Project Kealahou: improving Hawai'i's system of care for at-risk girls and young women through gender-responsive, trauma-informed care

Project Kealahou (PK) is a six-year, federally-funded program aimed at improving services and outcomes for Hawai'i's female youth who are at risk for running away, truancy, abuse, suicide, arrest and incarceration. PK builds upon two decades of sustained cross-agency efforts among the stat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hawai'i journal of medicine & public health 2014-12, Vol.73 (12), p.387-392
Main Authors: Suarez, Edward, Jackson, David S, Slavin, Lesley A, Michels, M Stanton, McGeehan, Kathleen M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Health Services - organization & administration
Case Management
Child
Child Health Services - organization & administration
Community Health Services - organization & administration
Evidence-Based Practice
Female
Hawaii
Health Promotion - organization & administration
Health Services Research
Humans
Mental Health Services - organization & administration
Outcome and Process Assessment (Health Care)
Vulnerable Populations
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Summary:Project Kealahou (PK) is a six-year, federally-funded program aimed at improving services and outcomes for Hawai'i's female youth who are at risk for running away, truancy, abuse, suicide, arrest and incarceration. PK builds upon two decades of sustained cross-agency efforts among the state's mental health, juvenile justice, education, and child welfare systems to promote system-of-care (SOC) principles of community-based, individualized, culturally and linguistically competent, family driven, youth-guided, and evidence-based services. In addition, PK emphasizes trauma-informed and gender-responsive care in serving its target population of females ages 11-18 years who have experienced psychological trauma. Results from the first four years of the implementation of PK in the Department of Health's (DOH) Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division (CAMHD) highlight the serious familial, socioeconomic, functional, and interpersonal challenges faced by the young women who receive services in Hawai'i's SOC. Despite the challenges faced by PK youth and their families, preliminary results of the evaluation of PK show significant improvements across multiple clinical and functional domains of service recipients. A financial analysis indicates that these outcomes were obtained with a minimal overall increase in costs when compared to standard care alone. Overall, these results suggest that PK may offer a cost effective way to improve access, care, and outcomes for at-risk youth and their families in Hawai'i.
ISSN:2165-8242