Page 4 - MidWeek Kauai - Aug 4 2021

4 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK AUGUST 4, 2021
Amanda Leonard and Kaleilani Grant, who make up the entire state Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i, are doing amazing things to keep the islands’ keiki safe.
When a child goes missing, parents and guardians should report it to the police as soon as possible — there is no waiting period. It’s also important to call Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i at 808-586-1449, as well as National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
There’s a small but mighty entity with- in the state’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division dedicated to the plight of Hawai‘i’s keiki. Its mission: to locate the thousands of children reported missing in Hawai‘i each year and recover them before something tragic happens.
tem. So effective was the multiagency opera- tion that it garnered national attention — and an accolade to boot.
Leonard adds. “This is a collective effort of local, state and federal law enforcement partners.”
Leading the valiant effort are Amanda Leonard, coordinator for the state Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Cen- ter-Hawai‘i, and assistant coordinator Kalei- lani Grant — whose exemplary work in the islands is getting noticed across the country.
“We couldn’t have done it without our part- ners,” says Grant. “Seeing the community (and) different agencies coming together to keep our community safe and keep keiki of Hawai‘i safe is just so amazing.”
While the work most definitely is a team effort, a lot falls on the shoulders of Missing Children Hawai‘i’s dynamic duo, who are the only two in their department. With so much ground to cover and so many moving parts, being able to work together is paramount.
Both were honored with the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice Child Protection Award for their efforts with Operation Shine the Light, which resulted in the recovery of five endan- gered runaway teens from the foster care sys-
The specialized criminal justice program works closely with the four county po- lice departments, Hawai‘i Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, FBI, Home- land Security, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, and the Department of Justice and its national AMBER alert program (locally, it’s the MAILE AMBER Alert) — among countless others.
“Our individual strengths contribute to this team, and we are able to have this consistent rhythm in our work to be able to balance it all,” says Grant.
“Like Kalei said, we don’t do this alone,”
Leonard got her start in the field as a vol- unteer at Children’s Justice Center of O‘ahu. After graduating from University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law in 2011, she clerked for judges at family court,