Jan Dill Receives Angels In Adoption Award November 18, 2015

Jan Dill, President of Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF), received the Angels in Adoption recognition, an award from a program hosted by the Congressional Coalition of Adoption Institute. Each year, honorees of this award are selected based on how they have made extraordinary contributions on behalf of children in need of families.

Nine years ago, when Dill was approached by the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services (DHS) to collaborate on foster care, he realized that foster care was an integral part of the Hawaiian culture (hānai). “I remember my mother letting people in need stay with us until they were able to leave, and I did the same with my children and their friends,” said Dill. Because majority of the children in foster care are Hawaiian, Dill was motivated to look at ways to create transformational change within Child Welfare Services (CWS).

Since PIDF started working with DHS, their program, Hui Ho‘omalu, has worked with over 17,000 families in the foster care system. In 2015, PIDF served over 11,500 people and since its inception, it has served over 55,000 people, managing over $90M in grants. Hui Ho‘omalu is a program that specializes in recruiting and training individuals to become resource caregivers for foster youth living in Hawaii. The Hui Ho‘omalu staff focuses on providing training on Hawaiian culture, values and protocol while bridging DHS and the Hawaiian Community by assisting in building trusting relationships with communities, community leaders, and other organizations; connections that support the direction and mission of the program, giving relatives priority in child placement.

Although Dill was unable to receive the award (in person) at the Annual Angels in Adoption Gala in Washington D.C., he was surprised when U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono paid him an unexpected visit to present him with his Angel in Adoption award as well as a Special Congressional Recognition certificate.