Racial Disparities Vex Hawaii’s Child Welfare System. Can They Be Fixed? 0 The causes are complex, but Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander parents are far more likely to have children removed by the state.
When Nova Ifenuk moved in with her first foster care family a year ago, she felt completely out of place.
Her foster mother was white from the mainland, and Ifenuk felt she didn’t understand what it meant to be Chuukese.
“We’re Micronesian and to us it felt like she was forcing her culture on us,” said Ifenuk, who is 17 and lived there with her sister.
The home was a far cry from the group shelter, Hale Kipa, where she and her siblings stayed after being removed from their home when their father was reported for abuse.
Ifenuk hadn’t wanted to go to the group home, but had liked it more than she expected — the kids there were mostly Polynesian and Micronesian like her.
Research shows removing children from their homes, even temporarily, can cause long-term trauma. That’s one reason why child welfare systems nationally have been under increasing scrutiny for disproportionately taking away children from Black and Native families, which can sever their connections with their communities.
