Title 31, Family

PART I. SHORT TITLE, PURPOSE, CONSTRUCTION, RIGHTS, AND DEFINITIONS [§587A-1] Short title. This chapter shall be known and cited as the Child Protective Act. [L 2010, c 135, pt of §1]

§587A-10 Relatives; foster placement. (a) The department shall provide a child's relative an application to be licensed as the child's resource family within fifteen days of the relative's request to provide foster placement for the child. The department shall issue a license onl…

§587A-11 Investigation; department powers. Upon receiving a report that a child is subject to imminent harm, has been harmed, or is subject to threatened harm, and when an assessment is required by this chapter, the department shall cause an investigation to be made as it deems t…

PART IV. COURT PROCEEDINGS, EVIDENCE, AND ORDERS [§587A-12] Petition. (a) A petition invoking the jurisdiction of the court under this chapter shall: (b) If the court determines that the child is subject to imminent harm while in the custody of the child's family, the court shall…

§587A-13 Summons and service of summons. (a) After a petition has been filed, the court shall issue a summons requiring the presence of the parents and other persons to be parties to the proceeding except the child, as follows: (b) The court may issue a summons to a parent or any…

[§587A-14] Notice of hearings; participation of resource family. (a) Notice of hearings shall be served on the parties; provided that no further notice is required for any party who defaulted or was given actual notice of a hearing while present in court. Notice of hearings shall…

[§587A-15] Duties, rights, and liability of authorized agencies. (a) If an authorized agency has family supervision, it has the following duties and rights, subject to such conditions or restrictions as the court deems to be in the best interests of a child: (b) If an authorized …

[§587A-16] Guardian ad litem. (a) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for a child to serve throughout the pendency of child protective proceedings under this chapter. (b) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for an incapacitated adult party, as set forth below: (c) A…

[§587A-17] Court-appointed attorneys. (a) The court may appoint an attorney to represent a legal parent who is indigent based on court-established guidelines. The court may also appoint an attorney to represent another indigent party based on court-established guidelines, if it i…

[§587A-18] Reports to be submitted by the department and authorized agencies. (a) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the department or other authorized agencies shall file written reports with the court: (b) The reports shall include: (c) The department or other authorized ag…

[§587A-19] Testimony by department social worker. A person employed by the department as a social worker in the area of child protective services or child welfare services shall be presumed to be qualified to testify as an expert on child protective or child welfare services. Any…

[§587A-2] Purpose; construction. This chapter creates within the jurisdiction of the family court a child protective act to make paramount the safety and health of children who have been harmed or are in life circumstances that threaten harm. Furthermore, this chapter makes provi…

[§587A-20] Inadmissibility of evidence in other state actions or proceedings. The court may order that testimony or other evidence produced by a party in a proceeding under this chapter shall be inadmissible as evidence in any other state civil or criminal action or proceeding if…

§587A-21 Admissibility of evidence; testimony by a child. (a) Any statement relating to an allegation of imminent harm, harm, or threatened harm that a child has made to any person shall be admissible as evidence. (b) For orders for protective custody or in temporary foster custo…

[§587A-22] Unavailability of specified privileges. The following privileges shall not be available to exclude evidence of imminent harm, harm, or threatened harm in any proceeding under this chapter:

[§587A-23] Effect of oral orders. Orders stated orally by the court on the record in a proceeding under this chapter shall have full force and effect from the date of the hearing until further order of the court. All oral orders shall be reduced to writing as soon as is practicab…

[§587A-24] Motions to vacate or modify prior orders brought or decided upon pursuant to rule 59, Hawaii family court rules. In considering a party's motion to vacate or modify prior orders brought or decided upon pursuant to rule 59, Hawaii family court rules, the court need not …

[§587A-25] Conduct of hearing in child protective proceedings. (a) The court shall hear child protective proceedings without a jury at a hearing separate from those for adults. (b) The general public shall be excluded from child protective proceedings. Only parties found by the c…

[§587A-26] Temporary foster custody hearing. (a) When the department assumes temporary foster custody of a child and files a petition pursuant to this chapter, the court shall conduct a temporary foster custody hearing within two days after the petition is filed, excluding Saturd…

§587A-27 Service plan. (a) The service plan shall provide: (b) Services and assistance to the family that are required by a service plan shall be presented in a manner that can be understood by and does not overwhelm the parties. (c) The court shall ensure that each term, conditi…

§587A-28 Return hearing. (a) When a petition has been filed, the court shall conduct a return hearing within fifteen days of: (b) At the return hearing, if it is established that a party required to be notified has not been served prior to the hearing, the court shall: (c) At a c…

[§587A-29] Show cause hearing. At any stage of the proceeding, the court may set a show cause hearing at which a child's parents shall have the burden of presenting evidence as to why the case should not be set for a termination of parental rights or legal guardianship hearing. […

[§587A-3.1] Rights of children in foster care. (a) The department or an authorized agency shall ensure, whenever possible, that a child in foster care will: (b) In addition to the rights established in subsection (a), a child in foster care shall have the following rights: (c) Su…

[§587A-3.5] Authority to conduct criminal history record checks without consent. When an assessment is required pursuant to this chapter, the department may conduct criminal history record checks, without consent, of an alleged perpetrator of harm or threat of harm and all adult …

§587A-30 Periodic review hearing. (a) The court shall set a periodic review hearing to be conducted no later than six months after a child's date of entry into foster care. Thereafter, the court shall conduct periodic review hearings at intervals of no longer than six months unti…

§587A-31 Permanency hearing. (a) A permanency hearing shall be conducted within twelve months of the child's date of entry into foster care or within thirty days of a judicial determination that the child is an abandoned infant or that aggravated circumstances are present. A perm…

§587A-32 Permanent plan. (a) The permanent plan shall: (b) A permanent plan prepared for a periodic review hearing or a permanency hearing shall describe:

§587A-33 Termination of parental rights hearing. (a) At a termination of parental rights hearing, the court shall determine whether there exists clear and convincing evidence that: (b) If the court determines that the criteria set forth in subsection (a) are established by clear …

§587A-34 Reinstatement of parental rights. (a) A child who is subject to an active proceeding under this chapter, the child's guardian ad litem, the child's attorney, if any, or the department, may file a motion to reinstate the terminated parental rights of the child's parents i…

[§587A-35] Retention of jurisdiction. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court may retain jurisdiction under this chapter until the full term for which any order entered expires or until the child attains nineteen years of age, whichever comes first. [L 2010, c 135…

[§587A-36] Appeal. An interested party aggrieved by any order or decree of the court under this chapter may appeal as provided in section 571-54. [L 2010, c 135, pt of §1]

PART V. MISCELLANEOUS [§587A-37] Failure to comply with terms and conditions of an order of the court. If a party fails to comply with the terms and conditions of an order issued by the court under this chapter, the court may apply the provisions of section 710-1077 and any other…

[§587A-38] Protective order. (a) After a petition has been filed with the court under this chapter, the court, upon such hearing as the court deems to be appropriate, may issue a protective order to restrain any party from contacting, threatening, or physically abusing any other …

[§587A-39] Notice and service of protective order. (a) A protective order issued pursuant to section 587A-38 shall be served either personally or by certified mail on each party to be restrained. In the case where a party was present at the hearing during which the protective ord…

§587A-4 Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: "Abandoned infant" means a child who is three years old or younger and: "Adjudication" means a finding by a court that is supported by a preponderance of the evidence that the child has …

[§587A-40] Court records. [(a)] The court shall keep a record of all child protective proceedings under this chapter. Written reports, photographs, x-rays, or other information that are submitted to the court may be made available to other appropriate persons, who are not parties…

[§587A-41] Payment for service or treatment provided to a party or for a child's care, support, or treatment. (a) Whenever a service or treatment is provided to a party, or whenever care, support, or treatment of a child is provided under this chapter, the court may order the pay…

[§587A-42] Educational, medical, dental, and recreational needs. Upon the first day of placement, a child's resource family shall have the authority, for the child placed in the resource family's care:

[§587A-43] Child protective review panel. (a) The department shall establish a child protective review panel to review each case of child abuse or neglect that leads to near fatality or death as a result of acts or omissions of the child's legal caretaker. Based upon its review, …

PART II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE §587A-5 Jurisdiction. Pursuant to section 571‑11(9), the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction:

[§587A-6] Venue. A child protective proceeding under this chapter may be filed in the county in which a child is found or resides when the petition is filed, or in the county in which a parent having legal custody of the child resides or is domiciled when the petition is filed. […

PART III. SAFE FAMILY HOME FACTORS AND PRE-PETITION PROCEDURES [§587A-7] Safe family home factors. (a) The following factors shall be fully considered when determining whether a child's family is willing and able to provide the child with a safe family home: (b) The court shall c…

[§587A-7.5] Safe family home factors; disability. The court shall not consider the disability of a parent or caregiver to be the sole factor in the court's determination made pursuant to this part. If the court makes a determination that a child's family is unable to provide a sa…

§587A-8 Protective custody by police officer. (a) A police officer shall assume protective custody of a child: (b) The department shall assume temporary foster custody of the child when a police officer has completed the transfer of protective custody of the child to the departme…

§587A-9 Temporary foster custody. (a) The department shall assume temporary foster custody of a child: (b) If the department assumes temporary foster custody of a child, the department shall: (c) Upon the request of the department and without regard to parental consent, any physi…