REPORT TITLE: 
Kinship care


DESCRIPTION:
Establishes kinship care by providing guidelines under which a
person may become a kinship provider.  (CD1)


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII                                            C.D. 1
                                                             
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________


                     A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO KINSHIP CARE.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  Chapter 346, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended
 
 2 by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to
 
 3 read as follows:
 
 4      "§346-     Kinship boarding homes.  (a)  The department
 
 5 shall develop standards relating to kinship boarding homes
 
 6 including definitions, placement standards, eligibility
 
 7 requirements, and the legal rights and responsibilities of the
 
 8 affected parties.  The placement standards and eligibility
 
 9 requirements shall be:
 
10      (1)  Apart from other foster care placement standards and
 
11           eligibility requirements; and
 
12      (2)  The same as for non-relative homes, with some
 
13           exceptions for requirements not related to safety.
 
14      (b)  The department shall develop procedures for obtaining
 
15 verifiable information regarding the criminal history of persons
 
16 who are seeking to serve as operators of kinship boarding homes
 
17 as defined in this chapter.  These procedures shall include but
 
18 not be limited to criminal history record checks.  The Hawaii
 
19 criminal justice data center may charge a reasonable fee for
 

 
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 1 criminal history record checks performed by the Federal Bureau of
 
 2 Investigation.
 
 3      (c)  Except as otherwise specified, any person who seeks to
 
 4 serve as an operator of a kinship boarding home shall meet all
 
 5 standards and requirements as established by the department and
 
 6 shall be required to provide to the department:
 
 7      (1)  A sworn statement indicating whether or not the person
 
 8           has ever been convicted of an offense for which
 
 9           incarceration is a sentencing option, and the details
 
10           thereof;
 
11      (2)  Written consent for the department to conduct a
 
12           criminal history record check as provided in subsection
 
13           (b) and to obtain other information for verification;
 
14           and
 
15      (3)  Permission to be fingerprinted for the purpose of the
 
16           Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record
 
17           check.
 
18 Information obtained pursuant to subsection (b) and this
 
19 subsection shall be used exclusively by the department for the
 
20 purpose of determining whether or not a person is suitable for
 
21 operating a kinship boarding home.  All such decisions shall be
 
22 subject to federal laws and regulations currently or hereafter in
 
23 effect.
 

 
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 1      (d)  The department may refuse to allow a person to operate
 
 2 a kinship boarding home if the person has been convicted of an
 
 3 offense for which incarceration is a sentencing option, and if
 
 4 the department finds by reason of the nature and circumstances of
 
 5 the crime that the person poses a risk to the health, safety, or
 
 6 well-being of children.  Such refusal may occur only after
 
 7 appropriate investigation, notification of results and planned
 
 8 action, and opportunity to meet and rebut the finding, all of
 
 9 which need not be conducted in accordance with chapter 91.
 
10      (e)  For the purposes of this section, "criminal history
 
11 record check" means an examination or search for evidence of an
 
12 individual's criminal history by means of:
 
13      (1)  A search of the individual's fingerprints in the
 
14           Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history record
 
15           files and, if found, an analysis and any other
 
16           information available pertaining thereto; and
 
17      (2)  A criminal history record check conducted by the Hawaii
 
18           criminal justice data center."
 
19      SECTION 2.  Section 346-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
20 amended by adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted
 
21 and to read as follows:
 
22      ""Kinship boarding home" means any boarding home in which a
 
23 child is placed with the child's consanguineous father or mother,
 

 
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 1 grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or first cousin, who
 
 2 provides care and maintenance to the related child apart from the
 
 3 child's parents or guardians on a twenty-four-hour basis for a
 
 4 fee or charge."
 
 5      SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
 6      SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on upon its approval.