LIHU‘E — State House Rep. Daynette “Dee” Morikawa has been selected as a fellow in the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2022 Maternal and Child Health Fellows program.
LIHU‘E — State House Rep. Daynette “Dee” Morikawa has been selected as a fellow in the National Conference of State Legislatures’ 2022 Maternal and Child Health Fellows program.
Morikawa, who represents District 16, which covers Ni’ihau, Lehua, Koloa and Waimea, was nominated by House Speaker Scott Saiki for the fellowship.
“When I applied for this program, I wanted to learn how we could develop policy to create healthier families by affording better opportunities to succeed,” Morikawa said this week. “We know policy needs to be preventive and not reactive and I hope this fellowship program will guide us.”
For the last five years, Morikawa has fostered a young girl, who has recently been reunited with her mother.
“Substance abuse and poverty cause many children to become fostered or live in a very insecure environment,” Morikawa said. “I understand how difficult this can be. I have been providing foster care for a young girl while her mother was incarcerated.”
The Maternal and Child Health Fellows program brings together about 20 legislatures nationwide for a year-long learning opportunity to focus on health policy and research related to supporting mothers before, during and after pregnancy. These connections can address children’s physical and behavioral health, according to a release.
Morikawa said that her personal experience motivates her to address these issues.
“My story may be too personal but it comes down to better education for better employment opportunities, childcare, pre-school and health care,” she said. “My decision to care for this child was not because of any relation to the individuals, but a plea from her mother to care for her daughter until she could be free to do it.”
