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Posted April 23, 2025

All proposals due May 30, 2025

Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) provides services across the pae ʻāina of Hawaiʻi, with physical sites located on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, Molokaʻi, and Kauaʻi.

Recent organizational growth, the opening of new facilities, increased residential programming, and a sharpened focus on high-risk youth populations have revealed the need for a system-wide safety framework. While existing policies and practices provide a foundation, LT recognizes the importance of building an integrated Safety Program that:

• Aligns with emerging best practices in safety and abuse prevention,
• Is responsive to unique cultural and community dynamics,
• And supports the safety and well-being of both staff and kamaliʻi (children) in every LT environment.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) invites qualified consultants to support LT in developing and implementing a strategic, practical, and sustainable Safety Program that strengthens risk awareness, prevention, and emergency response — without compromising the warmth, openness, and healing-centered ethos that defines our work.

Safety Consultant RFP

Objective

The primary objective of this initiative is to design and implement a comprehensive, organization-wide Safety Program that ensures a safe, secure, and supportive environment for all individuals who engage with Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT), including staff, youth, caregivers, partners, and visitors. LT is a unique organization that serves vulnerable children and youth, and therefore, safety cannot be separated from trauma-informed care, cultural integrity, and relational engagement.

This Safety Program must address the following core objectives:

Enhance Physical and Emotional Safety

• Promote environments that are not only physically secure but also emotionally safe for kamaliʻi (children) and ‘ōpio (youth).
• Ensure that staff and participants feel confident and supported in responding to safety incidents, emergencies, and unpredictable behaviors, especially in high-risk or high-emotion settings.

Protect Vulnerable Populations

• Develop safeguards specifically tailored to protect the unique needs of Native Hawaiian children and youth, particularly those who may have experienced trauma, system involvement, or displacement.
• Establish clear abuse prevention standards and boundaries, including guidance on appropriate adult-youth interactions and peer-to-peer supervision protocols.

Create a Unified, Consistent Approach to Safety

• Establish a clear, organization-wide framework that standardizes safety expectations, language, and processes across all LT facilities and programs.
• Integrate safety as a core part of daily practice and organizational culture, not a separate or isolated system.

Strengthen Crisis Prevention and Incident Response

• Build staff capacity to de-escalate tense or unsafe situations and respond effectively to emergencies or unexpected guests.
• Design and practice protocols that ensure a timely and coordinated response across program, administrative, and facilities staff.

Align with LT’s Mission, Values, and Cultural Practices

• Ensure the Safety Program is not fear-based or overly punitive but instead aligned with LT’s trauma-informed, strengths-based, and culturally grounded approach.
• Develop protocols and safety practices that incorporate cultural understanding, respect for ʻāina, and Native Hawaiian values of mālama, kuleana, and aloha.

Support Continuous Learning and Risk-Based Decision-Making

• Create opportunities for staff to learn from safety incidents and near-misses through debriefing, shared learnings, and system-wide improvements.
• Empower LT leaders and staff to make informed decisions based on risk, context, and the well-being of all involved—rather than relying solely on compliance or rigid procedures.

Promote Organizational Readiness and Sustainability

• Position LT to proactively address evolving safety needs as programs expand and as new facilities (e.g., Liliʻuokalani Center) come online.
• Build internal systems, staffing capacity, and documentation that allow for long-term sustainability and adaptability of the Safety Program beyond the consultant’s engagement.

Scope of Work

The selected contractor will support Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) in designing and implementing a comprehensive Safety Program that prioritizes the safety and well-being of kamaliʻi (children and youth), employees, and visitors. The Safety Program must align with LT’s mission, core values, and culturally grounded approach, and foster a culture of proactive risk management, accountability, and continuous learning. The scope of work includes the following:

Comprehensive Safety Program Development

1. Organizational Safety Assessment

Conduct a thorough review and audit of LT’s existing safety-related policies, procedures, staffing structures, safety plans, and incident reports. This assessment should evaluate and identify strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement in the following key domains:

Child and Youth Safety

Policies and practices for youth-to-youth interactions, including:

1. Adequacy and enforcement of supervision protocols across all activities (before, during, and after program sessions)
2. Identification and control of restricted and off-limit physical spaces

Adult-Youth Engagement Standards

1. Code of Conduct and Behavior Standards focused on abuse prevention
2. Clear boundaries for adult-youth interactions (e.g., one-on-one engagement, appropriate touch)
3. Safety in animal-assisted and ʻāina-based activities - Risk mitigation practices for activities involving animals or outdoor settings
4. Kamaliʻi Safety Training - Age-appropriate training materials and practices that empower youth to understand and advocate for their own safety
5. Staff-to-Child Ratios - Evaluation of staffing levels to ensure safe and effective supervision across diverse program types and settings

Employee Safety

1. Crisis Prevention and Response - Strategies for de-escalation and managing hostile or emotionally escalated situations
2. Physical Space and Security - Protocols for addressing safety threats such as unwelcome guests, intruders, or environmental hazards and recommendations for physical improvements, signage, access control, or surveillance systems as needed
   

2. Design of a Tailored Safety Program

Based on the assessment findings, design a holistic Safety Program specific to LT’s operations, with special attention to the unique needs of LT programs such as:

• Liliʻuokalani Center (LC)
• Lydia House
• Kīhene Lehua

The Safety Program should include, at minimum:

• Policies and standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Staff and youth training plans
• Emergency response protocols
• Incident reporting and follow-up systems
• Risk assessment tools for program design and delivery
• Culturally grounded practices that integrate Native Hawaiian values and ways of being
  

3. Safety Program Implementation Support

• Provide a roadmap for program implementation, including timelines, deliverables, role and responsibilities, and success metrics.
• Develop training materials and conduct train-the-trainer sessions for key LT staff.
• Recommend integration points with existing organizational systems (e.g., HR, program development, facilities management).

4. Scenario-Based Tabletop Exercises

• Design and facilitate at least three tabletop safety exercises to simulate real-world safety incidents and test the readiness of LT staff.
• Exercises should reflect site-specific risks and scenarios relevant to:

1. Liliʻuokalani Center
2. Lydia House
3. Kīhene Lehua

• Provide written summaries and after-action reports for each exercise, including strengths, gaps, and improvement recommendations.

The final deliverables must include a written Safety Program Manual, implementation guidance, training tools, and a summary report of assessment findings and recommendations. All work must be conducted in alignment with LT’s values and in a trauma-informed, culturally respectful manner.

All proposals are due May 30, 2025.

Please see RFP document for full details. For the full RFP document, please click here:

Safety Consultant RFP Document