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The question of how quickly the state should remove children from homes where abuse is alleged formed the central concern of this March 1998 Price of Paradise broadcast. Janice Wolf, a court-appointed attorney and guardian in family court cases and a former journalist who had covered family court for fourteen years, described the growing presence of methamphetamine—specifically the drug known as ice—in child protective services cases and argued that children's safety must take priority when indicators of harm are present. She said approximately eighty percent of her current caseload involved parental ice use. Keith Shigetomi, an attorney who represents parents in family court proceedings, agreed that clear evidence of harm requires immediate action but cautioned against removing children on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations or a social worker's gut feeling, noting that family separation is among the most serious intrusions the state can make on a person's life. He also raised concerns about the effects of social worker caseload overload on the quality of assessments presented to the court. The episode turned on the question of where the balance between child safety and parental rights should be set.
Transcript
Read or download the full transcript (.txt). Speaker labels were assigned automatically and may contain errors.
Companion newspaper commentaries
Commentaries by the guests, published in The Honolulu Advertiser around the broadcast.
