Lei `Ilima Girls Program
Reconnecting Youth
Second Step
Girls Substance Abuse/HIV Prevention Project
Positive Choices Program
Ecstasy Prevention Project
Hawaii Girls Project (HGP)

Lei `Ilima Girls Program
CDFH has been providing Lei `Ilima, a school-based, gender-specific prevention program for girls at Ilima Intermediate School since 1994.  The program has a multi-faceted approach and offers a ½ credit class, an after-school club, a school transition program for girls, and a family strengthening component.  The ½ credit class is offered as an elective course in the regular school health curriculum during Fall and Spring semesters.  The after-school Lei `Ilima Club provide girls with an opportunity to participate in planned activities, special events and community service projects and to come together to promote positive peer relationships.  The school transition program provides girls with information and a network for healthy transition at times of high stress for adolescents, when girls in elementary school transition to middle school and girls in middle school transition to high school.  The project also includes a family component that uses the Strengthening Hawai`i Families curriculum to build on existing family relationships and offer family bonding.

Reconnecting Youth
The national model program, Reconnecting Youth (RY), is being provided by CDFH to students at James Campbell High School as part of the new "Twilight School" organized by the high school to try to retain students at risk of dropping out.  This half credit elective class gives youth the opportunity to explore and improve their school performance, drug use control, and mood management skills.  The RY program is designed to build resiliency in the lives of youth by blending a strong and supportive social environment where youth receive life skills training.  The curriculum is taught within a peer group environment where youth learn from one another as well as the instructor.

Second Step
A school-based violence prevention program is implemented in partnership with Ka`ewai Elementary School.  The curriculum teaches children to change their attitudes, reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior and seeks to increase their level of social competence.  The program has a family component to increase awareness and encourage parents to support and model positive behaviors.  With assistance from the Kamehameha School's Health, Wellness and Family Education Section, the curriculum has been adapted for Hawaii's island culture.

Girls Substance Abuse/HIV Prevention Project
This program promotes a gender-specific and culturally relevant approach for reducing/preventing substance abuse and HIV among at-risk girls.  The project has been implementing the Street Smart program, a best practice curriculum that was developed by the Center of Community Health at UCLA and adapted for girls in Hawaii's diverse ethnic populations.  Community youth-serving agencies have been partnering with the CDFH to provide the program to groups of girls and the University of Hawaii is a key partner conducting evaluation of the project and intervention.  (See Hawaii Girls Project for more information and links to gender-specific resources for girls.)

Positive Choices Program
Positive Choices is an incentive program sponsored by EWAlution to enhance the protective factors: school and community rewards for positive involvement among students at Ilima Intermediate and Campbell High.  Positive Choices serves as a way for the community and school to recognize and reinforce youth making drug-free choices, demonstrating academic achievement, and "living the values" through participating in community service and service to the school.  Youth making positive choices will be awarded with a Positive Choices card that entitles them to discounts at local businesses including restaurants, retail stores, entertainment, etc.  CDFH first established the Positive Choices program in 1999 in partnership with the Honolulu Rotary Club for several Honolulu high schools with successful participation and partnership with business, schools, and community organizations.

Ecstasy Prevention Project
A new federally funded program to implement a best practice social norms media campaign driven by a partnership among high school students, media and marketing agencies, schools, and community partners.  The project develops social norms messages and creates a youth focused media campaign to reduce and prevent ecstasy and other club drug use.  CDFH is partnering with other community agencies, media, community leaders, and a team of students to create and implement the program at Kalaheo High School.  Research has shown that students often think that illegal drugs are used by more people, and used more frequently, than they actually are.  A social norms campaign aims to reduce those misperceptions, which then alleviates some peer pressure surrounding drug use.  This exciting project provides an opportunity for students and the community to be part of an innovative prevention program that emphasizes the positive choices youth make everyday.

Hawaii Girls Project (HGP)
The HGP is a coalition of service providers who are interested in improving the quality of gender-responsive programs and services for girls in Hawaii.  The HGP hosts quarterly meetings for the purpose of learning about effective practices with girls, networking, training, and the coordination events/awareness efforts. While not a program of the CDFH, the HGP receives staff support and resources from the CDFH.  To learn more about the HGP, click here.