Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Civil Beat Series On Abusive Hawaiʻi Foster Dad Wins National Award
The Mike Berger Award is conferred by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, whose faculty judges cited the “tenacity” of Civil Beat’s reporting.
Getty Images/SanyaSM
Hawaiʻi Child Welfare Nonprofits Say It’s Too Easy To Sue Them
A bill pending in the Hawaiʻi Legislature would limit the liability of nonprofits that contract with the state. Opponents say it would also cheat children.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024
This May Be The Year For Reforming Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare System
Bills to support families at risk for intervention by Child Welfare Services and fund domestic violence training for caseworkers are still alive at the Legislature.
Hawaii News Now/2021
What Ariel Sellers’ Court Records Tell Us About The Child Welfare System
The state wanted the girl and her siblings to have a permanent home. The Kaluas were willing. But were they able?
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
New Records Detail How State Bungled ‘Lord Of The Flies’ Foster Home
Judge Kevin Morikone ordered the release of the trial exhibits in a lawsuit brought by a former foster boy who was sexually molested by his foster dad.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019
Hawaiʻi Is Doing Worse At Protecting Children, Based On A Sampling Of Cases
A recent report shows that in the last two years the child welfare system’s performance has fallen in nearly every category. The state says the numbers don’t reflect the overall health of the system.
Hawaii News Now/2021
The Foster Girl’s Bones Kept Breaking. Expert Suggested She Didn’t Feel Pain
In response to a Hawaiʻi Supreme Court decision, case files in one of Hawaiʻi’s most notorious child abuse cases were unsealed. They reveal how the state and experts ignored multiple warnings before Ariel Sellers died.
David Croxford/Civil Beat/2024
Hawaiʻi’s Child Welfare Reform Efforts Bump Up Against Budget Fears
Gov. Josh Green has imposed spending restrictions on state departments, which means new money to help fix problems at CWS will be scarce next year.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
Foster Home Abuses Were Secret For Years. A Lawsuit Exposed Them
The foster sons of John Teixeira had told almost no one about the abuse they suffered in his household. Then they started to talk.
Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2025
The Fallout: Life After Aging Out Of An Abusive Foster Home
The former foster sons of John Teixeira were left to find their way in the world. Some made it. Some did not.