Training and Employment of Native Hawaiians as Certified Peer Specialists

Pua Foundation will improve supports for Native Hawaiians to stay out of the child welfare and criminal justice systems by employing Native Hawaiians with lived experience in the community as Hawai’i Certified Peer Specialists (HCPS). Currently, Native Hawaiians make up 45% of children separate from their parents, 44% of women, and 39% of youth incarcerated, yet Native Hawaiians are only 20% of the state population. To implement this project, Pu’a Foundation will train Native Hawaiians with lived experience, the Pu’a Foundation’s unique Hawaiian culture and valuesbased curriculum as peer specialists and then place them into internships. Following the internship, candidates will obtain their credentials as a HCPS from the Hawai’i Department of Health and work as Peer Specialists supporting Native Hawaiian individuals and families seeking positive resolution with child reunification and community re-entry. This project aims to break the multi-generational cycle of Native Hawaiian entering the foster care and prison systems.