The Child and Family Service (CFS) office here on Kaua‘i received a grant award from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation on Monday. A $30,000 organizational capacity-building grant will be spread out to the CFS offices here and on O‘ahu. The grant
The Child and Family Service (CFS) office here on Kaua‘i received a grant award from the Hawai‘i Community Foundation on Monday.
A $30,000 organizational capacity-building grant will be spread out to the CFS offices here and on O‘ahu. The grant provides videoconferencing hardware to the offices.
The award of the grant is the first in a three-step project which will allow CFS to incorporate videoconferencing technology into its service delivery and training at program sites statewide.
“We want to start providing more cost-effective training,” said Patti Bates, the executive director of the CFS. “With the high cost of inter-island travel, it is more difficult to provide the best quality training that our staff needs. The videoconferencing technology will allow us to give our staff effective training without the costs of flights.”
Bates goes on to add, “In the course of the three-year project, we intend on having the videoconferencing technology in all eight locations as well as the new O‘ahu office.”
In addition to the building grant, the Hawai’i Hotel Association-Kaua‘i Chapter has awarded CFS services a Kaua‘i Visitor Industry Charity Walk grant for $2,600.
This grant will be used to relocate and install playground equipment at Child and Family Service’s ‘Ele‘ele Head Start center and purchase classroom and recreational materials for eight Kaua‘i “Head Start” programs.
“We are extremely thrilled about the grant,” Bates said. “It will provide us with funds that we can really use.”
Each year, the federal government allocates $1,000,000 to the CFS which is distributed to the eight Hawai‘i locations. The CFS must match 20 percent of the annual allocation. Bates said that through the help of private contributions, the CFS is able to achieve the 20 percent match.
“We are always looking for creative ways to meet the (federal government) match,” she said. “This grant will certainly help us get to that goal.”
Head Start provides educational programs designed to meet each child’s individual needs. The children in Head Start can benefit from a comprehensive health program, promoting preventive health care and assistance in establishing a medical home.
Celebrating over 100 years of existence, the CFS is Hawai‘i’s largest and most comprehensive private human-services organization, with program sites on O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i and the Big Island.
Since 1899, the CFS has helped provide prevention, intervention and treatment for those who are most in need. The primary purpose is “strengthening families and fostering the healthy development of children.”
Services for those in need include abused children and spouses, at-risk teenagers, children diagnosed with autism, employee assistance, elder care, refugee and immigrant services, and children in need of foster home and adoption placements; a philosophy of care that focuses on client strengths; working with other agencies to provide better services for the people of Hawai‘i.
Business Editor Barry Graham can be reached at 245-3681 Ext. 251 or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
