In 2005, the Law School entered into a partnership with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the First Circuit Family Court to look at ways to improve services to children and families in the child welfare system. The first summer interns were hired in the summer of 2005 to work on two initiatives. The first was to design an evaluation model for the Family Court Hoolokahi Program, and the second was to review literature and design a pre-trial hearings process for child welfare cases. Since then, the Family Court program has expanded with the development of the internship into a year-round opportunity for law students and the establishment of the Vitousek-King Fellowships for attorneys and recent graduates.
For more information about Family Court projects, or to apply for the Family Court Internship or Vitousek-King Fellowship, please contact Laurie Tochiki at lauriet@hawaii.edu.