Hawai‘i Youth Services Network
Providing Leadership
Encouraging Collaboration
Creating Partnerships
Hawaii Children & Youth Summit
For the past 26 years the State of Hawaii has been proudly holding the annual Hawaii Children and Youth Summit; a day of education, advocacy, and hands on experience with legislative action. This year the Hawaii Youth Services Network is proud to once again be serving as the coordinating partner for the event and has put together an amazing team to put on an incredible summit.
The 2024 Hawaii Children and Youth Summit will be held on Thursday, October 10, 2024 (the Thursday of Fall Break) times are TBA and includes complimentary pastries and beverages in the morning as well as a full lunch. For more information visit https://www.hawaiicys.org/
What is the Hawaii Children and Youth Summit? The Hawaii Children and Youth Summit is a summit open to all youth in the State of Hawaii to discuss issues of importance to themselves and their peers, as well as potential solutions to these issues or actions which can be taken to address them. The summit opens with a panel discussion with a brief statement on each of the subject areas to be discussed that day by youth leaders in each topic. This is followed by breakout sessions in which youth spend time discussing one of the day's topics in depth and suggesting legislative action that may be taken to address the concerns raised related to the topic. This is followed by a presentation to all summit participants of the suggestions to come out of each breakout session and a vote by summit participants on the highest priority suggestions of the day which are then distributed to the members of the State of Hawaii Legislature's Keiki Caucus.
Previous Children and Youth Summit recommendations have led directly to legislative action based on the recommendations of youth participants!
The Hawaii Children and Youth Summit is a free event, however space is limited, so interested youth are encouraged to register as quickly as possible.
Are you a youth from a neighbor island who would like to participate? NO PROBLEM!! Hawaii Youth Services Network has a limited number of inter-island airfare scholarships available to youth from the neighbor islands to participate in the event. Remember though, youth traveling from neighbor islands do need to have adult supervision, however several of our partner organizations are also willing to assist by including individuals unable to secure chaperones in their groups. Please let us know if you would like to be put in touch with one of these organizations from your island.
Homelessness is an epidemic across the nation. Youth homelessness and runaways are a particularly troubling issue here in Hawaii as their are few services for homeless and runaway youth, and an ever increasing risk to the youth on the streets due to the existing crystal methamphetamine crisis, the growing opioid epidemic, and increasing gang activity throughout the State of Hawaii.
The Runaway & Homeless Youth Collaboration is a collaborative project funded by the Hawaii Youth Services Network by grants from the State and Federal government as well as private funding sources in order to provide outreach and case management services, emergency shelter to homeless and runaway youth, and transitional living services to help get youth into secure housing and off the street.
Current partner organizations providing services as a part of this collaboration include:
Coalition for a Drug Free Hawaii
Hale Kipa
Hale ‘Opio Kauai
Maui Youth and Family Services
The Salvation Army Family Intervention Services
Underage pregnancy is an enormous problem, particularly in more rural communities. For several years the Hawaii Youth Services Network has partnered with the Northern Mariana Islands' Public School System in order to provide comprehensive sexual health education in order to reduce teen sexual activity as well as the number of teen pregnancies.
This program is implemented through school-based pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection prevention education, after-school and summer program for middle school students, encouragement of discussions with adults regarding sexual health, and youth leadership summits.
AS A RESULT OF THIS PARTNERSHIP
WE HAVE SEEN
Runaway & Homeless Youth Collaboration
Pacific Pregnancy Partnership
"We knew it was young, but to actually get the data to affirm it, was 'Wow, this is a real issue,'" Kent Anderson, chief high-risk services officer at Waikiki Health, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser about the 14-year-old average. Hawaii is the worst state for per capita homelessness in the country, and ties with California for the second-highest percentage of unsheltered homeless youths, according to data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. 51 of every 10,000 Hawaiians are homeless.
Hawaii Inter-agency State Youth Network of Care
In 2017 the Hawaii Youth Services Network was proud to establish the Hawaii Inter-agency State Youth Network of Care (HISYNC). This is a network of various state agencies and departments, as well as youth serving organizations working together to advocate for youth. The mission of HISYNC includes:
Continuous review and analysis to identify areas for system improvement
Recommendation of policies to address system barriers
Collaboration, coordination, and integration of services and resources
Plan joint treatment and management of specific cases
Problem solve around multi-agency challenges
Members of HYSINC include:
Department of Education
School Based Behavioral Health
Special Education
Community Children's Council
Office of Curriculum Instruction and Student Support
Department of Health
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division
Child & Adolescent Mental Health
Development Disabilities Div.
Family Health Services
Department of Human Services
Child Welfare Services
Office of Youth Services
Med Quest
Hawaii State Judiciary
Family Court
Child and Family Services
Ohana Support Services Program