HAWAII CHILDREN'S ACTION NETWORK

HCAN's mission is to build a unified voice educating and advocating for Hawaiʻi's children. Our vision is for all of Hawaiʻi's children to be healthy, safe and ready to learn.

HCAN uses a multi-pronged approach to make Hawaiʻi a great place to be a kid. Our work includes:
1) Advocating for smart policies and investments in our children. We advance advocacy efforts through our sister 501(c)4 organization, Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network Speaks!
2) Building and strengthening coalitions among nonprofit organizations and individuals to plan and strategize successful solutions to children’s issues. We also conduct training on effective advocacy and systems-change. We currently lead/co-lead Hawaiʻi Early Childhood Advocacy Alliance, Hawaiʻi Working Families Coalition, Hawaiʻi Oral Health Coalition, and Hawaiʻi Children’s Trust Fund Coalition.
3) Mobilizing individuals and communities to create a strong movement for children’s issues. We administer the Hawaiʻi Parent Leadership Training Institute, an intensive leadership development program for parents and concerned community members across the state.
4) Analyzing data and research on the health and well-being of children in Hawaiʻi. We are the state partner for KIDS COUNT, a nationwide network organized by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to raise the visibility of children's issues through a non-partisan, evidence-based lens.
5) Creating strategic partnerships with businesses, philanthropic organizations, and government agencies who care about children's issues.

HCAN was founded in 1997, and has over 25 year of experience working to ensure that all children in Hawaiʻi are healthy, safe, and ready to learn. We work at the macro level to provide every child with access to quality child care and early learning programs, reduce health disparities, prevent abuse and neglect, and improve the economic stability and wellbeing of families. These challenges are complex and interconnected, and require patience and collaboration across multiple sectors to advance solutions. We know that changes to policies and systems have the potential to ensure the most vulnerable children have the support they need to thrive.

In the past five years, HCAN has grown from five employees and an operating budget of under $500,000 to 11 employees and an operating budget of $1.5M. In this period, HCAN improved its capacity and expanded its portfolio of issues and activities to address early childhood care and education, family economic security, oral health, child abuse and neglect, the civic engagement of parents and concerned community members, and child food security. HCAN will continue to advance policy priorities related to these issue areas while seizing opportunities to maximize success.