(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 permanency hearing shall be conducted at least every twelve months thereafter for as long as the child remains in foster care under the placement responsibility of the department or an authorized agency, or every six months thereafter if the child remains in the permanent custody of the department or an authorized agency.
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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-31

  • Abandoned infant: means a child who is three years old or younger and:

    (1) The child's parents, regardless of any incidental contact or communication with the child, have demonstrated an extreme disinterest in or lack of commitment for assuming parental responsibility for the child;
    (2) The persons with whom the child resides have not known the identity or whereabouts of the child's parents for sixty days or more, and reasonable efforts have been made to identify or locate the child's parents; or
    (3) The child's mother also falls under the provisions of paragraph (1) or (2), and the child's presumed or alleged father has failed to assert a claim or interest as a parent for sixty days or more; provided that the child's father has knowledge of the child's birth and that he is the child's presumed or alleged father. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Aggravated circumstances: means that:

    (1) The parent has murdered, or has solicited, aided, abetted, attempted, or conspired to commit the murder or voluntary manslaughter of, another child of the parent;
    (2) The parent has committed a felony assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent;
    (3) The parent's rights regarding a sibling of the child have been judicially terminated or divested;
    (4) The parent has tortured the child;
    (5) The child is an abandoned infant;
    (6) The parent has committed sexual abuse against another child of the parent; or
    (7) The parent is required, to register with a sex offender registry under section 113 (a) of the Adam Walsh Child-Protection and Safety Act of 2006, title 42 United States Code § 16913(a). See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Parent: means any legal parent of a child; the birth mother, unless the child has been legally adopted; the adjudicated, presumed, or concerned birth father of the child as provided in section 578-2(a)(5), unless the child has been legally adopted; or the legal guardians or any other legal custodians of the child. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • 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
  • Permanent plan: means a specific, comprehensive written plan prepared pursuant to § 587A-32. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
  • Resource family: means a person or family licensed by the department or another authorized agency to provide foster care services for children and can be used interchangeably with "foster parent" and "foster family". 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
  • Termination of parental rights: means the severance of parental rights. See Hawaii Revised Statutes 587A-4
(b) The court shall review the status of the case to determine whether the child is receiving appropriate services and care, that case plans are being properly implemented, and that activities are directed toward a permanent placement for the child.
(c) At each permanency hearing, the court shall make written findings pertaining to:

(1) The extent to which each party has complied with the service plan and progressed in making the home safe;
(2) Whether the current placement of the child continues to be appropriate and in the best interests of the child or if another in-state or out-of-state placement should be considered;
(3) The court’s projected timetable for reunification or, if the current placement is not expected to be permanent, placement in an adoptive home, with a legal guardian, or under the permanent custody of the department or an authorized agency;
(4) Whether the department has made reasonable efforts, in accordance with the safety and well-being of the child, to:

(A) Place siblings who have been removed from the family home with the same resource family, adoptive placement, or legal guardians; and
(B) Provide for frequent visitation or other ongoing interactions with siblings who are not living in the same household;
(5) The appropriate permanency goal for the child, including whether a change in goal is necessary;
(6) Whether the department has made reasonable efforts to finalize the permanency goal in effect for the child and a summary of those efforts;
(7) The date by which the permanency goal for the child is to be achieved;
(8) In the case of a child who has attained fourteen years of age, the services needed to assist the child with the transition from foster care to independent living; and
(9) Consultations with the child in an age-appropriate manner about the proposed plan for permanency or transition from foster care to independent living.
(d) At each permanency hearing, the court shall order:

(1) The child’s reunification with a parent or parents;
(2) The child’s continued placement in foster care, where:

(A) Reunification is expected to occur within a time frame that is consistent with the developmental needs of the child; and
(B) The safety and health of the child can be adequately safeguarded; or
(3) A permanent plan with a goal of:

(A) Placing the child for adoption and when the department will file a motion to set the matter for the termination of parental rights;
(B) Placing the child for legal guardianship if the department documents and presents to the court a compelling reason why termination of parental rights and adoption are not in the best interests of the child; or
(C) Awarding permanent custody to the department or an authorized agency, if the department documents and presents to the court a compelling reason why adoption and legal guardianship are not in the best interests of the child.
(e) At each permanency hearing where a permanent plan is ordered, the court shall make appropriate orders to ensure timely implementation of the permanent plan and to ensure that the plan is accomplished within a specified period of time.
(f) A permanency hearing may be held concurrently with a periodic review hearing.
(g) If the child has been in foster care under the responsibility of the department for a total of twelve consecutive months or 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.
(h) 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.

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