 Welcome to Aloha United We Stand, Aloha United Ways weekly spotlight on the people and the organizations making a difference here in Hawaii. And I'm Chris Aguinaldo. I'm your host here at Think Tech Hawaii, raising awareness for the issues that are important here in Hawaii. Joining us today to talk about foster children, foster youth transitioning into society and adult life. I have from Imua Kako and the independent living program at Hale Kippa, Michelle Kinimaka. And she's also brought a guest, Des, and they're going to join us for the next 30 minutes. And again, remember, you can join the conversation, too, about foster care and transitioning into adult life at Think Tech H.I. on Twitter. So welcome, Michelle. How are you today? Good. Thank you. And welcome, Des. Morning. This is the background of what the program is. And you mentioned these are a couple of programs. To me earlier, the independent living program at Imua Kako, could you give us a background what you folks do? Sure. Independent living program is a federally mandated program. Every state is required to provide independent living services to their youth in the foster care system. And for the state of Hawaii, that includes, after they've aged out, we continue to provide support as well. One of those supports is the Imua Kako program. That is the state of Hawaii's new initiative to provide voluntary extended foster care. So a youth who ages out of the foster care system can choose to remain in up until their 21st birthday under voluntary status. And then they could continue to receive benefits and to support themselves while they're actually able to live out in the community. They don't have to remain in a foster home anymore. And you mentioned this is a new program. How long has that particular program been in place? A little over two years. We started July 1, 2014. After the main parts of that program, why was it started and what is it addressing for the foster youth? Well, generally when the youth turn 18, a lot of times the supports they've been receiving from the state for so many years disappear. And so the concern is a lot of those youth would end up homeless. Many are incarcerated. They have trouble maintaining jobs, employment and housing, or going to school without support. This provides continued support for them. They need to be participating in one of five categories to be able to qualify, whether they're working towards still getting their high school diploma. If they are in a college or vocational program. If they're working 20 hours or more a week. If they are in an employment readiness program or a program designed to break down barriers to employment. Or if they are medically disabled. They would have to be participating in one of those two. So did they find that those were particular areas that a foster child transitioning into a delta lack? Was it problematic? Was it something that when they looked at how they were transitioning into their careers or older lives beyond high school, that was something that needed to be addressed? Generally it's really more of a catch all of areas that they can be various they may be working towards. So it's not unlike any youth in the general population where they might go on to college or still be choosing to go into the workforce. But what it does is it provides them those benefits. They continue to get the foster board payment that would go to a foster parent, comes to them to help support themselves. So it really gives them a little extra support to be able to do those things and not have to worry as much about having money to pay their rent or survive. Because most children at 18, when they turn 18, they may stay living with their parents, which most of our youth don't have that opportunity. They're kind of out on their own in their community a lot of times. So this really what that is is it's just allow them to do the same things that most other people might be doing, but have a little support while they're doing it. Now do you have any sort of figure as to how many children are in foster care here in Hawaii right now? I don't know the exact numbers because we don't have everybody on the case. Also of course there's a much younger children that we don't service. But there is a significant population. It's in the thousands. It's somewhere I think between two to three thousand. It might be a little lower than two. It changes from time to time. But there is like a significant population that needs this sort of... There is. On the island of Oahu, there's around 80 youth a year that would age out of the foster care system. And by aging out, meaning again, is it legally turning 18? Turning 18. For some of them, they may stay in a little longer if they haven't finished high school yet. So it may be 18 and a half or sometimes 19 if the state decides they want to continue their case longer. But for the most part, it generally means turning 18 when you're in foster care and losing those benefits. That does. Were you facing something like that before being part of the program? Yes. I have been in foster care for like three years now with the family that I was with. But before that too, a long time. During like home situation, yeah, it rents school, I was going to school full time, working full time. So I had to pay rent even though that was my situation. So how did you hear about them? How did you hear about this program? Through my social worker, I don't know her name, but it was through my social worker at the time. So she like got me connected and that's how. So Michelle, when someone like Des comes in or you are connected via like a social worker or caring social worker, what happens? How do you pull them in and what steps do you take to get them into this transition program? Well, youth can be referred to the independent living program as young as 12 years old. So we could be working with them for several years before they aged out of care as young as 12. The majority are coming in somewhere around 15 or 16, some right before they age out though. So they are referred by their child welfare social worker and then they would be assigned an individual case manager who works with them where they are at, what it is that they need and they are usually meeting with them out in the community, helping them apply for college and scholarships and all that kind of stuff and really preparing for that emancipation period. And then once they age out, they would be eligible to move into the Moolcock program and they'd still get that, they'd move that same case manager would move with them into that program and continue working with them and addressing those issues and things they need support with. So I think that's really the biggest issue for them. Some are fortunate to be able to stay in their same foster home, some foster parents will allow them to stay and some are moving out with friends or other family members. Is that what you found out? You mentioned earlier, rent, is that a really big challenge just to be able to have a place? Yes. Well, when I aged out of the system, it was 18, so my birthday happened to move into an emergency foster home. I was just placed there temporary and I wasn't supposed to stay there as long as I have, which is three years now. So they become like my family, they love me as their own daughter, but besides that, I started working and so they required me to pay rent. It's not that much, so I pay 460, so 460 for my phone, that's not expensive at all compared to where I would have to pay elsewhere. So that I don't mind, but rent, going to school, so I had two jobs, two part-time jobs at the time, that was hard. But now I have a better job, so it's okay. I can afford to kind of not so much live paycheck to paycheck because it's a better-paying job. What from the program has been the most helpful for you, what has been, how have the people and how has the program helped you along, and not just red-wise, but looking forward to your future, looking at things like jobs and maybe places to live on your own? I would say hands-down case manager. My case manager meant a lot, and she still means a lot. She's so helpful, so kind, and she has been with me for four years, so she knows me, she knows how I work, and she knows how to influence me, and she's always been there for me until now, but the case managers, they're a part of your life, they're a big part, yeah. And what do you think of all your experiences there? It's your case manager that really helped you out. Any other parts of the program or any resources that they gave you? Oh, yes, so they have the higher ed, that was what she was saying, the money that they give the parents initially, it goes back to you, so I don't know if I'm allowed to say that's lumped the money. Oh, it was $5.76, but now it's $5.29. Now it's $6.76, okay, so that helps a lot with, so that was my money for rent, so I didn't have to pay for my paycheck. The financial resources, the scholarships that they have, they have geared towards fossil use, and you can use that. I did commandment health scholarships. I never had to use the ETV because I didn't need it. And what is that? The ETV stands for educational training voucher, that's actually some federal money that's given to the state to give out almost like a scholarship, but it's need space. So once they've provided all their financial information, how much expenses they have for school and housing, and then how much they have coming in in scholarships and the aid money that comes from their board payment, then if there is a deficit, they can apply for this money up to $5,000 a year to assist with the rest of the super, yes. Scholarships, so really participants have that resource to get higher education for vocational education. Correct. How do they respond to that? They're always happy to get whatever kind of resources they can get, and we do a lot of work helping them find all the different scholarships and the things that they're eligible for, and a lot of things they may have not known about even. So she mentioned the higher education board payment, so the Imul Caco only goes till their 21st birthday. In addition to that, they have five years of something called the higher education board allowance, and that is basically the same thing, the stipend that comes from the state, the foster board stipend, that they can get if they're in a higher education program or vocational training program. So at that point, that drops off the benefit for the youth that are just in the workforce or in employment readiness classes. They do have to be in a higher learning or vocational program for that, but that's five years, so they could essentially get three years of benefits at Imul Caco and then five more available to help support themselves, so a total of eight years possibly if they were doing college. So really getting a really good start to either a career or a college matriculation program if they desire, but it has to be, the desire has to be there. I understand that like you mentioned, having that counselor with you, your case worker with you pushing you along, that's a really important part of the transition process, correct? Yeah, yeah. Through school, like I've always been good with school, but she was there emotionally a lot and just guidance. She gave me advice through like life, a lot of life lessons actually, and she was there with me through the different jobs I went through, the different homes. Yeah, an overall support system in one person. And some stability and some familiar faces along the way. Oh yeah, she was working for four years. And one of the other parts of their job is the skill building. So on top of just helping them make sure that they're stable in their housing and school is skill building. We help them learn the things that they'll need, money management, sexual health, general health. There's a lot of how to cook if they need to learn how to cook. Nutrition and learning how to do their grocery shopping. All the things that you might teach your own children and foster children, they may be in one home and get a lot of good, stable education. Some of them bounce around from home to home for years and they don't have the opportunity for somebody really to invest in in making sure they know how to write a check or address an envelope or fill out a job application. So these are all the things that we help them with. Is that more challenging when you're dealing with the transitioning youth who have been in more than one foster home? Definitely. And a lot of times it really has to do with the trauma that they come in with that most people end up in the foster care system because of some kind of a trauma history. So for the most part, and then being in foster care itself can be a little traumatizing, you know, like you mentioned, moving home to home is not an easy thing for any child. Going to live with a perfect stranger, you can imagine, nobody would want to have to do that. Let's talk a little bit more. We're gonna take a little break, but right now we are talking about youth transitioning from foster care, and we're taking a short break so you can learn more about the programs and people at Think Tech High. It's me, Angus McTech, wishing you, welcome and join us to see us on Hibachi Talk on Think Tech Hawaii. To all my co-hosts, go to the tech side and enter the security guy every Friday from 1300 to 1345. We look forward to see you. We'll talk tech and we'll have some weeb of fun. And remember, let your wing gang free. We're area B, hello. Hi, I'm Donna Blanchard. I'm the host of Center Stage, which is on Wednesdays at two o'clock here on Think Tech. On Center Stage, I talk with artists about not only what they do and how they do it, but the meat of the conversation for me is why they do it, why we go through this. A lot of us are not making our livings doing this and a lot of us would do this with our last dying breath if we had that choice. And that's what I love to talk to people about. I hope you enjoy watching it and I hope you get inspired because there's an artist inside you too. Join us on Center Stage at two o'clock on Wednesdays. Bye. Welcome back to Aloha United We Stand. I'm your host, Chris Aguinaldo. And we are talking with Michelle Kinamaka, who is the program coordinator for the Independent Living Program and Imua Kako at Hale Kippa. And we're also talking to Des who participated in the transition program. We're talking about foster youth who are transitioning to adulthood and the challenges they face and the resources that are available to help them become members of society, workers, college students, and we're picking up the conversation with Michelle. Thank you. Now, before the break, we're talking about, again, challenges to foster children sometimes when they are in multiple homes. Is that a common situation here in Hawaii? Very common. Why would that happen? Some of it's just that a lot of times the youth is really not in a place to be stable because of the situations that have gone on in their life and frequently they'll run away or not be a good fit for a home. And a lot of times it's really not about the home or the foster parents but about the youth really, the stuff that's going on inside of them that they're just really not able to remain stable. And the challenge too is to just find that environment where the child, the youth can nurture, thrive, or just feel safe. Yes. And I'll tell you, there's always a shortage of really good foster homes in Hawaii, I'm sure, all over the country that we can always use more people that are willing to open their homes that they have a lot of love to offer and support for children. Now what kind of person is the ideal foster parent, parents, plural, that would be appropriate or would be needed when you say there's a shortage? What kind of people are needed? Well, I know that they need people who are willing to take teenagers. A lot of people want to foster the cute little babies. It's harder to get people who want to deal with some of the issues that come along with parenting a teen. So you were a teenager, Jen, when you entered this, so it's far more difficult? Yes. That's what I heard too. Oh, but you turned out to be lucky, right? I've been blessed with the support and the people that have been placed in my life. I feel like being a foster child, I have been blessed in that area. And I realize that now, there's so many people and children who have had not the support that they need and that's a big deal. So like Michelle said, those who are willing to welcome a teenager in their lives. You need somebody who really cares for starters. They're not going to make money off of it. It's meant the money that they're given is meant to support the child. So it's somebody with a big heart and a lot of patience. So like any monetary amounts that we've mentioned, it's all into support the children who are participating. Correct. So they have to go in thinking more of a family rather than- Correct. Because you want to help. You want to help. And it sounds like you got the people that you need it does. What else would the ideal foster parents be like? You know, I don't know if you can even say that there is an ideal, because it can be anybody. Anybody who's willing to support and help a child and be a parent. And they don't even have to have parenting experience. We have people over the years that have fostered that have never had kids of their own. Some of the greatest homes are the ones who maybe can't have kids of their own and open up their home to foster kids. And you mentioned earlier things like cooking, writing a check, really basically learning to be in a home. All these home skills. Just having a life and picking that up from someone who's living a life. Right. And you folks helped supplement that by making the connections and giving resources. Yes, that is correct. We had mentioned a little bit earlier about opportunities such as funding education. How about helping them find housing or a home? Housing is a big part of what we do. Hands down, for youth who've aged out, housing is the most crucial issue. If you don't have stable housing, you're not gonna make it to that job or make it to school every day or be able to get your homework done at night if you're trying to figure out where you're gonna sleep. And we do have youth who end up homeless. It is a big issue. But we have a lot of resources to help them within Holly Keepa and some of the stuff that we're doing in the community. We have everything from a supervised home where like a group home style where they can live with a resident advisor living there at night that can house up to four young women that have aged out of care. We have a couple of apartments that we're just now bringing online that will be where they can live without that supervision just for roommates at a really affordable rate. That's the key thing is the affordable part for them. Are these your own apartments? These are, it's two properties that Holly Keepa owns that we've used for other things in the past and they're not being used for anything right now. So one is an apartment that will house four girls basically renting a room and the cost they'll pay will be just to cover the cost of maintaining the keeping the house open basically. In that group home that I mentioned, they only pay a percentage of their income that goes towards a mandatory savings. They pay no rent in that program. And that's really hounds on. There's a case manager and a resident advisor that are in there teaching them skills in the home and they're required to be working or going to school. We also have a set of apartments downtown that's a collaboration with one of the buildings downtown that has affordable rates that we lease three units from that building that we turn around and sublet to our youth. And so they pay the full rent. It's an affordable rent of 665 for a one bedroom which sounds to the general population like really affordable for most of our youth if they have only income might be that 676 then and maybe a little bit of scholarship money then that's gonna be a little harder to manage. We also have a program with, it's a HUD based program with Section 8. This is Housing and Urban Development, right? Correct, Housing and Urban Development. It's with the City and County Section 8 office. Most people who know about Section 8 know that Section 8 wait list was closed for about 10 years. They've recently opened it up a couple of times to kind of do a lottery to get back on their wait list. But there's a program called the Family Unification Program. This is a nationwide program, but only in selects communities. So Honolulu or Oahu is one of those communities. And so youth who've aged out of the foster care system can have immediate access to Section 8. All they do is they come to us, we fill out the application, we turn it in and they go through the process, getting approved basically and get their voucher and go find a place to live. So, and they can do that up until they recently expanded that, they have until they're 24 to apply for that program even. So, and it's time limited. It's not like lifetime Section 8, but it is for up to three years they can get that benefit of Section 8 voucher to live in the community on their own. And basically paying rent that's based on 30% of their income. So the Section 8 that, like you've mentioned, it is living on their own in the community. Correct. But previously you were speaking about, there would be roommates living together, they contribute a portion to the rent. What sort of responsibilities or what are the things that they must do or practice while they are living together in those apartments? Well, we would require them, of course, to have some kind of income. So a job or something that has income, they're expected to be either an employment or a school program of some kind or training program. And, but within the house, it's really gonna be just like any roommates. If you got a bunch of friends together and we're gonna rent a house or something, you know, to go to Manoa or wherever that they'll be living with each other. They'll just have a little extra support from us. They will still have case management services that come along. They all will be either in our program or one of a couple of other Holly Keepa programs and will still be in there kind of playing, you know, a little oversight, kind of like a landlord that's a little more in their business than a normal landlord might be. Okay, so making sure that they are, they actually have food around, paying the utilities. Yeah, they'll provide all their own food. Really, they just gotta pay their rent to us. We're paying the utilities and providing internet and, you know, everything else is kind of on their own. So the cleaning, you know, they'll have to set up some kind of a cleaning schedule and there won't be a curfew. Some of our other programs where they're living with the staff supervise their is curfew. So that's one of the things they don't tend to like when as they get older, they don't, you know, they'd rather have their freedom. So. Okay, but freedom comes with paying your rent on time. Right, right. Cooking, having a job, going to school. And that'll be available. Some youth who've already been with us and demonstrated some responsibility. So generally we won't be looking at youth who are right aging out at 18, moving straight into that apartment. We'll be looking for some of the youth who've shown a little bit more responsibility and the ability to live somewhere and per, you know, show some independence and responsibility. But in this case, are you still with your foster parents? Or are you? No, so I had to move out. Okay. It's a long story. Okay. But were they helpful during that transition process for you? My foster parents, or? Both of them. Oh, yeah. Yeah, like I lived with them for three years, but I guess, I don't live on my own right now. I live with a friend slash auntie. So, I mean, they were helpful, yeah. But still the same sort of thing, making sure that bills are paid on time, making sure that everybody has, contributes, has food. It's still learning and still transitioning into independent living, right? Yeah, very much. Now, how would we get more information and how can people in the community help, Michelle? Now, any foster youth who wants information about things that are available to them in foster care can go to a website called ShakaTown.com, just like a, you know, spelled like Shaka with word town on the end, all one word. And that's actually a state-run website, but they can sign up for an account there as a current foster youth or a former foster youth. And there's information on there about events and things like that. It also has contact. You can find my information on there. If you find a contact us for Oahu, you would find ours, so. And if we go to the Halekeva website, can we find more information there? Yes, there is a section, look for the programs and you would be able to find independent living there. What's that website? For our viewers? So, Halekeva.org. And you can find more information on everything that we've talked about. Correct. And youth can refer themselves. If they're over 18 already, then we don't need consent for many guardians. So, they can at that point, if they need assistance and they're not in our program, they can refer themselves. And how about regular community members? What would, how can they help? Any volunteers or any sort of events coming up? Of course, money is always good. They can make donations directly to Halekeva or through United Way. But there's also, we have sometimes community donations of things that they could use when they're moving out to their first apartment. We are always looking for landlords who are willing to rent to our youth, especially for our section eight programs. If you're a landlord that's willing to take a chance on a young kid that might otherwise, maybe not even have the best credit built up or anything, that's always helpful as well. Anything else that you'd like to share with our viewers today? Any last thoughts? I think we've kind of said a lot. So, thank you. Thank you. I've been speaking for the last 30 minutes with Michelle Kinamaka, the program coordinator for the Independent Living Program and Imua Kako at Halekeva. And Dez, thank you so much for sharing your story too. We really appreciate that. And again, if you wanna learn more, please check out the website. And I'll put that on my Twitter. I'll also quote Think Tech Hawaii's Twitter. We'll put this information up and for all of you who are watching, thank you very much for watching Aloha United We Stand. Take care of yourselves and tune in to Think Tech Hawaii.