HONOLULU - The Waiawa Correctional Facility hosted a dedication ceremony Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, to celebrate the new ‘Ohana Visit and Resource Center, a pilot project to provide a supportive environment for children and family members of incarcerated fathers.

The center is a result of a collaboration between the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (formerly called Department of Public Safety) and the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke, DCR Director Tommy Johnson, DHS Director Ryan Yamane, Dr. Michael Champion, Senior Advisor for Mental Health and the Justice System to Governor Josh Green, M.D., Sen. Brandon Elefante, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Military Affairs, Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services and additional lawmakers, organizations and stakeholders who have long supported the pilot program were among the honored guests at the event.

The genesis of the pilot project began with the passage of two resolutions – House Concurrent Resolution 205 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 7 – which the state Legislature adopted in 2019. The resolutions called on the Department of Human Services and Department of Public Safety to create a family reunification working group and develop a plan to establish child-and-family-friendly visitation centers at all correctional facilities in Hawai’i.

In 2022, a measure that requested funding for a visitation center pilot project at Waiawa Correctional Facility passed as Act 125. The legislation appropriated $115,000 to PSD for building materials to renovate an existing structure and $305,000 to DHS to provide family reunification services as well as support programs in the community for family members of incarcerated fathers.

DHS has since awarded a contract to Keiki O Ka ‘?ina Learning Centers (KOKA) to provide programs and services at the correctional facility for the pilot program.

During the ceremony, DCR Tommy Johnson thanked the state Legislature, DHS, WCF Warden Sean Ornellas and his staff and all project supporters. “Without all of them, this would not have occurred,” Director Johnson said.

Johnson also thanked KOKA for helping to bring the project into fruition. “This initiative will help strengthen the bonds between incarcerated fathers and their children and challenge those to stay focused on what is important,” he added. “This is such a worthwhile initiative.”

“Programs such as this help reduce the stress of fathers and their children by reinforcing bonds with regular, healthy visitations that also help fathers stay focused on what is important in their lives, by focusing their attention on their children and reunification,” Johnson said.

DHS Director Ryan Yamane echoed Johnson’s sentiment, noting the program provides a nurturing environment for keiki to connect and bond with their incarcerated fathers.

“We’d like to continue to enhance these programs,” Director Yamane said. “We work together as a family to make other families do better.”

Yamane gestured toward several inmates who attended the ceremony and helped organize the event and said, “Our department stands tall with you as you guys go through life, for not only you, but for your children.”

During the ceremony, inmate Kamalei Wilbur-Delima shared his gratitude to WCF staff as well as KOKA for their unwavering support. “They have given me hope and showed me that there are people who still care for me, who are cheering me on, people who believe in me and help me believe in myself.”

He recalled a June 2024 Father’s and Keiki Day event that WCF hosted in collaboration with KOKA where he had the opportunity to hug and kiss his young son for the first time in almost three years. “It really meant a lot to me,” Wilbur-Delima said adding the quality time he spent with his son has motivated him to stay on track so he can reunite with his child and family when he reenters the community.

Photos and videos of the ceremony are available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1vExaJmt-wHy9NqD23_CxN2jrfwBRBwc1.