Children's Rights Litigation

    Hawaii

    Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i

    924 Bethel Street
    Honolulu, HI  96813
    Telephone:    1-800-499-4302
    Website:         https://www.legalaidhawaii.org/

    The Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i is a public interest, non-profit law firm dedicated to achieving fairness and justice through legal advocacy, outreach, and education for those in need.  Established in 1950, Legal Aid has 11 offices statewide and over 100 staff members dedicated to achieving Legal Aid's vision of ​"Building a Just Society."

    The Legal Aid Society of Hawai’i provides legal representation to children as court appointed Guardians ad litem in child welfare cases as well as in guardianships and child custody cases. They do use pro bono lawyers in their representation of children.

    Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawaii

    2515 Dole Street
    Honolulu, Hawaii 96822
    Phone:             (808) 688-3313
    Website:          http://www.mlpchawaii.org

    The Medical-Legal Partnership For Children In Hawai'i (MLPC) is a collaboration between the William S. Richardson School Of Law (University Of Hawai'i At Mānoa) And Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (KKV), a community health center. The partnership, which began in 2009, seeks to address and improve the social determinants of health that impact child and family well-being.

    MLPC lawyers and doctors have worked on-site at KKV to provide direct legal services to families. MLPC attorneys with law students often meet with families right in the exam room while children wait for their vaccinations and booster shots. MLPC has reached hundreds more through "Know Your Rights" outreach and educational workshops.

    MLPC also partners with the communities we serve to identify and address systemic advocacy and health policy issues. This includes working with the Micronesian community to advocate for access to federally-funded healthcare and collaborating with immigrant families, civil rights attorneys, and other advocates to ensure language access rights. The project also trains UH law and other graduate students in this model of direct service and public health policy issues, developing a robust curriculum alongside other UH schools and departments.

    Hawai’i Appleseed Center

    733 Bishop Street, Suite 1180
    Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
    Telephone:     (808) 587-7605
    Email:               info@hiappleseed.org
    Website:          https://hiappleseed.org/

    Hawai’i Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice was created to advocate on behalf of low-income individuals and families in Hawai’i on civil legal issues of statewide importance and to complement the assistance provided by existing legal service providers in the state. The center works on education issues, including access to education and assisting English language learners, and on foster care issues, including adequacy of foster care payments.