Examining Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare System and the Overrepresentation of Native Hawaiian Children and Families

The Hawaiʻi Advisory Committee (Committee) to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (Commission) adopted a proposal to undertake a study of Hawaiʻi’s child welfare system—specifically, the overrepresentation of Native Hawaiian children and families within the system. The focus of the Committee’s inquiry was to examine whether racial disparities exist within Hawaiʻi’s child welfare system, particularly Native Hawaiian children and families, and the extent to which discrimination or bias contributes to this issue.