"And How Are the Children?": Carol Plummer, PhD, LCSW

“And How Are The Children”?A Report on A Research Study on the islands ofHawai`iConsuelo FoundationDr. Carol Plummer

“And How Are The Children?”Study Details1. 8 sites2. 181 participants3. Committee guided4. Local partners andassistance5. Beginning of ongoingresearch program6. Checking and recheckingwith communities7. Accountability anddistribution

“And How Are The Children”?Agreement between Kupuna andService Providers• 1. Centrality of the economy/service cutbacks• 2. Need for Place-based decision-making• 3. Drug use and homelessness• 4. Interpersonal violence, related to stress andcommunication flaws• 5. Need for strong role models for teens and preteens• 6. Particular concerns about girls and teen pregnancy

“And How Are The Children”?Themes from Kupuna andService ProvidersEconomic Distress: Lack of Resourcesand Funding• “Funds get cut and projects are incomplete.”• “There are bad vibes about funding, how community isasked to participate again when things are left undone.Trust can be lost.”• “Nothing wrong with our children, there’s a lot wrong withthe system. Our state investment has shut down from 43workers down to three workers.”

“And How Are The Children”?Themes from Kupuna andService ProvidersPlace based solutions• “It seem as though they come from an approach that theservice providers will heal these families. And I think that’sthe wrong approach. Instead of teaching them disciplines andskills or tools, whether they be Native Hawaiian skills,Aotearoa, doesn’t matter they have to heal themselves.Because how long you with a family? How long the family withthe family? Who should be healer? Who gon get the answer?You think you gon get the answer? The family get the answer.They know what’s up. They not lolo, they don’t wake up thismorning and say they gon be dysfunctional family for threedecades.”

“And How Are The Children”?Themes from Kupuna andService ProvidersDrugs and Homelessness• “And ice is a huge, huge problem, and it’s really hard to talkto people in families whose existence is kind of based on ice,with ice, so it’s really hard to talk to, and challenging.”• The basic needs aren’t met right now. Before I can say, “I gotthis resource. I can get you off the beach in two days.” Now,are you joking me? There are so many families on the beach.Everybody couch surfs. Kids are going to permanency becausepeople don’t have housing. It’s as bad as I’ve ever seen.

“And How Are The Children”?Themes from Kupuna andService ProvidersSmall community not addressingabuse and family violence• “There is only some (abuse) reported, so thereporting is low.”• “People feel helpless and powerless in the family. Itcan upset the whole family structure.”• “About sexual abuse, there are generations of it,everyone knows but no one talks about it cause it isa small community.”

“And How Are The Children”?Themes: Kupuna FocusYouth lack Respect/Negative RoleModels• “Children are in violent, abusive, neglectful environments.”• “Drug use in the homes means that there are inappropriatebehaviors and possible sexual abuse.”

“And How Are The Children”?Themes from KupunaLoss of Traditions and SpiritualGrounding• “More traditional component to the services and educationis needed.”• “The cultural piece is missing.”Throughout the dialogue, Kupuna strongly emphasized the importance of beinggrounded in a spiritual faith.

“And How Are The Children”?Service Provider ThemesService ProvisionProblems1. System flaws impair solutions2. Fears and misinformation keep peoplefrom intervening with problems3. Values clashes4. Communication and information gaps

“And How Are The Children”?Quotes from Service ProvidersSystem flaws impair solutions• “We don’t have enough programs that really go beyond the parenting class. Youcan’t send everybody to parenting class, it just goes so far. But programs thatreally help the parents to learn how to be good parents, I don’t know of anyparenting program that really does that.”•“And I think in a lot of cases we just have to work together, really strengthen ournetwork as a community in terms of being able to say, look, this is not working.These are reasons why we have to give more authority to the people here whoknow exactly what’s going on.”

“And How Are The Children”?Quotes from Service Providers Challenge # 2 pg2Fears and misinformation keep peoplefrom intervening with problems• “A lot of parents, they just don’t know how. They think what the way theydoing things, that’s how they were brought up and that’s the right way, but thesafety of the children is number one. As much as the children love their parents,but it is a concern, child abuse and neglect on the island.”• “Sexual abuse on this island is rampant. It’s the last big secret. Almost everysingle family has somebody who has been molested. And those children youcan tell. You can tell because they start using ice. They gain massive amounts ofweight, or they push themselves beyond all endurance because they got tosomehow prove they’re better than whatever’s happened to them.”

“And How Are The Children”?Quotes from Service Providers Challenge #3 ValueClashes• “I think our ability to cope with the new global culture of materialism,violence, disrespect for lots of people, is something that most ruralareas are just not well prepared for. I have seen a real, almost acatastrophic collision between values that were very evident when I firstcame here. Kupuna were listened to, instead of afraid of their childrenbecause they’re using ice. That change has been very dramatic and veryquick.”• “Somehow a parent stopped being a parent. Stopped teaching theHawaiian values, stopped teaching the value of living on an island andthe cultural aspect of it. There has been a very drug orientedgeneration. And it’s impacting the younger, 19 year olds, and 10 yearolds now and everyone’s been exposed to everything now becauseeveryone wanted a piece of the pie.”

“And How Are The Children?”Kupuna and Service ProviderRemedies:1. Expanding community based involvement inproblems should occur along with systemimprovements.2. Victims, family members, and communityneed to reclaim their communities throughbreaking the silence and taking collectiveaction to heal.3. Re-ground youth and community in spiritualand cultural values.4. Creating educational resources and buildingcommunication among generations andcommunity

“And How Are The Children”?Remedy: Culture and Kupuna• “I think number one should be our elders because kupuna,you get em on the table, before well respected. Problemwas the system never respected them so they need thePhD., those to do the service and say that this is evidencebased, whereas our kupuna, them had the answer butbecause they not PhD, the guidance and everythingpushed aside.”

“And How Are The Children”?Remedy: Culture and Kupuna“Learning the Hawaiian language was in the chants. That’swhere they were taught the disciplines to be pono and boththe disciplines of healing and making you heal yourself.”“So there’s something wise in all of that, how indigenouspeople over the planet did things in the role that thegrandparent generation played in making decisions.”

“And How Are The Children”?Remedy: Re-ground youth and community inspiritual and cultural values• “Teaching them to be a healer, teaching them what is pono first, and then decide,because if you change them you stealing their mana.”• “And it was that spiritual thing that helped him to move on in life.”• “You know where you’re kupuna went or came from, you know what you’re allabout, and now you have, you can make decisions based on that, on what it is youwant to become. So I think identity, at all levels, and maybe if we think about thosewho are in the system, that may be an education piece to them because they don’tknow, and if, because they’re in the system, it may be because that’s thedisconnect.”

“And How Are The Children”?Recommendation: Ecological Model---Societal Changes•Prioritize prevention and earlyintervention•Solicit and use community input infunding and program decisions•Develop and strengthen culturallyinformed workers AND solutions

“And How Are The Children”?Recommendation: Ecological Model---Community•Address silence, secrecy, and shamearound interpersonal violence, esp. sexualabuse•Build cultural and communityconnectedness•Provide opportunities for communitybasedhealing and education

“And How Are The Children”?Recommendation: Ecological Model---Family/Rel.•Create and implement strategies forstress reduction•Provide concrete supports for families•Focus on needs of teens and preteens

“And How Are The Children”?Recommendation: Ecological Model---Individual•Teach, reinforce, and normalizepono/respectful interactions•Extend opportunities for positivecommunity contributions•Surround youth with multiple adultsupports and role models