Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 27, Number 5, 1 Mei 2010 — How DHS' proposed reorganization would impact Native Hawaiians [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

How DHS' proposed reorganization would impact Native Hawaiians

By Nalani Takushi and Mark Eshima The state Department of Human Services recently announced its proposed reorganization and plans to streamline the intake process for applicants seeking assistance using an automated system, quite possibly resulting in the closure of 31 statewide offices and 228 service worker layoffs.' The reorganization and proposed automated system claims to save $8 million taxpayer in spite of mueh criticism from consumers, service workers, advocates and social nonprofit organizations. A significant number of Native Hawaiians receive services provided by the Department of Human Services through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Temporary Assistance for OtherNeedy Families (TAONF), General Assistance (GA) and First to Work (FTW) programs and other social service related programs. In 2008, state records show (see pie charts): • 44 percent of TANF recipients were Native Hawaiian. TANF services include childcare support and hnaneial stability for working parents and their families; • 21 percent of TAONF recipients were Native Hawaiian. TAONF services include temporary assistance for other families in need like adults with children and immigrants; • 29 percent of General Assistance recipients were Native Hawaiian. General Assistance services include hnaneial assistance for food, clothing and shelter for single adults. Among vulnerable populations, Native Hawaiian ehildren are seldom spoken of as consumers of social services. Native Hawaiian children and youth will experience the most impact in hunger, child care and access to medical treatment and services. A greater disparity exists between Native Hawaiians and other groups when considering poverty, unemployment and childcare, and thus, Native Hawaiians stand to bear harsher impacts by the proposed layoffs. If implemented, the reorganization and subsequent layoffs may pose barriers and delays to Native Hawaiians accessing needed assistance for themselves and their families. Of significant eoneem for Native Hawaiians is the need for culturally appropriate, face-to-face contact when addressing sensitive family and personal issues, rather than an impersonal institutionalized process. Face-to-face interviews increase the likelihood of service workers correctly and expediently assessing urgent and severe situations. Paper, phone and online applications alone are inadequate in assessing immediate needs of consumers, like eviction, hospital discharge or re-entering the community from prison. Moreover, many Native Hawaiians may have limited access to a phone, fax or computer services as well as transportation from rural residences to urban service centers, and child care. Hawai'i needs a practical and functional system that will include cultural sensitivity, effectiveness and expedient processing. One way to gain insight into potential solutions would be to convene a community stakeholders meeting to allow rural consumers and service providers to provide information on the development and implementation of a comprehensive intake process. The stakeholders may identify significant barriers and propose effective processing to ensure adequate and timely approved benefits. The community stakeholders may also provide ways for social services staff to utilize culturally appropriate strategies in addressing language and cultural barriers and develop sensitive approaches when servicing Native Hawaiians and other ethnic groups. ■ 1 Retrieved April 5, 2010, from honoluluadvertiser.com Naīani Takushi is OHA's Lead Researcher for Speciaī Projects and MarkEshima is OHA's Information Coordinator.

This month, Ka Wai Ola introduces a new feature highlighting the work of OHA's Research Line of Business. Led by Director Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe, OHA's research arm compiles and gathers data to identify gaps and important issues affecting Native Hawaiians in order to better inform OHA's advocacy efforts and ensure our actions and initiatives are based on the best information available. Within Research are the three sections of Demography; Land, Culture and History; and Special Projects. In this first pieee, Special Projects spotlights the vital services the Department of Human Services provides to the Native Hawaiian community, at a time when the department has considered closing offices and layoffs.

EC0N0MIC SELFSUFFICIENCY

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Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe. -Photo:Arna Johnson