Page 5 - MidWeek Kauai - Aug 4 2021

Technology is more common- place now than ever before, and most children have some sort of smart device with them at all times. That ease of connectivity is great for staying in touch with loved ones, but also provides strangers with potential access, even from afar.
“Especially during the pan- demic, we heard stories from all around the country of predators contacting children through the computer or phone,” recalls
Amanda Leonard, coordinator for the state Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i.
She, along with assistant coor- dinator Kaleilani Grant, encourage parents to also protect their children from strangers in the virtual sphere.
“Some parents aren’t informed of how to even utilize social me- dia and online platforms,” Grant says. “But that is how strangers also approach children and try to connect with them.”
For resources on online safety, visit missingkids.org/netsmartz.
and after that worked at bou- tique family law firm Hartley & McGehee LLP in Kailua as an associate attorney.
continue in the work that I do. My message is to give hope.
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“My background is pri- marily in family law, which is definitely useful in this position, working parental or family abduction cases and supporting parents in crisis,” explains Leonard, a Kailua resident who graduated from Kalāheo High.
“People ask all the time, ‘How can you do this type of work? It’s so depressing be- cause of some of the stories.’ But, really, that’s what keeps us going,” she continues. “We want to prevent any hardship from happening.”
Grant started with Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i in 2018, shortly after Leonard, when the assistant coordinator po- sition opened up. As a survi- vor of the sex trafficking trade, it’s important for her to make sure no other children have to experience what she has.
The hardship she speaks of is often not thought of as common in Hawai‘i.
“People think that it can’t happen here,” Grant says. “They put it out of their minds, they think that Ha- wai‘i is excluded.”
“It’s been over a decade that I’ve been working in the anti-human trafficking field,” says Grant, who grew up in ‘Aiea and attended Lanakila Baptist School. “For myself, it is so important for me to
But that’s not necessarily true. Thankfully, stranger ab- ductions are rare in the state, but family/parent abductions are common in the 808. And that’s the message Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i wants to get out to the community: Be proactive and aware.
“As we talk about Hawai‘i, having it be our kuleana, our responsibility. For myself and Amanda, this is just who we are, looking out for the kei- ki of our state, caring for the well-being of families.”
“That’s perfectly said,” Leonard chimes in. “It’s more than a job to us. It’s really who we are and how we want to use our exper- tise and our skills for the benefit of other parents and
the benefit of children.” So, while their caseloads are crazy — there are thou- sands of reports of endan- gered runaways a year that could potentially be a “must respond” for Leonard and Grant — it’s equally as im- portant for them and Miss- ing Child Center-Hawai‘i to focus on prevention and
from running away, you can prevent them from be- ing victims of crime,” says Leonard. “Sometimes we go and speak at events; we do a lot of trainings with law en- forcement and families. We find that to be a very import- ant use of our limited time when we do have to step away from our caseload.
For more information and educational resources, visit missingkids.org.
“Yes, this can happen and it does,” Grant continues.
education.
“If you prevent a child
“This is not a law en- forcement problem — this is a community problem. We need to continually raise awareness and educate par- ents because the folks that are most able to protect kids are their own parents.”
State Department of the Attorney General’s Missing Child Center-Hawai‘i assistant coordinator Kaleilani Grant (seated) and coordinator Amanda Leonard work tirelessly to keep keiki in the community safe.
74+ Years