BEST, "Being Empowered and Safe Together," will use the money to expand programs for reintegrating inmates back into the community. Its plans include more family reunification programs, with an increase in activities that will allow inmate clients to spend time with loved ones.

The OHA grant will support activities involving Hawaiian cultural practices, such as working in the taro fields or paddling a canoe, said Carrie Ann Shirota, BEST program director.

"One central portion of the program will be family days devoted to reforestation ... It will teach the important lesson that growing a healthy forest is like growing a healthy family. Both require a lot of time and attentive effort," said Shirota.

Given that Native Hawaiians are disproportionately represented in the prison population, she said, programs that incorporate Hawaiian culture are needed to increase the reintegration of those inmates into their communities.

Children of inmates are six times more likely than others to be incarcerated, Shirota said. BEST, she added, seeks to break the cycle by providing reintegration services.

For information about the program, call 249-2990.