(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 until the court’s jurisdiction is terminated unless the child is in the permanent custody of the department or an authorized agency. If the child is in the permanent custody of the department or an authorized agency, the court shall conduct a permanency hearing at intervals of no longer than six months until the court’s jurisdiction is terminated. The court may set a case for a periodic review hearing upon the motion of a party at any time, if the court deems the hearing to be in the best interests of the child.

Have a question?
Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-30

  • Authorized agency: means the department, other public agency, or a person or organization that is licensed by the department or approved by the court to receive children for control, care, maintenance, or placement. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Case plan: means the combined safe family home factors and the service plan or permanent plan. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Child: means a person who is born alive and is less than eighteen years of age. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Court: means one of the family courts established pursuant to chapter 571. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Date of entry into foster care: means the date a child was first placed in foster custody by the court or sixty days after the child's actual removal from the home, whichever is earlier. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Department: means the department of human services and its authorized representatives. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Family: means each legal parent of a child; the birthing parent, unless the child has been legally adopted; the concerned non-birthing parent as provided in section 578-2(a)(5), unless the child has been legally adopted; each parent's spouse or former spouse; each sibling or person related by blood or marriage; each person residing in the dwelling unit; and any other person or legal entity with:

    (1) Legal or physical custody or guardianship of the child, or
    (2) Responsibility for the child's care. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Family home: means the home of the child's legal custodian. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Family supervision: means the legal status in which a child's legal custodian is willing and able, with the assistance of a service plan, to provide the child with a safe family home. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Foster care: means continuous twenty-four-hour care and supportive services provided for a child by an authorized agency or the court, including, the care, supervision, guidance, and rearing of a child by a resource family. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Foster custody: means the legal status created when the department places a child outside of the family home with the agreement of the legal custodian or pursuant to court order, after the court has determined that the child's family is not presently willing and able to provide the child with a safe family home, even with the assistance of a service plan. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Harm: means damage or injury to a child's physical or psychological health or welfare, where:

    (1) The child exhibits evidence of injury, including, but not limited to:
    (A) Substantial or multiple skin bruising;
    (B) Substantial external or internal bleeding;
    (C) Burn or burns;
    (D) Malnutrition;
    (E) Failure to thrive;
    (F) Soft tissue swelling;
    (G) Extreme pain;
    (H) Extreme mental distress;
    (I) Gross degradation;
    (J) Poisoning;
    (K) Fracture of any bone;
    (L) Subdural hematoma; or
    (M) Death;

    and the injury is not justifiably explained, or the history given concerning the condition or death is not consistent with the degree or type of the condition or death, or there is evidence that the condition or death may not be the result of an accident;

    (2) The child has been the victim of sexual contact or conduct, including sexual assault; sodomy; molestation; sexual fondling; incest; prostitution; obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depiction; or other similar forms of sexual exploitation, including but not limited to acts that constitute an offense pursuant to section 7121202(1)(b);
    (3) The child's psychological well-being has been injured as evidenced by a substantial impairment in the child's ability to function;
    (4) The child is not provided in a timely manner with adequate food; clothing; shelter; supervision; or psychological, physical, or medical care;
    (5) The child is provided with dangerous, harmful, or detrimental drugs as defined in section 712-1240, except when a child's family administers drugs to the child as directed or prescribed by a practitioner as defined in section 712-1240; or
    (6) The child has been the victim of labor trafficking under chapter 707. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Party: means an authorized agency; a child who is subject to a proceeding under this chapter; the child's parents and guardian ad litem; any other person who is alleged in the petition or who is subsequently found at any child protective proceeding to be encouraging, causing, or contributing to the acts or conditions that brought the child within the scope of this chapter; and may include any other person, including the child's current foster parent or current resource family, if the court finds that such person's participation is in the best interest of the child; provided that the court may limit a party's right to participate in any child protective proceeding if the court deems such limitation of such party's participation to be consistent with the best interests of the child and such party is not a family member who is required to be summoned pursuant to § 587A-13, except as otherwise provided in this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Permanent custody: means the legal status created by order of the court after the termination of parental rights as set forth in this chapter. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Safe family home factors: means a list of criteria that must be considered in determining whether a parent is able to provide a safe family home as set out herein in § 587A-7. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Service plan: means a specific, comprehensive written plan prepared by an authorized agency pursuant to § 587A-27. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
(b) At each periodic review hearing, the court shall review the status of the case to determine whether the child is receiving appropriate services and care, whether the case plan is being properly implemented, and whether the department’s or authorized agency’s activities are directed toward a permanent placement for the child. At the hearing, the court shall:

(1) Determine whether the child is safe and enter orders:

(A) That the child be placed in foster custody if the court finds that the child’s remaining in the family home is contrary to the welfare of the child and the child’s parents are not willing and able to provide a safe family home for the child, even with the assistance of a service plan;
(B) That the child be placed in family supervision if the court finds that the child’s parents are willing and able to provide the child with a safe family home with the assistance of a service plan; or
(C) To terminate jurisdiction if the court finds that the child’s parents are willing and able to provide the child with a safe family home without the assistance of a service plan;
(2) Determine the continued need for and appropriateness of the out-of-home placement;
(3) Determine the extent to which each party has complied with the case plan and the family’s progress in making their home safe for the child;
(4) Determine the family’s progress in resolving the problems that caused the child harm or to be threatened with harm and, if applicable, the necessity for continued out-of-home placement of the child;
(5) Project a likely date for:

(A) The child’s return to a safe family home; or
(B) The child’s permanent placement out of the family home in the following order of preference:

(i) Adoption;
(ii) Legal guardianship; or
(iii) Other permanent out-of-home placement;
(6) Evaluate visitation arrangements; and
(7) Issue such further or other appropriate orders as it deems to be in the best interests of the child.
(c) If the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the department for an aggregate of fifteen out of the most recent twenty-two months from the date of entry into foster care, the department shall file a motion to terminate parental rights, unless:

(1) The department has documented in the safe family home factors or other written report submitted to the court a compelling reason why it is not in the best interest of the child to file a motion; or
(2) The department has not provided to the family of the child, consistent with the time period required in the service plan, such services as the department deems necessary for the safe return of the child to the family home.
(d) Nothing in this section shall prevent the department from filing a motion to terminate parental rights if the department determines that the criteria for terminating parental rights are present.