friends
and family.
My name is Myron K. Thompson. I'm the eldest son of Pinky
Thompson, and the reason I'm here today is that my father,
unfortunately for all of us, recently passed away. I have been
asked to share my father's vision for the need for early
childhood education and care of Hawaiian children.
I'm in a very unique position in that I knew Pinky Thompson
from a number of different perspectives. The most obvious one
was that he, of course, was my father. But we interacted and
related on community and social issues constantly. I spent
countless hours with him talking about many subjects.
But the one that came up the most is the one that we will
be addressing today, the need for early childhood education and
care. As most of you know, Dad was a courageous leader. He did
not always know the path to the desired end, but he never
wavered from his basic intention. That was that he wanted to
improve the condition of the Hawaiian people and all people of
Hawaii. He knew that Hawaiians were testing poorly in schools.
He knew that our prisons had a higher percentage of Hawaiians
in comparison, and he knew that there was too much drug and
alcohol abuse. And he knew that our race had lost its pride and
self-esteem.
So his vision, which formed early in his life, was to do
whatever he could to improve the Hawaiian race culturally,
economically, educationally and spiritually. It was also his
contention that the ancient Hawaiians had a lot to teach us and
much of that was lost over time. As we gather here today, it is
this same basic drive that continues. Pinky Thompson was a
passionate man. He believed strongly that the area to address,
the area that would produce the most lasting and long term
results, is the area of early childhood education and care. He
believed that if you address children early on, provide certain
basic needs, they will respond positively, and you have a
chance of breaking the dwindling spiral of the culture and the
race.
The other major point that he constantly made was that we
need to create an environment that is safe and healthy. Because
such an environment creates the proper elements necessary for
children to grow physically, emotionally and spiritually. A
safe and healthy Hawaii became his personal mission statement.
Coincidentally, it became the mission statement of our family
also.
Today there will be both written and oral testimony from
many people that substantiates the need for further help in
accomplishing that vision. The ongoing testimony will make it
abundantly clear that there is much more to be done. It is my
own personal conviction that Dad's vision is vitally important,
and Dad's vision does need to be carried forward. For the sake
of Hawaiians and all mankind, we all need to take more
responsibility for the problems we face and do whatever we can
to seek out and find workable, effective solutions that provide
a safe and healthy Hawaii, Nation and world.
I stand here in front of our Congressional delegation,
friends and many others with similar hopes and dreams, and say
that in honor of my father's courage and dedication towards
improving Hawaii and the world, let us never stop on this
journey until we get the job done, and to restore our place in
our world as proud, courageous, caring people equipped with the
tools necessary to flourish and prosper in our complex society.
Mahalo.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Thompson appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Thompson.
Now may I call upon Dr. McCubbin.
STATEMENT OF HAMILTON I. McCUBBIN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE
KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS
Mr. McCubbin. Aloha, kakoa. Good afternoon, Chairman Inouye
and Senator Akaka, honorable members of the U.S. Senate.
My name is Hamilton McCubbin, I'm the chief executive
officer of the Kamehameha Schools. I appreciate this
opportunity to testify before you as an advocate for vastly
improving the school readiness of children of Hawaiian
ancestry.
All children, like Pinky, have dreams. All children want to
please. There are little heroes just waiting to succeed. But
success is a process requiring care and support. Research tell
us, as already noted, that if a child is safe, healthy and
supported by his or her family and community, that the child
will not only confidently begin the transition from the home
setting to structured learning environments, but will also
likely grow up to be a contributing member of our society.
In Hawaii, our State legislature recognized this importance
by defining school readiness as young children that are ready
to have successful learning experiences in school when there is
a positive interaction among the children's developmental
characteristics, school practices and family and community
support. In other words, school readiness requires the four
domains in the child's life experience to interact in positive,
healthy and reinforcing ways.
This presumes that a child is in a state of physical,
social and emotional well-being. The child's family assumes
responsibility for providing the resources a child needs to
have a healthy and emotionally supportive environment. The
child's school has a plan that proactively engages the child's
family in providing a systematic transition for the child from
the home or early education program into kindergarten and
school. And finally, the child and family is supported by a
nourishing community willing to keep children safe, adequately
nourished and to ensure their physical well-being.
There are cultural and at-risk domains. Those are
universals of school readiness for all children and for the
Hawaiian child, at least two additional domain realities must
be added to the equation. First, Hawaiians, as other indigenous
cultures, often learn differently from children of mainstream
western society and cultures. And school readiness for the
Hawaiian child requires a cultural overlay based on the very
foundation of the Hawaiian culture and learning the family.
Hawaiians' extended family system is the traditional source
of learning. It is intimate, direct, nurturing, culturally
grounded, and a very effective learning tool. So as we seek a
safe and healthy and school-ready Hawaiian child, it becomes
our kuleana as education providers, Federal, State, and local
government, community, family and educators, to support school
readiness within the context of a culture.
Second, sadly, our Hawaiian children represent a
disproportionately large at-risk segment of our society.
Poverty, substance abuse, maternal child health risks levels
among Hawaiians are considerably higher than other ethnic
groups in this State. There are literally too many risk factors
besetting the Hawaiian child and impeding school readiness to
be cited in any oral testimony. Additional data are attached in
the record.
But among them, it should be noted that Hawaiians have the
highest teen birth rates. Hawaiian children represent nearly
one-half of 47 percent of all children affected by asthma in
Hawaii. Of particular concern is the lack of access to critical
health care for an estimated 10,978 children in the State
without health insurance, 28 percent of whom are Hawaiians.
Hawaiian children have the highest exposure, or 51.8
percent, to family use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs than
the statewide average of 45 percent. Support is absolutely
essential. In the State of Hawaii, Hawaiian people, our host
culture, also represent a disproportionately large segment of
households living at or below the poverty level.
At Kamehameha, for example, more than 70 percent of our
pre-kindergarten students receive financial aid. More than 60
percent of our K-12 students receive financial aid. Education
without question is the answer and the tool that is often the
salvation. Hawaiian children benefit most when educational
opportunity is driven by and built upon a sensitivity to the
learning and cultural strengths inherent in the Hawaiian
community.
At Kamehameha, we are partnering with public and private
agencies because we must pursue the public-private partnerships
in order to attempt to meet the needs. We are developing early
childhood scholarships for financially needy children of
Hawaiian ancestry living in regions where existing preschool or
Head Start programs are not available. Kamehameha, in
collaboration with others, is initiating family education
services programs to advance educational service programs
including child development, family and community workshops,
home visits, family training and counseling.
It all helps, indeed, the Federal Government and the
Federal dollars, when combined with dedicated partnering
initiatives at work today in the State of Hawaii, will assist
our State to build the community capacity necessary to address
the desperate need for culturally sensitive early education
programs and care for the children of Hawaiian ancestry.
All children have dreams. Working together to increase
school readiness among children of Hawaiian ancestry will not
only make them an equal part of our national education agenda,
it will help provide the safe and healthy environment so that a
child's school readiness might become the key to making the
child's dream come true.
Mahalo for the opportunity to testify before you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. McCubbin appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Dr. McCubbin.
Mr. Thompson, I believe all of us here agree that early
childhood education means pre-kindergarten. Do you have any
age? Does it begin in the womb or at age 2 or 3?
Mr. Thompson. I'm only speaking from my Dad's perspective,
but he believed that the crucial area was zero through five,
actually from conception on is when the care needed to be
taken.
The Chairman. So it begins at the earliest stage?
Mr. Thompson. Absolutely.
The Chairman. Therefore, the mother's health may be very
important.
Mr. Thompson. Absolutely.
The Chairman. So it is not just one effort, but a multiple
effort.
Mr. Thompson. Exactly. And you know, I'm only speaking from
memory of what he talked about, but he would reiterate that if
you were to attempt to reverse the downward trend of a
particular race as ours is, or has been, you need to start
somewhere. He basically thought the idea would be to take the
ages from 0 to 5, concentrate on that and go from there.
Because the future will be built on that.
Of course, in order to do that, you have to help the new
mothers in the same arena so that they can take care of the
kids properly, so they can create the environment necessary for
the kids to grow and expand.
The Chairman. Dr. McCubbin, you speak of children at risk.
Are there any Federal programs that you are aware of at this
moment that can help you in your school readiness concept?
Mr. McCubbin. Senator, absolutely there are existing
programs. But maybe not at the level that is necessary. Take
for example the Keiki O Ka 'Aina program that really attempts
to stimulate children at a very early age as a complement to
special education programs, or to our preschool program. This
is an important component.
But when you look at school readiness, a concept that says
there are four, in our case six areas in which we need to
address, there are some programs but not in any real integrated
forum. It's really nice that we can have an opportunity to
listen to different initiatives here, for we have not had much
opportunity to bring all of these units together. We still have
a ways to go.
The Chairman. What role can the Federal Government play?
Mr. McCubbin. If I can speak from two vantage points, one
as Kamehameha and the other from a social scientists and
developmental perspective, the role of the Federal Government
falls along three lines. One, obviously at the policy level, a
national commitment, much as reflected in your presence here
that early childhood is not just an added stage in development,
but a critical stage, as Pinky has always emphasized.
So the emphasizing at the national level this kind of
policy allows us at the State and private sector level to use
that as a vehicle to support and reinforce those particular
objectives.
Second, obviously a lot of us have a strong commitment,
while Kamehameha schools is not in the Federal funding
business, there's no question we are committed to helping
communities develop the capacity to develop their own programs
where Federal funding makes a significant different in what we
can do. As I already mentioned on Keiki O Ka 'Aina, but there
are many other programs that are very dependent on Federal
support and have made tremendous differences.
The third is the promulgation of leaders throughout the
entire State. By emphasizing the importance of the role of
community in developing and responding to the needs of the
families in their communities, that's also part of the Federal
initiative would cultivate not only individual programs, but
community capacity.
The Chairman. As you may be aware, there was a time not too
long ago when Kamehameha Schools were involved in a federally
supported keiki program that actively involved parents. Was
that a success?
Mr. McCubbin. Involving the parents was not only a success,
and we apologize for withdrawing from that initiative, but
we're pleased that there are other programs like Alu Like and
Keiki O Ka 'Aina to maintain that kind of commitment. Without a
doubt, the nurturing environment of the family, and let me
define family broadly, not just parents, we have kupunas, we
have grandparents, we have aunties and uncles, we have hanai
grandparents, aunties and uncles that can make a lot of
difference. So it's the adult family world that we need to
reinforce and support.
One final note, if you look at the current research by
Emmie Werner, conducted on the Island of Kauai, where the kids
were definitely at risk over time, it was her finding that it
was the grandparents and the families and the parents that
really reduced the risks, no matter what they were, for giving
the kids an early start and opportunity to develop.
The Chairman. Thank you. Senator Akaka.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Myron, I was touched by your testimony, and I applaud your
family's mission statement for a safe and healthy Hawaii. I
appreciate your taking the time to explain your father's
vision, and I look upon him, as you mentioned, as a courageous
person and achiever, one who worked at something until it was
finished. That was his style. So I have a lot of love for you
and the family, and I look forward to working with you and the
family to improve early childhood education, development and
care for Native Hawaiians. Please give my love and aloha to
your mom and family.
Mr. Thompson. I'll do that.
Senator Akaka. Dr. McCubbin, your testimony discusses the
concept of Head Start programs. What I liked about what you
mentioned, because it's true, is the lack of cultural
contingencies, that are not usually in educational programs in
Hawaii. You mentioned the concept of malama as it pertains to
preference by many Hawaiian families, to keep the children
close to home. And I want to also take the time to commend you
and congratulate you on what you're doing as CEO of the
Kamehameha Schools.
My question to you is, how is Kamehameha Schools, as it
seeks to provide early childhood education and programs,
addressing the needs of the Native Hawaiian families?
Mr. McCubbin. First of all, mahalo for the comments and
affirmation. As you know, our trustees are very committed to
early childhood education, partly because of the legacy of
Pinky and Pinky's family. So it's a pleasure as well as our
honor to move ahead with this.
I'd like to say that Kamehameha Schools has built in the
parenting component and the family component in the most
comprehensive way. But we're not there yet. Actually in the era
before 1995, when the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program
[KEEP] and our traveling preschools were prominent, Kamehameha
had a genuine commitment from birth all the way through, and
had a very key role in facilitating the role of the families.
That diminished, as you know, in 1995, what we oftentimes refer
to internally as an internal mahele of some form.
But given that, the trustees are current, including, well,
the trustees are current, have made a commitment that we really
must emphasize parents and family in our programs. That's why
we're looking for, I mentioned Keiki O Ka 'Aina several times
primarily because we're quite attracted to that and Family
Service America and their initiatives, trying to figure out not
so that we build our own, but to build on what already is in
existence and what programs we can link to.
There's no question within the next year we can expect a
flourishing of family focused programming. But I can't say that
we are there.
Senator Akaka. I'm glad you mentioned in your testimony the
extended family. Because in Hawaii, that's part of our legacy,
part of our culture, our history and culture. We often talk
about the immediate parents. But I certainly am interested in
using extended family in this way, in educating the Hawaiian
child. I'm glad also that you mentioned the cultural strength
of the Hawaiian child that can be brought to education.
My final question is, what kinds of family education
services programs are being developed by the Kamehameha
Schools?
Mr. McCubbin. As I already mentioned, we are really looking
at partnering with existing programs. For example, there are
several prominent federally-funded programs that are limited by
their own funds. Kamehameha Schools is anxious to replicate, if
not expand those.
But there are two other tracks the Kamehameha Schools are
interested in. One is by working more directly with public
schools. While Kamehameha Schools has traditionally built its
own preschools and extended its own programs, we're convinced
that if we're going to reach more and more Native Hawaiians
than the 5 to 7 percent that we do now, we really need to
partner with the public schools in a very constructive way.
In this sense, actually the Governor just signed the bill
yesterday that permits Kamehameha Schools to partner with the
DOE schools in a very constructive way, as I mentioned. We can
expect the family component of these programs to be expanded.
But it also means the redefinition of the family to be much
more inclusive than the definition we have.
The second strategy is to develop specific family life
education programs designed to nurture families and their
ability to recover, when we talk about poverty, at-risk kids
and school readiness from a family perspective. We're looking
for different strategies in which we can enhance the well-being
of families in order that children may benefit. But these will
be traditional family life education programs.
Senator Akaka. Mahalo for your manao. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Our next panel consists of the following: Ho'oipo DeCambra;
Ms. Brandy Silva, parent of a keiki in Pulama I Na Keiki;
William Johnson, of Keiki Steps Play Morning; and Kalau'ihilani
Robins, Assistant Director of Punana Leo O Kawaiaha'o,
accompanied by her daughter, Anuhea Robins.
May I first recognize Ms. Decambra.
STATEMENT OF HO'OIPO DeCAMBRA
Ms. DeCambra. Since I handed in my testimony, Senator
Inouye, on the first, I have expanded a whole page. My thoughts
have gone on and on. So I'm just going to capture in about 3
minutes maybe the salient points. Thank you for the honor and
invitation to testify.
Papakolea. What I got in early childhood was enough help to
get me through life. The entire island was my learning
laboratory. Mother took me to a healer in Makiki at my birth. I
watched as only a little child could in awe of the
demonstrations and acts of Hawaiian ritual as mother paid tribe
to Pele, the volcano goddess, and Ke Anuenue, the rainbow
goddess. While my mother had to deal with the pressures of
providing a house over our heads and food on the table, she was
a continuing presence in my life. She knew what a child needed,
traditional touching as in lomi lomi, stories, ritual,
connection to the land. She kept the families together, both
emotionally, spiritually and economically.
Wai'anae. My two children have grown up in a very different
society. Although we were able to raise them by the ocean with
much of the same values and traditions, many environmental
influences were downright evil. During the 1980's, I saw
illegal drugs invading my community. And as we witnessed
tragedy in our own families, as you can read in my testimony,
we also did research. What we found in our community was that
there were extremely high rates of reported cases of infants
prenatally exposed to this drug called ice and other drugs.
Sacred places. My testimony is titled Sacred Places in Our
Beloved Community. I borrowed this from a friend, Puanani
Burgess, who has described the need for us to create these
sacred places. Hawaiian children have a great need to grow up
within these sacred circles. I wish to recommend to the
committee that you seek input in your work ahead from adults
who are in recovery from alcohol and drug abuse, who are at
least perhaps 3, 5 years in recovery, include them in the
discussion of how to develop this fervor of support for early
childhood development.
Include early childhood educators. And I want us to have
them be culturally sensitive and however you define and work to
identify that these early educators on your planning
development committee are culturally sensitive, I will be
satisfied. Grandparents and parents are very important in this
deliberation, as are teachers who are dealing with this trauma
in our community of children and their high-risk behaviors and
other issues. The business community, health workers that
interact with these families, the mental health worker, the
nurse practitioner that knows them intimately, the doctors,
CPS, a very critical voice that we need to hear from. And
community college faculty and non-profit organizations in the
community that are doing direct service to provide care to
children.
I believe our communities have always been very resilient,
and that they are able to develop organizationally and have as
the need has arisen in our communities. I believe in Wai'anae,
of course I would brag, from Wai'anae, that we have the
tremendous amount of organizational and human resources
available to raise a child. And I believe that we are able,
with proper development of a larger plan around early childhood
development, that we are able to engage with you in discerning
how best to do that on the Wai'anae coast.
Currently, there is a large movement toward revitalization
of Hawaiian language by educating Hawaiian children in Hawaiian
language immersion schools. I believe that's very important,
because the Hawaiian culture and language, as we have heard,
should not be kept marginalized and on the side. If we really
want change in our communities, then they need to be at the
forefront of our efforts and support in our State.
I believe we need to see statewide adoption of Hawaiian-
English bilingualism, and that we need to see more effort in
supporting teachers to get training in Hawaiian studies, and
that time spent learning what is important to the children who
come from this ancient culture in our island. I believe without
such change that teacher education our children will continue
to be seen as lacking something, rather than as the future of
our people, rich in tradition, and with gifts that are in need
of encouragement. Early childhood education must be seen as
taking competent children and helping them blossom in all ways.
Anything less is theft.
We must build child care centers. I don't believe children
should be in basements or in temporary quarters. They need
light, airy, beautiful places for our children. They will
respond well to such places. They will know that they have our
respect, and will want to continue to earn it and to
investigate knowledge and to make art and to articulate their
ideas. We must prize the children and then they will take care
of the future for us.
Thank you, Senator.
[Prepared statement of Ms. DeCambra appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. I thank you very much, Ms. DeCambra.
And now may I call on Ms. Brandy Silva.
STATEMENT OF BRANDY SILVA
Ms. Silva. Good afternoon Chairman Inouye, Senator Akaka.
My name is Brandy Silva and I'm a parent of a 5-year old son
and a 5-month old daughter.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I joined the program
Pulama I Na Keiki. I'm here today to testify why Pulama I Na
Keiki helped me to overcome challenges as a parent and what
benefits I'm receiving as an active participant in the program.
Even thought I already had a child before joining Pulaama I
Na Keiki, I felt I could profit from this program, because as a
parent, it's a learning process. And there is always going to
be more to learn. We can never know enough and we never have
all the answers.
When I found out that I was going to have another child, I
began to think about being the parent of two children. Would I
have what it took to juggle attention between the children? My
child was already a handful and it had been years since I
tended to a baby, almost 5 years.
I joined Pulama I Na Keiki and it helped to ease my
anxieties. This program has helped me as far as labor, I had
questions about labor. I delivered before, although I had
experienced many pains and aches that I didn't experience in my
previous pregnancy. My parent educator had come and we had
discussed labor signs, hospital readiness. Also prior to
delivery, we had gone over car safety issues. We learned about
care.
These were all things I had done before, but time had
passed and I wasn't sure if I could do it again. With their
support and encouragement, and the knowledge and information
they were handing to me, I was able to do it.
My parent educator meets with me once a week. She is also
there to help me when I have questions about things we haven't
covered. There were a couple visits where I had requested some
information she brought me, some of it was on baby massage. I
have heard through others that touching and interacting with
the baby by baby massage stimulates them and helps them to grow
better and helps them result better. She had brought me this
information which helped.
Another good aspect of the program is that we do projects,
we create homemade toys that help to enhance the development of
the children, how they interact in Hawaiian culture and what it
means in Hawaiian society.
Not only has this program helped me to care properly for my
children, but it's helping me to achieve my goal of being an
active parent in developing my children's skills, so one day
they will be able to achieve their greatest goals.
For all these reasons, I am grateful to be an active
participant in Pulama I Na Keiki. And I thank you for giving me
this opportunity to testify.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Silva appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. I thank you very much, Ms. Silva.
Now may I call upon William Johnson.
STATEMENT OF WILLIAM JOHNSON
Mr. Johnson. My name is William Johnson. My daughter Berlin
attends Keiki Steps Play Morning at Pilila'au Park in Wai'anae.
Berlin just turned 5 years old in February and will be entering
kindergarten in the fall. Just about every day she would beg us
to send her to school. But we could not afford preschool and
don't qualify for a lot of other programs. So Keiki Steps/
Sunshine Play Mornings are perfect for families like ours.
At Play Mornings I get to spend quality time with my
daughter and she gets to socialize with other children. I also
like to play with the other children. I enjoy the guest
speakers, field trips and interesting educational activities
provided there.
My sister heard about the program and told me about it. We
have told several of our friends. Unfortunately, it was sad to
know that our play group is getting too full and there was a
limit on the number of kids who can attend. I was also
surprised to hear Play Mornings are not available in all
communities. I think it would be helpful if there was a way to
coordinate all efforts to have programs like ours in all
Hawaiian communities.
So I am here on behalf of other parents in situations like
my own and from our Wai'anae community in hopes that my
testimony will continue to help fund such excellent and school
readiness programs to ours and all Hawaiian communities.
Thank you for letting me share my story with you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Johnson appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Johnson.
Now may I call on Ms. Robins.
STATEMENT OF KALAU'IHILANI ROBINS
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. Aloha mai kakou. Good afternoon,
honorable gentlemen. I would actually start with my daughter,
Anuhea. She would like to express some thoughts to you.
The Chairman. Anuhea, we're going to listen to you now.
Ms. Anuhea Robins. Aloha nui kakou [phrase in native
tongue].
The Chairman. The obvious love that exists between mother
and daughter is most appropriate at this moment. That alone is
sufficient testimony. Ms. Robins?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. My name is Kalau'ihilani Robins.
I'm a proud parent of three children, ages 8, 4, and 2. My
oldest daughter Pu'uwai attended Punanao Leo O Kawaiaha'o. My 4
year old daughter currently attends there and my 2 year old son
will get to be there this January.
I'm here to talk about the challenges a parent faces when
seeking out early childhood education and how I have benefitted
by it. While I was pregnant with my oldest child, I began
research for a preschool that I could send my daughter to.
Punana Leo's program appealed to me because I felt it was
important for my family to learn the Hawaiian language, its
cultures and values, something I was taught, but not enough to
carry it out to my daughter. This was a place I could do that.
I had already heard benefits that children have received
with learning more than one language as part of early childhood
education. When my daughter Pu'uwai was 2\1/2\ years old, I
applied at Punana Leo O Kawaiaha'o and was told immediately
that spaces were limited, so not to be discouraged if my
daughter did not get in. Through the application process and
the interviews, we were fortunately one of the 9 families
chosen out of 34 applicants that year. After my first daughter
attended there, and all the experiences we had shared, I knew
it was important for all of my children to attend Punana Leo.
I now recognize the benefits that my oldest daughter
received going to Punana Leo, the learning skills, gave her a
foundation for her reading skills. I was quite worried about
her learning English. And at the second grade level, she reads
at a third and fourth grade level. That was just wonderful for
my family.
She also excels really well in other subjects, as well.
Punana Leo has given her a sense of self awareness. She knows
where she comes from. I believe that the Punana Leo early
childhood education has benefitted her abilities and her self-
awareness up to today. This past October, I decided to leave my
previous employer as a bank supervisor to become an employee of
Punana Leo, because the passion in me was so great for the
language.
Not until I became an employee did I recognize how lucky
our family was to have been chosen to be part of the Punana Leo
program. We have just completed applications to be processed at
the school for the 2002-2003 school year. We received an
estimated 45 applications. But because of the lack of funds and
spaces we were only able to accept 11 families. It's such a sad
thing to say that a lack of funds prevents us from providing
this valuable service to everyone. So it's a very heart
wrenching, stressful process. I have studied almost every
interview and read every application. It is hard to decide
which families possess the qualities and traits that fit our
philosophy and mission. I feel that all of these families have
the right to receive our services. How do you answer a parent
wanting to know why their keiki will not get accepted?
Punana Leo is the only early childhood education program
that offers Hawaiian language immersion. I do not feel I have
the right to choose who is provided services and who is not. I
feel there should be a Punana Leo in every community with the
ability to service everybody wanting to be a part of this
program. I feel very honored and privileged to be a part of the
Hawaiian language movement at Punana Leo as a parent and an
employee. Punana Leo has been an important part of my family
and has served as not only a preschool for my children but also
a way of life.
I strongly do not believe that Punana Leo is for every
family, but I do believe that all families should have a
program easily accessible in their community that fits that
family's needs and is affordable.
As the professionals have spoken previously and will be
speaking after me, have stated that the early years of a
child's life is the most crucial time. We as a community should
embrace that fact and provide all the assistance for our
children. I would like to thank you both, the men and women of
the Congressional delegation, for allowing us to share our
experiences and thoughts here today.
Mahalo.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins appears in
appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Robins. I must tell
you that there aren't enough mothers who speak with passion
about their children. So I thank you.
If I may now ask Ms. DeCambra, according to your testimony,
your life at Papakolea was a very happy one.
Ms. DeCambra. Yes.
The Chairman. Would you say that the life of Hawaiian
children today is not happy?
Ms. DeCambra. I'd say there's a large number of Hawaiian
children, the term people use is at-risk. I still think that
communities are resilient. With the right kind of planning and
structural support, we can address those ills, those
weaknesses. So I think we're able to address those problems and
raise them so that they become assets in our community, rather
than deficits, as you've heard in ways that these young people
have testified.
The Chairman. So you believe that the program we have in
place could be enhanced and expanded?
Ms. DeCambra. Yes; I believe the programs that are in place
are life saving. Definitely. I believe the capacity to increase
that life saving effort needs to be there in any way possible
that you have the power to help us with.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Ms. Silva, how are your children today?
Ms. Silva. They're okay. You mean like right there at this
moment? [Laughter.]
The Chairman. Who told you about the Pulama I Na Keiki
program?
Ms. Silva. I have a friend who joined and told me all she
was learning with the program, and said that it may be
something I would be interested in. So I called up the director
of the unit that I'm in and I had an interview and I was
accepted. So we started our visits.
The Chairman. And you say it has been very helpful to you?
Ms. Silva. Yes.
The Chairman. Would you like to see it continue?
Ms. Silva. Yes; we also have, because of limited funding,
they can only accept parents with children up to 3 years old.
We start prenatally. But even though I was a parent with a
child who was already 5, with that 5 years of experience, I
still didn't think I had enough to raise another child.
With this program, I've been able to build that confidence
and strength into myself to know that I have a resource I can
turn to that's going to give me the knowledge so I can give my
children opportunities for the future. Just being able to
relate to them better, being able to make these toys. We even
took these charts, that checks on your child's status, we do
activities that help to improve my child's development in the
six major skills of development.
The Chairman. We'll do our best to see that other children
are as happy as yours.
Mr. Johnson, it may surprise you that United States
Senators are also parents. [Laughter.]
The Chairman. My son went to the public schools in
Maryland. I attended PTA meetings, I missed just two of them. I
was chaperone at dances and I did my very best to live up to my
responsibilities as a father. I am happy to know that you are
doing the same thing, going on field trips and such. What sort
of field trips were these?
Mr. Johnson. We just had a field trip yesterday to a
discovery center. That was excellent for the kids and for me,
it was the first time I've been there.
The Chairman. I bet you learned just as much as your child.
Mr. Johnson. Yes, I did.
The Chairman. That's the beauty of this type of program,
where parents get involved with their children. I think they
learn just as much as the kids.
Mr. Johnson. Yes.
The Chairman. So keep it up.
Ms. Robins, I commend you for being passionate in your work
and your love for children. As I said earlier, there are not
enough mothers who are that passionate. If there were, we
wouldn't have any problems. So just keep it up. Do not be
embarrassed when tears fall. It is a good sign.
How is your eldest daughter doing now?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. Very well.
The Chairman. What grade is she in?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. Second grade.
The Chairman. What is her learning level, her reading
level?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. Her reading level is about fourth
grade.
The Chairman. That's pretty good. And you credit that to
Punana Leo?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. It has given her a basis of
learning skills that will continue as other [Native word] to do
and excel and enjoy what she's doing.
The Chairman. What do you do in Punana Leo?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. I'm an assistant director there.
The Chairman. Well, keep it up. We'll do whatever we can.
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. I'm so happy to hear that.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Senator Akaka?
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. It's good
to hear from what we call the grass roots.
Ms. DeCambra, I was interested in your comments about the
program there in Wai'anae and your suggestion that we should
have a comprehensive approach in developing a successful model
for early childhood education and care for Native Hawaiians. I
know that you have worked in the community and you know the
community and the capacity of the community as well. I like
your mention of at-risk.
I guess what we call that in a different way is, we call
that challenges that children face today. There's no doubt that
the challenges that you have in Wai'anae now are so great, so
critical. When you talked about the drug babies, this is
something that will affect the whole community and whole State,
because we're going to have to take care of them. I agree with
your intention to try to use the community to help meet these
challenges that face Native Hawaiian children and families.
I know you've been associated with different programs.
Specifically, let me ask you, what role do you see for the
Federal Government, if any, to play in this process?
Ms. DeCambra. As we heard earlier, I think at the policy
level there needs to be a commitment to early childhood
development. I think we heard the parties refer to zero to
five. That means when in the womb, I think the adult parent
needs the support of helping them through that prenatal care. I
think at a policy level, making a commitment and making that
commitment to early childhood development in our Nation and
particularly in Hawaii would be a wondrous thing.
Senator Akaka. Thank you so much. Continue the good work
you're doing out there in Wai'anae.
Ms. DeCambra. Thank you.
Senator Akaka. Ms. Silva, I want to commend you for talking
about your period of expectancy and also about the culturally
sensitive kinds of experiences you've had with your children.
You also mentioned that the program helped to care properly,
helped you to care properly for your children. My question to
you is, how well known is this program in the community?
Ms. Silva. Not very, as far as I know. I only found out
because someone I know was in the program. Other than that,
nobody, I know none of my neighbors that I talked to were aware
that this program existed. I told everyone I know how much it's
done for me and what I'm getting out of it. I'm referring a lot
of people to the program.
Senator Akaka. The program you're in now, how many children
are there in the program?
Ms. Silva. We don't meet as a group, we meet one on one.
We've done a few workshops where we meet as a group, but it's
up to the parents if they can make it. Some of them need to
catch the bus, some of them don't have a way, some of them,
maybe their babies were sick. The workshops that I have
attended, I think about eight parents and their children.
Senator Akaka. Mr. Johnson, I was interested in your
testimony about Keiki Steps Play Morning. So I guess this
program takes place in the morning?
Mr. Johnson. Yes; it does. Since I work at night, I can
take my daughter in the mornings. It helps me to play with her.
Senator Akaka. Besides being with your daughter, do you
participate in working with other children in the program?
Mr. Johnson. Yes.
Senator Akaka. How widespread is this program? Is it just
within your community or is it in other communities?
Mr. Johnson. I think there is one in [Native word] as well.
Other than that, I don't know much about it.
Senator Akaka. Ms. Robins, of course your daughter shows
that she's enjoying the program. Her Hawaiian is, from what I
could gather, I couldn't hear everything she said, quite well,
and she is a bright, bright girl. I'm asking this question not
because of her, but maybe because of other children, do you
think that this Punana Leo program gets good results for
children?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. In language or in other areas?
Senator Akaka. Both in the language and in their education.
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. Like I said, it's probably not
for everyone. But the lives that it has touched that I see, I
have been in Punana Leo since 1997. And I've come across many
people. I can honestly say it's a life changing experience.
Senator Akaka. And let me ask you, at home, do you speak
both English and Hawaiian, or just mostly Hawaiian?
Ms. Kalau'ihilani Robins. I try to speak Hawaiian as much
as I can, and then where I don't have the knowledge, I'll
substitute English. My husband tries to keep up with her.
Actually, when the child attends Punana Leo, it has been shown
them, by the third month already, they're at a level where the
kids speak and communicate and understand. So she often tells
us [phrase in native tongue], Mama, you should correct me if
you see any problem. So actually, it's a learning thing for
both of us. So we do do both. But I try as much as I can to
speak Hawaiian first.
Senator Akaka. Just as an example, my grandson went to the
program. I guess they forget, because we're at somebody's house
and he'll say [phrase in native tongue]. The person will say,
what is he talking about? But he's looking for his shoes.
[Laughter.]
Mahalo. Thank you so much. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The Chairman. And may I thank all of you, Ms. DeCambra, Ms.
Silva, Mr. Johnson, and Ms. Robins, and Anuhea. Thank you very
much. Mahalo.
The Chairman. Our next panel consists of Lori Matsuoka,
Leialoha Jenkins, Parent, Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool, and Nanea
Akau, Student, Hale O Ulu, Child and Family Service Alternative
School.
May I call upon Ms. Matsuoka.
STATEMENT OF LORI MATSUOKA, PARENT, KEIKI O KA 'AINA PRESCHOOL
Ms. Matsuoka. Good afternoon, Hon. Daniel Inouye and Hon.
Daniel Akaka.
About 1 year ago, I was what many people might term as a
stay at home mother. Abigail, our youngest child, was not yet
old enough to attend grade school. My husband, Millard, and I
decided that it would be in Abigail's best interest if he
worked while I remained at home to care for her.
Although I was able to spend a lot of time with my
daughter, I often wondered if Abigail might benefit more if she
attended a preschool. However, even if I worked, the cost of
sending her to a regular preschool would have been a financial
burden for our family. I would also defeat the purpose of my
wanting to be the one to care for her.
I heard about Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool and the HIPPY
program through a friend. It was like an answer to my prayers.
This school would provide Abigail with an environment much like
a regular preschool, but what was unique about it was that it
required each child to be accompanied by at least one parent or
caregiver. It was a parent participation program.
I soon found out that the goal behind Keiki O Ka 'Aina was
that it believed that the parent is the most important teacher
in the life of their child. We are grateful to you, Senator
Daniel Inouye, and the many individuals who believed in this
program's mission. Keiki O Ka 'Aina Preschool became federally
funded, which allowed Abigail and I to take advantage of this
wonderful program which best suited our needs.
Abigail and I started attending Keiki O Ka 'Aina in January
of 2001. It provided us with a safe and nurturing environment
where I was encouraged to be active in every stage of her
learning. This allowed me to see Abigail learn and develop in
ways that I probably would not have been able to in the regular
preschool setting.
Abigail was given opportunities to interact with other
children while I developed friendships with other parents and
caregivers. It was a real ohana, a family.
Periodically, guest speakers were invited to share
information in their specialized field, such as health, child
development and family intervention. Keiki O Ka 'Aina also was
the site for WIC, which is a program that provides subsidies
for families that qualify based on their income. Our family has
also been able to benefit from the WIC program, which I
probably would not have otherwise known about if it were not
for Keiki O Ka 'Aina.
A valuable part of Keiki O Ka 'Aina was its focus on Native
Hawaiian education. A creative curriculum was provided for
families where we learned about an important aspect of our
lives: our culture and our heritage. I could see the benefits
of attending Keiki O Ka 'Aina as not only Abigail's but my own
self-confidence grew. Having previously been a victim of
domestic violence, it was a major step for me to be out in
public.
As I became more active in the preschool, I felt that I had
finally found a place where I was safe, I wasn't being judged,
and that I was accepted for who I was. As I continually
received encouragement from the staff members, my self-esteem
developed. I branched out and attended conferences on child
development and education. I will always be grateful to have
been given these special opportunities to become further
educated in an area which is important to me, the preservation
of family.
My active involvement in Abigail's school soon allowed me
to become a part of the organization. I graciously accepted a
leadership role in expanding an area of Keiki O Ka 'Aina, a
traveling preschool. My staff and I travel to various locations
around the island to provide a smaller version of our
preschool. We share our experiences with others, so that they
can recognize the importance of their roles not only as parents
and caregivers, but also as teachers for their children.
Abigail and I were also fortunate to be part of the HIPPY
program and home instructional program which allowed me to
continue my role as an educator for not only Abigail, but my
seven year old as well. This allowed me to educate my daughter
at home in a more private and relaxed setting. We were provided
with materials and books that were used as teaching schools.
The girls would look forward to the special time that I would
set aside just for them, one of the requirements of HIPPY. It
became a family quality time for us.
The success rate of HIPPY programs extends nationwide.
HIPPY has already been successful since its introduction to
Hawaii. I am grateful for the life skills I have developed with
Keiki O Ka 'Aina. Together, Abigail and I have learned so much
about ourselves, about others, our community and our world. I
strongly believe that the mission of Keiki O Ka 'Aina and the
HIPPY program are invaluable and that many more families should
be given the opportunity to benefit from this wonderful
experience.
Thank you.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Matsuoka appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Matsuoka.
Now may I recognize Ms. Jenkins.
STATEMENT OF LEIALOHA JENKINS
Ms. Jenkins. Aloha, Hon. Daniel K. Inouye and Hon. Daniel
Akaka.
My name is Leialoha Genieal Kehaulani Ernestburg Jenkins. I
was born in Honolulu and reared in Laie from age 4. I am a
Native Hawaiian and Samoan descendent. I am a product of the
public school systems, namely Laie Elementary School and Kahuku
High School. I am a mother of five children, one who is special
needs, visually impaired. I am also the caregiver for my 16
year old nephew.
I am here to talk about preschool, special needs and
welfare challenges that I have encountered. In 1995, I gave
birth to my baby prematurely at 26 weeks of her development.
The normal development of an infant is 40 weeks. This baby
weighed 2 pounds 8 ounces and was 15 and three-quarter inches
long. She had retinopathy of prematurity and bronchial
pulmonary dysplasia. I would be able to take her home 2 months
after she was born, and at this time she weighed 4 pounds 5
ounces.
We went home for 1 week and then returned to Kapiolani
Hospital because her retinas were detaching. Emergency surgery
was planned within 24 hours. The surgery was a success;
however, no one spoke my language to tell me that the result of
saving her retina was a loss of her peripheral and main vision.
What little she had left would be considered as permanent
damage.
She is legally blind in her left eye and partially blind in
her right eye. Bringing her home was another situation. I could
not have anyone in the house who was sick, and I had to shelter
her from everyone. Every morning we would wake up and put human
fortifier in her milk and warm it up, which is bacon and eggs,
and warm it up and give it to her. I would also have to give
her caffeine to make her active so that she would get hungry
and thereby begin to eat so that she could grow.
If she had a cold, I would suction her by putting a tube
down her nose and getting it down into her lungs in order to
suction the mucous out of her lungs so that she could breathe.
If she was wheezing, I would have to administer aerosol
treatments to her lungs so that they would be clear for
breathing. The treatment would continue every 3 to 4 hours.
I was a single mom living on the welfare system with this
special needs child and trying to go to school at the same
time. Federal policy level planning doesn't understand the
needs of families on the community level, especially when it
comes to families living in the rural community. Everything
starts with the 24 month countdown in the welfare system. As
soon as you get close to this 24th month of receiving financial
assistance, you are mandated to begin work-related activities.
In my case, when I was at the 18 month mark, I was being
mandated to begin the First To Work Program. At that time I was
attending college full time and carrying 16 credit hours.
On top of attending classes and studying, I was forced to
attend work training workshops to comply with Federal
regulations. When these training workshops conflicted with my
class schedules, I was not allowed any flexibility to exempt
out of the work training classes. I could not replace my hours
of school as work study time. I feel that in order to make the
system work better, we need to consider education as important
as work training for preparing people to go back to work.
Education is the foundation to someone's future and is as
important or more important as work experience. Education is
food for life. If I can be educated, I have a better chance to
maintain my family at a higher standard of living than if I had
to take a lower paying position today without an education.
Educational time should be able to be used as part of the first
24 hour work training time in order to qualify for welfare
benefits. I am in complete agreement that the welfare benefits
be tied to passing courses at a minimum GPA of 2.0 or higher.
Problems with transportation and lack of accessible
services in the community. When I brought my baby home from the
hospital, I had to beg for services to come to my home. I had
to justify why the mobile team needed to provide services to my
child versus taking my child in to a therapy team in a central
location in Honolulu, which is about 30 plus miles away from my
home. I was not able to transport my child because she would
stop breathing and I would not be aware of the situation until
I turned around and looked at her. This situation was not safe
for baby and me.
The State Department Systems don't work together. The
Department of Human Service, DHS, income maintenance worker did
not get any help for my special needs child when she was born.
She did not offer me any services or know of any options for
me. Her only concern was to add this new child to the system.
She did not refer me to the Department of Health services or
the Department of Education when my child needed services. The
hospital social worker did more for me than the three batches
of government did at the hospital level.
My child's transfer information about her, individual
support plan, that's the ISP, from Department of Health was not
accepted or acknowledged by Department of Education. The two
agencies did not work together, even if they were both State
agencies. Each blamed the other or referred to the other as the
one who was responsible for special needs services for my
child. In the long run, the client, which was my child, is the
one who suffers.
Another challenge that I faced was emotional isolation as a
single parent of a special needs child. I needed a support
system from others that understood the problems and challenges
I was going through. With the help of a social worker, I was
put in touch with another family who had a special needs child.
With that parent, I was able to start a support group for
parents of children with special needs in my community.
I could have used a better system of care for me and my
child that would have helped me negotiate the system better. I
needed a seamless system, a system where departments, agencies,
hospitals, were willing to work together instead of against
each other. Much of what I was able to access was due to my own
persistence with the system and trial and error. I went through
the phone book to look up all the agencies that dealt with
children with special needs. For example, an income maintenance
worker told me, why did you apply for Social Security when you
could have gotten financial assistance through Aid to Families
with Dependent Children?
We need a better working system for parents with young
children, especially if the child has a special need and lives
in a rural setting. The glue money, or the money to help get
the system working better together, would greatly have helped
my situation then and even today. This glue money that I'm
referring to is the safety net we need to help Native Hawaiian
children have the opportunity to succeed in life.
I feel that the welfare system does not have a safety net
system that is in place and working. We are the pioneers who
are trying out the system and amendments are being made at my
child's and my expense and life. Please correct the welfare
system by implementing education as an option to work. Please
stop making the system more difficult to live in. Please do
away with restrictions of how the first 24 hours of your work
plan can be used. Leave some flexibility to the parent.
I feel that Parents and Children Together, which is the
PACT program, Families and Children Education, which is FACE,
and literacy programs and also Pulana Leo, Keiki O Ka 'Aina and
Keiki Steps and all the programs that were mentioned here today
are the programs that teach the parents the skills to parenting
and helps them develop a better functioning home for children
to live in. If we enforce programs like these and give parents
options to take this route with education versus work force, we
give the parents the tools they need to succeed in a loving and
nurturing environment. Teach they how to fish. Don't give them
the fish.
In closing I'd just like to say that in June of 2001, I
graduated from University of Hawaii with my bachelor's degree
in social work. I'm in the process, on the waiting list to
attend UH Manoa School of Social Work Masters Program. Mahalo.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Jenkins appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Congratulations.
Ms. Jenkins. Thank you.
The Chairman. Ms. Akau.
STATEMENT OF NANEA AKAU, STUDENT, CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICE
ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL
Ms. Akau. Good afternoon, Chairman Inouye and Senator
Akaka.
My name is Nanea Akau and I am 17 years old. I am a student
at Child and Family Service Alternative School, Hale O Ulu. I
am here to talk about the importance of preschool.
I grew up in Kalihi and am living in Ewa. I will be
graduating shortly, June 2002. As I was growing up, I never had
the privilege of going to preschool. When I entered
kindergarten I always felt uncomfortable and behind
academically. I would never ask questions or raise my hand in
class because I was very shy and felt insecure. This has been
the case throughout my schooling.
I now attend Hale O Ulu School so I can catch up with my
credits and graduate on time. I am now much older and wiser
than I used to be. I have more courage now than from what I had
before. I found the courage through my friends that I met a
Hale O Ulu and through my job at Jamba Juice. My friends
encouraged me to do my best and helped me realize what is more
important in life, and Jamba Juice forced me to open up a
little more to people without being shy to answer questions.
I feel that if I had had the chance to attend preschool I
might have learned to be more confident with the skills I
needed to help me keep up with my classmates and be a little
more open. I believe preschool will help many children prepare
for kindergarten. We all know that when you don't like
something the first time your whole outlook on the experience
becomes negative. This is exactly what happened to me.
As I got older I learned that I didn't have to go to school
and I could just cut out. I started cutting out in seventh
grade and as a result of that I failed and now I'm struggling
to graduate because I want to graduate on time with my class
and make my parents proud. They were really frustrated with my
brother and me because we were both failing in school. My
brother never graduated and they were really disappointed. I
saw what both my parents and my brother went through and I
don't want to be a problem to my parents and put them through
that again.
Preschool can only help children if it's available. So
please help support the funding for preschools in Hawaii so
that it may prevent other children in the future from having
difficulties like I had. Please help create opportunities for
the children of Hawaii.
Mahalo for allowing me to share my mana'o.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Akau appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Ms. Akau.
Now may I call on Ms. Ann Kawahara.
Ms. Kawahara. Senators Inouye and Akaka, my name is Ann
Kawahara. I'm the principal at Hale O Ule School. I came to
just lend a little support for my student. Thank you.
The Chairman. Congratulations.
Ms. Matsuoka, if I may ask now, is there a long waiting
list to get in to your school?
Ms. Matsuoka. No; we're open. It's a parent and child
participation program, it's a free program.
The Chairman. You are able to accommodate all those who
want to get in?
Ms. Matsuoka. Right now, we're really getting--well, I do,
we have one stationary site that is there 4 days a week in
Kalihi. I go out and go to other different sites. We have about
right now it seems like about 400.
The Chairman. From your testimony, it appears that you have
benefitted just as much if not more than your daughter.
Ms. Matsuoka. Oh, yes, I have, with just the education that
I've gotten about parenting.
The Chairman. Ms. Jenkins, I do not know how you do it, but
you are my kind of gal. Six children and going off to get an
education, I congratulate you.
Ms. Jenkins. Thank you.
[Applause.]
The Chairman. I tell you what I am going to do. I am going
to share your testimony with the State government. Because we
are from the Federal Government, and we are not in a position
to respond to that. But what you just told us, is a terrible
story that should not be repeated, and I will make certain I
get a response. When I do, you will get a copy of it.
Ms. Jenkins. Mahalo. Could you pass that on to Patsy Mink,
because she's writing a law for reform in regard to
implementation?
The Chairman. We will try to make it flexible so that
education can be a credit for work training.
Ms. Jenkins. Thank you.
The Chairman. Ms. Akua, you are a very courageous witness,
to be willing to share your life experience with us, telling us
how your life was as a child. I am glad that your testimony
will help us further understand the need for preschool
education. Your testimony has been very helpful.
How is your brother doing?
Ms. Akua. He is doing better.
The Chairman. He did not graduate, did he?
Ms. Akua. No.
The Chairman. And you are going to graduate?
Ms. Akua. Yes.
The Chairman. Good for you. What are you going to do after
that?
Ms. Akua. College.
The Chairman. You are going to college. Some day you will
become a doctor. We can tell.
Ms. Akua. Thank you.
The Chairman. Ms. Kawahara, congratulations. How many
students do you have?
Ms. Kawahara. Presently we have 79 students enrolled. These
students come to us from the Leeward District schools, and we
enroll them for up to about 2 years with us, and we work with
them on credits and of course some social development.
The Chairman. What is the cost to the child?
Ms. Kawahara. There is no cost to the child. We have
agreements with the Department of Education and Child and
Family Service. We go looking for grants, and foundation
assistance that we can get also.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Senator Akaka.
Senator Akaka. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Matsuoka, I'm pleased to hear the positive impact of
your participation in Keiki O Ka 'Aina. I am glad to hear that
parents can get educated. You're working with the children and
I want do commend you for what you've been doing.
This hearing and all the information that we're gathering
is going to help us in the development and implementation of a
comprehensive Native Hawaiian early childhood educational
policy. If there's one thing that you can say what could be
placed into this kind of policy, can you mention something like
that, from your experience?
Ms. Matsuoka. Basically, we're out serving the community.
We have people that come from just different dynamics that goes
on in their life. We are a safe place. Everyone, Native
Hawaiians and the rest of the community, we are economically
challenged. So having a program like this to come to, to bring
your child, you educate the parent, and in return, the parent
can be the best teacher for the child. Just basically, we are
out there serving the community. We're helping to prevent child
abuse, it's a safe haven for parents to come with their child
to participate and play with their children.
Senator Akaka. Thank you.
Ms. Jenkins, I was sad to hear about the lack of
information sharing between State agencies as you tried to
obtain services for your child. It's sad to hear that there are
disconnects in trying to do that. And for me, and for all of
us, we're looking at this Native Hawaiian early childhood
education, development and care policy as something that can
help to prevent this kind of thing from happening.
But I just want to take the time to commend you for what
you have done under the circumstances. And I think from what
you've testified, your experience has made you a more positive
person. And it will certainly help you and your children.
Ms. Akau, I was impressed with your honesty, the honesty of
your testimony, and want to commend you for a job well done.
It's great to hear from a person like you who has now a
positive outlook on life. I just want to say Godspeed to you
and best wishes in all you do. It looks as though you're going
to do well.
And Ms. Kawahara, again, thank you for what you are doing.
Again, I just want to mention that all of this, these
testimonies, will help us to formulate the policy that we're
looking for. Thank you very much.
Ms. Akau. Thank you.
The Chairman. This testimony indicates that all is not
lost. There's a great future ahead of us. Thank you very much.
On our next panel is the executive director of the Keiki O
Ka 'Aina preschool, Momi Durand; the medical director to
Waimanalo Health Center, Dr. Charman Akina; and the president
and chief executive officer, Enterprise Honolulu, Mike
Fitzgerald.
Ms. Durand, welcome. The witnesses have said very nice
things about Keiki O Ka 'Aina.
STATEMENT OF MOMI DURAND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, KEIKI O KA 'AINA
PRESCHOOL
Ms. Durand. Praise God and thank you. Mr. Chairman and
Senator Akaka, all my friends here, thank you so much for the
invitation to come and talk to you folks and just share some
ideas.
I know that we're supposed to try to address some issues
that we're finding in the early childhood arena. So just some
of the things that I'd like to share that I think would be
important with the policy making would be that, I would like to
find a way to get information out to the parents before things
happen. To have programs out there in the community that are
available for parents when things are already going wrong, it's
a little bit too late.
So programs like Pulama I Na Keiki that can catch it before
it ever happens, that start to teach parenting classes and that
kind of thing before, and address issues before the parents
have the children, before these problems come out, so they can
start addressing issues ahead of time. Because once you're in
the middle of the turmoil of dealing with the problem, it makes
it worse and it's really a little bit too late.
So I think that programs that are proactive rather than
reactive are really, really helpful. Programs like Ho'owaiwai
Nakamali'i have just been invaluable, programs that can help
get all our resources together, that have gone out into the
community to identify every single Hawaiian early childhood
education program, as well as just the State, even non-Hawaiian
programs. But anything that's available out there, they have
brought us together in a community group, and they've been able
to bring us together so that we can network and do
collaborations.
I would hate to see funding for that program be cut because
it's just a wonderful program that allows us to do our job and
not have to worry about going out there and becoming resource
specialists ourselves. They bring our programs together because
none of us can do it all ourselves. We can work together and
give all the relevant services that a particular family might
need, from all the way up from early childhood, from 0 to 3
years, through the preschool years and then as they transition
into kindergarten, they put together that entire process. So I
would hate to see that kind of a program leave.
If you look back there, you have a picture of an o'opua put
up there. If you think about early childhood moving from the
zero to three years, the pre-birth into the early childhood
years, then in through preschool, as you move further down into
the o'opua and then transitioning out into kindergarten, as we
go out into the ocean and out into the world, what Ho'owaiwai
Nakamali'i has been for us is that water system that travels
through and brings all the different services together and puts
it all together. They've become the glue for all of us to come
together and to really--they've put me together with most of
the places that we're serving now. They've been a really big
reason why we're so successful.
And all of the play groups, any play group that's operating
right now in a State, they're all doing a wonderful job. They
all bring parenting education to the parents. We always feel
like the play group is just the most wonderful thing, to have
socialization for the child. But then once those 2 hours are
gone, oh, it was so wonderful, we got to come, we got to play
with other parents, our children got to play with other
children. And then they go home, and their real life, the real
world starts.
If we didn't equip them with tools via maybe stress and
anger management classes, child development classes, what to
expect so you don't have unrealistic expectations for your
children, child guidance to discipline, to all kinds of classes
as to what is available in the health and welfare section of
your community. If we're not able to equip parents that way,
then those 2 little hours that they have were, I don't want to
say wasted, but not as, we weren't as fruitful with that time
that we were blessed to have them in our place as we could have
been, if we could just have given the parents a little bit more
education, tools, however you want to think about it.
So that's a really important component of the play groups.
Not only does it give children a chance to learn socialization,
but it also gives us a chance to make an impact on the parents,
so they can take it home and use these things 24 hours a day in
the real world for the rest of those 6 days they're not in our
play group.
The Academy of Science has just come out with a brand new
study in a book called Neurons to Neighborhoods. This is
supposed to be the right now, the cutting edge of everything
that is happening right now. It's the new information. Some of
the stuff that they address is that the mental state of the
parents is going to have one of the biggest impacts on what
happens to our children in early childhood. So I'd like to see
more programs that actually address that for the parents, that
there will be more programs that will help with counseling for
parents, because if the mental health of our parents is that
important to our children during early childhood, I'd like to
see more programs address that as well.
The fact that our programs are brought, I think the reason
that, this is just something I drew over here based on
something somebody said over here, we keep talking about our
children at risk. Unfortunately, the sad state is that most of
them are. We as parents look at them as at risk. I have a 9-, a
7-, and a 3-year old. When I started this program 6 years ago I
was a mother on welfare. We went for 4 years, thank goodness,
to funding from the Federal Government that you folks have
supported. I thank you for that, because we've been able to
expand it. But it was always based on the fact that we had to
come forward and show you how our children are at risk and why
they are living under the rainbow in the rain.
I'd like to start thinking of all Hawaiian children as at
promise, living above the rainbow. I think the idea that we
have to look at all these programs as addressing children at
risk, even that in our thinking of the way we're looking at
them, and the thinking that the way the parents can qualify for
these programs, it starts with us already looking down. I'd
like for us to start looking up at our children.
And these programs, these wonderful programs that people
from the outside are looking at our Hawaiian programs, and
they're saying, gosh, some of these programs are just cutting
edge, just wonderful, full of information, they wish they could
qualify to be part of them. And I wish that we could look at
ourselves and our children up there already and start thinking
of them at promise rather than at risk.
So I wish that we could come to the table and not have to
prove to them why we need this money. Unfortunately, the sad
truth is that we do need it in that way. But we could identify
the children that we serve and start looking at them and
talking like this is an at promise program, not a program to
serve our at risk community.
And just the fact that all these wonderful programs are
being done in a culturally relevant way, they can hear us when
it's delivered that way. Because a lot of the things we present
educationally, while it might come from our background that
we've learned just in schools, if it's presented in a
culturally relevant way, which is really important in all of
these programs, I think that also needs to be addressed and
that needs to be supported.
Thank you so much.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Durand appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. You touched upon a very important aspect of
the program, to be able to communicate to parents the
availability of the services before the catastrophe strikes.
How are you presently communicating your ability?
Ms. Durand. At every one of our sites, one of the things
that's required as part of our program, what we do is we give
them an SAT-based kindergarten readiness program that they buy
into, because they want their children to get smart. That's the
buy-into. Sure, your kids are going to get smarter, it's a
nationally known program, we know your children will get
smarter. But if you want your children to come and get this
program, you are required to do the parenting class portion of
it.
So that's how we address it. We make sure they come in, and
before we even start teaching the parenting skills, the first
few weeks are nothing but stress and anger management, we just
look at the parents and we just concentrate on things that can
help the parents. Because if we're not looking at what's going
on with the parents and how they're living their everyday life,
then it doesn't matter if you're going to teach them about
child development or discipline or guidance. They're not going
to be able to take care of themselves.
So that's how we do it. We try to, we incorporate and they
have to buy into it. Because if they want their child to get
smarter, they have to take the parenting classes.
The Chairman. How many children are involved?
Ms. Durand. Right now we have about 400 statewide. It's
completely [inaudible], the grant is, and I thank you so much.
This program has taken a completely, totally, except for QLCC,
and Oha, we had a guy through Oha, funded program, took an
absolutely nothing program and it has changed the lives of not
only the parents. People think that because this is a program
that makes your kid smarter that it's the most important thing.
All of our stuff that comes back to us, the number one
thing they address is the relationship that is changed between
the child and the parent, because all of a sudden, this parent
is sitting down for 15 minutes a day, because the child is
saying, Mommy, I've got to do my homework, got to do my
homework. And these relationships are changing. Changing
families, changing that horrible spiral of how the parent looks
at the child, how the child reacts to the parent, suddenly it's
made them closer. That's one of the things that have just--and
we've seen that across the board.
The Chairman. So you have developed passionate mothers.
Ms. Durand. Yes; and this program is built on and only
hires mothers. So even the people that we hire, we hire mothers
from in the community, in the program. We go out, we recruit
our people. We take these mothers out, we give them parent
training. A lot of them, this is their first job ever. So we
build them up that way. That's the other half of it.
The Chairman. Thank you.
Dr. Akina.
STATEMENT OF CHARMAN J. AKINA, M.D., MEDICAL DIRECTOR,
WAIMANALO HEALTH CENTER
Dr. Akina. Senator Inouye, Senator Akaka, I practice
internal medicine at the Waimanalo Health Center, and I'm also
the medical director there. Thank you for inviting me to
participate in today's hearing.
As we are aware, early development, education and care of
Native Hawaiian children is poor and deficient when compared to
other populations of similar socioeconomic levels within our
State. As we are hearing, the Native Hawaiian child being
targeted is at greater risk of behavior and physical health and
of social development mainly because of family dysfunction,
increased severity of perinatal risk factors, and poor
parenting skills.
To reduce this problem is not impossible. Non-profit
community health centers already are established in areas
heavily populated by Native Hawaiians and offer those services
required to alleviate these problems. Outreach programs are the
missing component to bring together families with children in
need and available appropriate health center services.
Native Hawaiians do not take advantage of available health
resources and social services even when readily accessible.
Outreach programs promoting personal health and hygiene, family
planning and parenting skills for respective communities need
to reach families with children up to 12 years of age and women
of childbearing age.
Outreach programs whereby workers go out into their
respective communities and schools to further health education
and to promote awareness and participation with existing
community health center services are not income generating, and
therefore are rudimentary because of lack of funding. As a
consequence, existing facilities that can and will improve
Native Hawaiian childhood development, education and care are
not being taken advantage of by respective Native Hawaiian
populations being served.
To resolve or diminish the severity of family dysfunction
is a very slow and difficult task characterized by poor
outcomes. This task becomes even more impractical and
unrealistic when there is the immediate need to improve the
home environment for children who already exist and are in need
of a stable, organized family structure in which there is a
warm, nurturing and loving environment.
To improve prenatal and maternal health requires intensive
outreach and patient education pertaining to family planning
and perinatal care, particularly in schools at the junior high
and high school levels. This outreach program must coordinate
with an easily accessible ``teen'' women's clinic and perhaps
an adolescent medicine clinic. In this way the incidence of
teenage pregnancies can be minimized and early prenatal care
emphasized and established.
Improved Native Hawaiian early childhood development,
education and care beyond the perinatal period is best achieved
in preschools, kindergartens and elementary schools. Because of
the prevalence of family dysfunction, children during their
formative years are in need of emotional nurturing and support,
cultural identification, and positive adult role models. This
can be achieved as demonstrated by the Tu Tangata Program
founded in New Zealand by the Maori due to having similar
problems, particularly with their youth, and being introduced
to Hawaii by the Queen Emma Foundation and the Queen's Health
Systems.
Based on this program is the Ku I Ka Mana Mentoring Program
developed by our health center in Waimanalo and implemented at
the seventh grade level at the Waimanalo Elementary and
Intermediate School. This grade level was targeted because
social problems were beginning with students at this level.
The results of the program include significantly improved
school attendance and student performance beginning at the
seventh grade and continuing through the ninth grade. Along
with this improvement has been a decrease in social behavioral
problems.
Similar school based programs have been non-established in
other schools mainly because of lack of funding. We have been
able to have this program survive on a year to year basis
mainly because we seek out grant monies for the program. It
would be more ideal for the Ku I Ka Mana Program to begin at
the first grade and to continue with the same mentor in each
class through the seventh grade level. By the seventh grade,
children are fixed in their ways and the die is already cast.
Lastly, there is also great need for Native Hawaiian
children to learn and comprehend the English language fluently.
By this means they will be able to complete their education
successfully and be able to survive in the modern world and
current economy while preserving their cultural heritage. If
during the formative years English is taught as a second
language, as is done for immigrants to Hawaii, Native Hawaiian
children will be able to learn the English language fluently
and as easily as they have been able to learn the Hawaiian
language when attending Hawaiian immersion schools.
These are the kinds of pilikia and mana'o we have in
Waimanalo. Again, I thank you for allowing me to express these
opinions.
[Prepared statement of Dr. Akina appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. According to your testimony, your Ku I Ka
Mana mentoring program is apparently working.
Dr. Akina. Yes.
The Chairman. Because of the lack of funds, it cannot be
sustained in other schools.
Dr. Akina. Correct.
The Chairman. How much would it take to carry out your
program as you suggest it from the first grade on in all the
schools?
Dr. Akina. I would not have a good idea. Let me tell you
what we have done. We have hired and groomed young adults who
would be really unemployed to learn about the Hawaiian culture
and to act as aunties and uncles in each one of the classes.
They're there, not as teachers aides, but for the children.
They look after the children, their needs, help them with their
homework, exchange with them during their noon hours and after
school, play games and just talk.
Therefore, the children gain the emotional nurturing, the
individual attention, the encouragement that they need which
they're not getting at home. And it works.
Now, the program for us, it presses our budget. But we're
hiring people who would primarily be unemployed. So we don't
have to pay them as much. I don't know how this would work in
other areas where people would have to be hired on a regular
basis. What's necessary is to have an adult in each classroom,
not for the whole grade. So there's a link to one relationship,
as in a family setting, for each one of the children,
regardless of their background.
The Chairman. How many seventh graders are now
participating in your program?
Dr. Akina. There should be maybe 120.
The Chairman. And how are you being funded?
Dr. Akina. Right now we're being funded through funds
coming through the ADA. Prior to that we got grants from the
Queen Emma Foundation and some other local foundations.
The Chairman. We will see if we can find some more funding.
Dr. Akina. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you very much.
Mr. Fitzgerald.
STATEMENT OF MIKE FITZGERALD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, ENTERPRISE
HONOLULU
Mr. Fitzgerald. Senator, thank you very much for allowing
me time to testify before your committee today. I'm delighted
to be here.
I represent Enterprise Honolulu, which was the former Oahu
Economic Development Board. I recently moved to these islands
from Florida, from the mainland. So I'm still on a pretty steep
learning curve to learn about the culture, history, and even
the economy. My assignment is to try to figure out how to
diversify.
My purpose for being here today is to assure you and the
other members of the Hawaiian delegation that the organization
that I represent, Enterprise Honolulu, is a new partnership
that brings together business, government, university, labor
unions, in a non-partisan way for the economic diversification
of Oahu, and to assist our neighbor islands to help locate
globally competitive businesses here that will provide good-
paying jobs for the citizens of this island and our neighbor
islands.
We acknowledge and recognize that the welfare and education
of children in these islands are the validation of the future
of Hawaii. If we educate and nurture these children well, they
will create a positive future here. We also know that economic
development, business and jobs, are not the end purpose in life
at all, but merely one of the means to achieve a good quality
of life.
We also know that if people don't have good-paying jobs, if
they have to work at more than one job or several members of
the family have to work to provide adequate income for basic
necessities, then the children of the family suffer, because of
the parents' absence and stress of inadequate resources.
One of the basic foundations of early childhood and K-12
education is consistent and focused parental involvement, as
we've heard here today, validated so eloquently by the previous
presenters. That's really the support foundation of children,
is the primary learning teacher. This, combined with culturally
sensitive teachers, quality schools and real community support
is what creates well educated, socially adept, successful
students.
If parents are forced to work several jobs to provide basic
necessities they are less able to provide a calm, nurturing and
stress-free home environment. I'm sure you are aware and I'm
sure most of the people here today are aware that when people
can't find or don't have the qualifications to get good paying
jobs, the incidence of alcohol, drug, spouse and child abuse is
more likely to increase.
So we want to assure you and the other members of the
delegation and the people here today that Enterprise Honolulu
is not in existence to help a few rich people get richer. We're
dedicated to helping improve the economy by economic
diversification and good paying jobs for the benefit of the
citizens who live here. Most of the members of our organization
are intimately aware of the history of these islands, and are
therefore determined that the quality of development we support
and encourage is sensitive to the history, society and culture
here.
In conclusion, I want to assure you that we are committed
to building a partnership here of government, business,
education, university, unions and citizen leaders who will
create self-determined, self-directed economic diversification
that doesn't harm the environment and the culture and does help
provide the foundation for a civil, safe, equitable and
generally prosperous society.
We believe the process of sustainable development that has
been pioneered in many places throughout the world, and I have
to say that this poster is a perfect example of the ancient
version of the first steps of sustainable development, that if
we could, in the 21st century, figure out how to simply add
technology to create the modern day version of this, we would
create a model for the rest of the world. Because it's with
considerable land, ocean, technology assets and dedicated
people of these islands offers the possibility for Hawaii to
become a world model of a sustainable economy, culture and
society that can demonstrate how to create a new balance and
harmony which preserves the environment, the culture and
general economic prosperity for the citizens of these islands.
This is our goal. How we intend to do this is outlined in
some of the documents that I have submitted to you. Thank you
for allowing me to share this perspective with you.
[Prepared statement of Mr. Fitzgerald appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Fitzgerald.
How long has this organization been operating?
Mr. Fitzgerald. The Oahu Economic Development Board has
been in business for over a decade. It has only operated for
the last 2 or 3 months as Enterprise Honolulu with a
restructured board, a new staff and new direction.
The Chairman. And the membership is a broad one, as you
have indicated?
Mr. Fitzgerald. The membership is a broad one. In the
testimony we've submitted is a list of the members. It includes
business members, most of them are business members, but
there's also education representatives and union
representatives. So we're starting to build a unique team to
bring together key leadership from all the important areas that
are going to have to create a new, diversified economy.
The Chairman. Do you have a collaborative relationship
with, say, organizations like Punana Leo or Alu Like?
Mr. Fitzgerald. I have not yet met representatives of these
organizations, but I certainly am looking forward to it. I know
from past experience and from coming here as a tourist for 30
years to these islands and being a student of, and a great
respecter of the history and culture, that a community-wide
effort and initiative will be required to do this in the best
way possible. I intend to help as much as we can.
The Chairman. I can assure you that the level of activity
in the Hawaiian community today is ten times more intense than
it was 20 years ago. I would suggest that you get in touch with
these organizations, and you will be not only surprised but
amazed at the wide array of talent we have in our society. They
will need your help and I think you could use their help. So we
thank you very much, sir.
Mr. Fitzgerald. Thank you.
The Chairman. Thank you, Dr. Akina and Ms. Durand.
And now our final witness, the Special Assistant and Policy
Advisor on Children and Families, Office of the Governor, Lynn
Fallin.
STATEMENT OF LYNN FALLIN, SPECIAL ASSISTANT AND POLICY ADVISOR
ON CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Ms. Fallin. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the
opportunity to testify.
My name is Lynn Fallin, and as you indicated, I serve as
Special Assistant and Policy Advisor on Children and Families,
in the Office of the Governor. In the interest of time, I did
submit lengthy testimony, what I will be doing is summarizing
highlights of my testimony.
The purpose of my testimony is to present the two-fold
recommendations that were developed under the leadership of
Myron ``Pinky'' Thompson and a group of Native Hawaiian
organizations and early childhood organizations. The
recommendation is two-fold.
The second part of my testimony will provide a brief
explanation about how the recommendations are aligned with the
State goal, ``All of Hawaii's Children will be Safe, Healthy
and Ready to Succeed.'' The first part of the recommendation is
directed toward continued and increased funding for early
childhood development, education and care.
A recent study conducted of kindergarten teachers in the
State of Hawaii indicated that many children in Hawaii's public
school system are showing up not ready for kindergarten. The
recent passage and implementation of the Federal ``No Child
Left Behind'' Act highlights even more the importance of
preparation in early childhood and support for the programs, so
that children will be ready to succeed in kindergarten and
school.
The testifiers that preceded me gave you excellent examples
of the programs and services available in the State of Hawaii.
In addition, and this is by no means a complete list, funding
such as the Child Care Development Block Grant, Head Start and
Maternal and Child Health Care are very important parts of the
safety net of services that our families access in the
communities.
These programs, and there are many of them, can be somewhat
bewildering to parents and providers as they try to figure out
what services might be available and how they might access the
services. There are many programs within and out of Government.
The second part of the recommendation proposes a model that
aligns with the State goal and also hopefully will result in
programs that are better aligned and more comprehensive for
those children and parents in the community. In order to
accomplish this, we acknowledge up front that there's no one
program that can solve the programs and meet the needs. It is
very important that public and private partnerships be formed
that mobilize communities and can galvanize around and focus on
truly improving outcomes for young children.
With this model we believe the outcomes of Native Hawaiian
children will improve, because the model is based on the
principle of shared responsibility and common outcomes.
Therefore, it focuses on working together and building
partnerships across sectors. The model recognizes the strength
of the Hawaiian culture and language and therefore seeks to
build on this very important primary asset.
The partnerships decide on what they might choose to focus
on, not based on information that is informally gathered, but
the model proposes that we organize data in a meaningful way so
that communities can actually engage in decisionmaking and
check their progress over time to determine whether or not
appropriate developmental milestones are being met, or whether
the system of care is strong enough or needs additional
features.
We call this model that we seek to build upon, as it
reaches further development, at this time Ho'owaiwai
Nakamali'i, the Native Hawaii Early Childhood Consortium model,
and it is our full intention to continue the work underway to
develop the system of care. And the focus is children pre-natal
to age 5 years.
I have attached to my testimony a color diagram that
complements the picture of ohukawana. What this does is it
focuses on the keiki and the ohana, the customer, if you will.
It connects all the parts of the system at the community level
that must work together in order to truly improve outcomes.
This model then has different components that the second
page of the attachment highlights. The first part focuses on
building capacity at the community level, organizational level
and systems level. When I say that I mean that we need leaders
in the community, facilitator that can help organize
communities and help draw from them their ideas, and the
outcomes we seek to change. We need groups then that can work
with community advisory councils.
We also need to be able to provide training so that we
ensure that cultural sensitivity is an inherent part of the way
the organization implements its programs. We need to build
system capacity by convening an interagency group. At this
time, through the efforts of Pinky Thompson, we've been working
with QLCC, OHA, Kamehameha Schools, State agencies, and the
Good Beginnings Alliance to help provide some core support to
this effort. The program is being administered with Federal
funding through Alu Like.
The other part of the capacity building is being able to
get good data, meaningful data that answers three questions.
First of all, it tells us and helps us decide what outcomes
communities might want to focus on. Second, it tells us what
works. Third, if in fact what we're doing works. This entity
would also help coordinate the various funder relationships so
that we can in fact maximize all the resources of all the
partners.
At this time I would like to conclude my testimony on
behalf of the partners and share a saying, ``I ka ulu 'ana o ke
kalo e ola no ke kaiaulu.'' The translation is, in the growing
of the taro, the community thrives. In this Hawaiian saving,
the taro is the child, similar to the mythological origin of
the Hawaiian people. In any typical Hawaiian village of old,
the child and taro are raised and nurtured by the entire
village. Because taro is a necessary staple, it in turn
nurtures the community.
Thank you on behalf of the group that was developed under
the leadership of Myron ``Pinky'' Thompson for the opportunity
to testify.
[Prepared statement of Ms. Fallin appears in appendix.]
The Chairman. On behalf of the committee, I thank you very
much, Ms. Fallin.
It is obvious that the State of Hawaii has suffered an
economic downturn, and as a result the funding levels have been
restricted and limited. Although I realize that funding alone
will not answer the problems before us, it does help. So what
sort of funding assistance would you need from the Federal
Government?
Ms. Fallin. The group that was organized by Pinky Thompson
is in the process of formulating some specific details about
what the blueprint looks like and what the funding would look
like, more specifically.
The Chairman. When would this be available?
Ms. Fallin. We hope to have this available between
September 2002 and the end of the year, of this year.
The Chairman. And you realize that it will be too late for
the next fiscal year? Because by then, we will have decided
upon the level of funding in our appropriations bill.
Ms. Fallin. I believe that because the partners have a very
strong working relationship that we can accelerate that process
significantly. [Laughter.]
The Chairman. I would suggest you accelerate it to about
June. Because the fiscal year of the United States begins on
October 1. By the time September 15 comes along, as a member of
the Appropriations Committee, I can tell you that most
decisions have been made.
Ms. Fallin. Thank you very much for sharing that very
practical information with us. We will take it to heart.
The Chairman. Otherwise, you will have just a printed paper
for a while.
With that, I would like to say that this hearing, which was
dedicated to the memory of our dear friend, Pinky Thompson,
will be adjourned. I thank all of you very much for your
attendance.
[Applause.]
The Chairman. And to close this hearing in traditional
Hawaiian fashion, may I call upon Ho'oipo DeCambra for the
closing pule.
Ms. DeCambra. I'm honored.
I don't know how traditional it is, because I'm still in
the learner class. Has the little girl gone, so I'm not
embarrassed by my language? [Laughter.]
I'm going to humbly give this only in Hawaiian. It was
written because of the request of the Molokai children who were
in the Hawaiian immersion class. It was written because they
wanted to greet the Polynesian voyagers who were coming home.
This morning, as I asked, what should I say in the closing, and
I said, okay, Myron ``Pinky'' Thompson, what should I say?
And this is what was guided to me. It is an ole that was
requested by the little children of Molokai and it is about the
voyaging canoes. More, it is about the era of the kupuna who
have come into the light through the children.
[Pule in native tongue.]
Living current, the kona wind buffets the farthest reaches
of the ocean and here, in the alive [Native word] the great
current, the small current, the current that strikes the
steering paddles of the historic fleet, all of the beauty of
the Pacific has been witnessed during the regal gliding ride of
that company of canoes over the grand sea, the broad, the
boundless sea, an ocean traversed directly by the seafaring
companions, over the great currents of Kanalua they have been
watched over. There in far distant lands, here in the embrace
of friends.
On the forefront of the wind they have sailed to us. The
stars of the dark heavens have given direction. The clouds in
the sky have offered them protection. It is there that life is
granted. Expansive live, expensive life, profound life, exalted
life, bondless life for the islands of the ancestors to exist
in a world of knowing.
Thank you.
The Chairman. I thank you.
[Whereupon, at 3 p.m., the committee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
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A P P E N D I X
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Additional Material Submitted for the Record
=======================================================================
Prepared Statement of Hon. Daniel K. Akaka, U.S. Senator from Hawaii
Aloha. I am pleased to participate in this afternoon's hearing on
Native Hawaiian Early Childhood Education, Development, and Care. I
join you in paying tribute to our dear friend Pinky Thompson who
devoted much of his life to working to build a better future for Native
Hawaiians. It is with great pleasure that I join your efforts to make
Pinky's vision for Native Hawaiian children a reality.
As a former educator, I believe that there is no greater tool for
success than the quality education which we can provide to our
children. Education in Hawaii takes on greater significance as we
consider the continuing need to preserve our culture, our language, and
our heritage, in a rapidly changing and technology-based environment.
Innovative programs that encourage family and community participation,
preserve culture, and increase Native Hawaiian access to quality
educational opportunities play a significant role in ensuring a bright
future for all of us.
I have reviewed the written testimony and statements and I am
impressed with the thoughts, insight, and enthusiasm expressed by
today's witnesses. While we have much to travel on the road ahead, we
have made significant strides in recognizing the importance of a
comprehensive approach to education that involves not only our
children, but our families and our entire community.
I am pleased to see the success of parent-participation preschools
such as Keiki o ka 'Aina and to hear from parent-participants about the
value of this important program. I am equally impressed by the Pulama I
Na Keiki program--which focuses on prenatal care.
I am encouraged to learn of the progressive actions taken by the
Kamehameha Schools to meet more of the educational needs of Hawaiian
families and children. As a Kamehameha Schools graduate, I support the
increased outreach, public-private partnerships, and extensive
collaboration with communities as well as other Native Hawaiian
agencies and organizations to increase educational opportunities and
access for our people.
I am interested in hearing more about the model developed by
Ho'owaiwai Na Kamali'i and how its guiding principles will be
implemented. I look forward to working with the State of Hawaii to
fulfill its goal that ``All of Hawaii's Children will be safe, healthy,
and ready to succeed.''
Again, I thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing us all together to
work on the vision of our great friend, Pinky Thompson. I look forward
to hearing from our witnesses this afternoon.
Prepared Statement of Mary Frances Oneha
April 5, 2002 Good afternoon Chairman. My name is Mary Frances
Oneha. I am a Native Hawaiian with a PhD in Nursing. I am testifying as
an individual to advocate for providing the support necessary for
Native Hawaiian children to begin school healthy and ready to succeed.
I was born and raised on a farm at Waiale'e. I am the second of 5
children. I received my early education on the North Shore beginning
with kindergarten at Kahuku, elementary school at St. Michael's in
Waialua, and high school at Sacred Hearts Academy in Kaimuki. My
parents were very supportive of the choices I would then make as an
adult, receiving a Bachelor's degree in Nursing from the University of
Hawai'i at Manoa, and a Master's in Nursing from the University of
Washington.
I began working with children and their families in Hawai'i and on
the mainland, this lasted about 10 years. I have since worked in the
community 11 years, 10 of which have been at the Waianae Coast
Comprehensive Health Center. I am responsible for programs that provide
support to pregnant women and homeless individuals/families. I have
seen and struggled with the challenges Native Hawaiian families endure.
I am here not to talk to you about what I do, but to tell you what I
think was important for me to get to where I am today. As a Hawaiian,
maternal-child nurse, and provider, these are the values that have
brought me to where I am today:
(a) 'ohana--My parents and grandparents were and are my role
models. My family--aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and close friends,
are my greatest support. They are whom I turn to for.guidance,
knowledge, encouragement, honesty, and fun. Does health and educational
systems, programs, and processes support this value of 'ohana in its
entire context?
(b) 'dina hanau--Hawai'i is the land of my birth, the land of my
ancestors, this is where I belong, this is where I come from. Having a
sense of belonging to a place--with its history, culture, events, and
rituals--was instilled in me through my family. Belonging to this place
influences who I am and the contributions I will make to this place. Do
we create environments for children to know they belong to this land--
this living, breathing entity, that influences who they are and will
become?
(c) aloha--giving and receiving freely. Welcoming people to our
family is a gesture my mother and aunt have mastered. They willingly
give of their time and talents and do not hesitate in sharing their
aloha with strangers. They are adept at establishing meaningful
relationships and teaching this skill to their children. How do we
teach and care with aloha so children understand the true gift of
establishing meaningful relationships?
There are many more values, however these have been the most
influential in my life. As a Hawaiian, I know what the problems are,
but I'm not necessarily the one that needs to be ``fixed'' or
``changed.'' As a provider for 20 years, I know I'm part of the
problem, and there's a whole lot of fixing and changing that needs to
take place amongst us. As providers, we must accept the challenge of
re-engineering our own behaviors, knowledge base, and rituals so Native
Hawaiian children can be healthy and ready to succeed in school, after
all, it is the most important legacy we should leave.
______
Prepared Statement of Brandy Silva
Good Afternoon Mr. Chairman.
My name is Brandy Silva and I am a parent of a 5-year-old son and a
5-month-old daughter. While pregnant for my daughter I joined the
program Pulama I Na Keiki.
I am here to talk about how Pulama I Na Keiki has helped me
overcome some challenges as a parent and what benefits I am receiving
by participating in this program. Even though I already had a child I
thought to join this program because I feel that parenting is a
learning process and not matter how much experience a person might
have, there will always be more to learn.
When I found out that I was going to have another child I was quite
anxious about being a parent of two children. How could I juggle my
attention between two children? One child was already a handful and I
it had been years since I tended to a baby. My boy was about to turn
five. Would I remember everything in caring for a newborn? Then I
joined Pulama I Na Keiki and my anxieties subsided. I now had someone
who I could turn to, my parent educator. When we started our visits, I
was in my third trimester and really nervous about labor. Would I know
if I was in labor? There are so many pains and feelings I experienced
with this pregnancy that I did not experience with the last. My parent
educator brought my some handouts about labor signs as well and some
literature on the weeks after delivery. She was also there to field
questions when she was not there I could resort to looking at the
handouts that had been given to me. Learning about bath care and car
seat safety were big issues for me. We tend to take everything for
granted. We think that if we buy a brand new car seat our child would
be safe. Because boys and girls are different I was nervous about
having to bathe my daughter. Going over the documents she brought
relating to newborn care helped to ease my tensions.
Another great aspect of this program is that we do projects, we
create homemade toys that help to enhance the development of the
children. So not only is this program helping me as a parent to care
properly for my children, but also helping me to achieve the goal of
being an active parent in developing my children's skills so they will
1 day be able to achieve their greatest' aspirations.
Because Pulama I Na Keiki is Hawaiian based program it also helped
to tie in my culture and heritage in raising my children. There is a
project that this program does, which is a quilt made of four patches
that incorporated Hawaiian values. I feel that this is important to my
children and I being of Hawaiian ancestry to know what our kupuna
valued and why.
For all these reasons I am grateful to be an active participant in
this program and feel really lucky to have discovered that this type of
program exists. It has helped me in so many ways and will continue to
help me as I implement the knowledge that I have gained through this
program. I would now like to thank you for giving me this time to share
my experience and mana'o with you.
______
Prepared Statement of William H. Wilson, Ka Haka 'Ula O Ke'elikolani
College of Hawaiian Language, University of Hawai'i at Hilo
Aloha Senator Inouye and members of the Senate Committee on Indian
Affairs. I appreciate this opportunity to testify relating to Federal
policy on Native Hawaiian early education, development and care. I wish
to speak on an area of special relevance to our College--preschool
education through the Hawaiian language. I propose a Federal set-aside
for Hawaiian medium preschool education under the 'Aha Punana Leo.
The history of Hawaiian education and the important role that
Hawaiian language medium education has played in that history is well
documented in the Native Hawaiian Education Act. Also documented in the
Act is suppression of the Native Hawaiian language in educational
institutions under Federal policies--policies only reversed in the 1990
Native American Languages Act which you introduced, Senator Inouye.
During the short history of the Native Hawaiian Education Act, we
have seen the 'Aha Punana Leo develop Hawaiian language preschool
education from an illegal activity to one that has spread statewide and
changed the course of K-12 education in Hawai'i and even higher
education as evidenced by the creation of our College of Hawaiian
language. While this change in the use of Hawaiian has been a very
significant development, and one that has served as a model for other
Native American peoples, the work of the 'Aha Punana Leo is still very
much in the beginning stages compared to English medium preschool
education for Native Hawaiians.
During the entire period of the Native Hawaiian Education Act, the
'Aha Punana Leo has been the sole entity that has had the expertise and
fortitude to develop and maintain Hawaiian medium preschools on a
statewide level. This one entity has carried Hawaiian medium preschool
education all by itself while numerous public and private entities
provided English medium preschool education for Native Hawaiians.
The development of the 'Aha Punana Leo to its present statewide
level of operations has depended greatly on competitive grants under
the Native Hawaiian Education Act. It would be a major blow to the
purposes and legacy of the Act if preschool education through Hawaiian
came to an end simply because for some reason the 'Aha Punana Leo were
not an awardee during a grant competition under the Act. The
possibility of this has grown considerably with new provisions of
Federal grant competition that favor new awardees over those with a
long record of successful applications.
Senator Inouye and members of the committee, we need to develop the
'Aha Punana Leo's model of early childhood education taught through
Hawaiian to a new and higher level, not eliminate it. There is much
that needs to be done to take Hawaiian language medium preschool
education to the next level. English medium preschool education will
not die without your help, but Hawaiian medium preschool education,
will. I therefore urge that a set aside be made for the 'Aha Punana Leo
for Hawaiian medium preschool education development.
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