HCR22 HD1

WHEREAS, in the 2004 Regular Session, the Senate adopted Senate Resolution No. 40, S.D. 2, authorizing the Senate Committee on Human Services to convene interim hearings on the Hawaii Family Court; and

WHEREAS, the interim hearings were designed to explore ways to make the Hawaii Family Court more accessible and family oriented and focused on important issues relating to:

(1) Reducing caseloads;

(2) Limiting the long-term use of interventions such as temporary restraining orders and protective orders;

(3) Ensuring greater accountability of court-appointed personnel such as custody evaluators and guardians ad litem; and

(4) Examining ways to reduce needless expenditures of time and money in counterproductive litigation relating to child custody determinations;

and

WHEREAS, during the course of those interim hearings, four task force groups where formed and submitted their findings and recommendations to the Senate Committee on Human Services; and

WHEREAS, some of the recommendations were adopted and received legislative attention, but there are still other issues that remain unresolved; and

WHEREAS, to continue the work on the unresolved issues, in the 2006 Regular Session, the Senate and the House of Representatives adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 52, S.D. 1, (SCR 52) authorizing the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives to convene interim hearings on the use of legal interventions available to the Family Court and to establish one or more task forces to facilitate their work; and

WHEREAS, the SCR 52 Task Force (Task Force) was established for that purpose; and

WHEREAS, during the course of the recent interim hearings, four committees were formed as follows:

(1) Family Court Models Committee (Models Committee);

(2) Family Court Sunshine and Accountability Committee (Sunshine Accountability Committee);

(3) Temporary Restraining Orders Committee (TRO Committee); and

(4) The Best Interests of the Child Committee (BIC Committee);

and

WHEREAS, after hours of hard work and meetings, the four committees submitted their findings and recommendations to the Task Force and the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, which adopted many of the recommendations; and

WHEREAS, there are other issues and recommendations that the Task Force needs to study further; and

WHEREAS, the Models Committee found that:

(1) A process, known as the "Family Court Parenting Plan Model", should exist to assist parents to develop a parenting plan without and prior to Family Court intervention;

(2) Child custody matters involving domestic violence should be exempt from the process and should be screened out at any time in the process in addition to the first screening;

(3) After the initial screening for domestic violence, parents should participate in an expanded version of "Kids First" program that includes:

(A) Education about parenting after divorce;

(B) Parenting roles within one's home and across homes;

(D) An opportunity for children to provide their activities schedules;

(E) An introduction to the concept of a parenting plan; and

(F) An overview of divorce and paternity procedures;

(4) If the parents are unable to develop a parenting plan after participation in the expanded version of the "Kids First" program, parents should meet with a trained parenting plan facilitator for a series of facilitations, if necessary, to assist with their development of a parenting plan;

(5) The trained parenting plan facilitator should be able to make confidential recommendations for services to either parent at any time in the process;

(6) The process should be confidential, non-adversarial, without the presence of attorneys, and the parents should have the same trained parenting plan facilitator throughout the process;

(7) If, after participating in the process, the parents still cannot develop a parenting plan, they should proceed to Family Court with any outstanding agreed-upon issues and for resolution of the outstanding issues; and

(8) The parents should have the same judge throughout the child custody proceedings;

and

WHEREAS, with regard to the Models Committee, the Task Force needs to further:

(1) Study the level of children's involvement in the process, including the possibility of expanding services to meet children's needs in regard to the impact of a child custody dispute;

(2) Research and recommend best practices in the development of a parenting plan; and

(3) Research and recommend best practices in the training and qualifications of the trained parenting plan facilitator, including training on the issues facing both the petitioner and the respondent;

and

WHEREAS, with regard to the Sunshine Accountability Committee, the Task Force needs to further study:

(1) The education, training, and experience standards for Family Court custody evaluators;

(2) Court-appointed custody evaluator models found in other jurisdictions, such as California, to determine if any model explored would be appropriate for implementation in the Hawaii Family Courts; and

(3) Any other outstanding recommendations regarding Family Court custody evaluators;

and

WHEREAS, the TRO Committee found that:

(1) Temporary restraining orders should address the issue of minors in greater detail, most notably:

(A) A temporary restraining order should provide notice to the petitioner and respondent that at the first order to show cause hearing, the court will have authority to enter a temporary 90-day emergency order regarding any child-in-common that addresses relevant issues of child support, housing, health insurance, transportation, and visitation by the non‑custodial parent; and

(B) The temporary 90-day emergency order should not be used as evidence in subsequent legal proceedings;

(2) The ex parte petition for a temporary restraining order for protection should request a narrative of the "threats of abuse to the child," explain that "threats of abuse" include the acts of abuse described in chapter 586, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and list those examples of abuse;

(3) The ex parte petition for a temporary restraining order for protection form should be modified to request:

(A) Information on the parties' legal relationship to the child;

(B) Whether there has been agency contact and if so, it should be specified; and

and

(4) There is a need to provide better information to the Family Court judge;

and

WHEREAS, with regard to the TRO Committee, the Task Force needs to further study the issues identified by the TRO Committee; and

WHEREAS, with regard to the BIC Committee, the Task Force needs to further study the recommendations regarding a Children's Bill of Rights; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the committees with subject matter jurisdiction over human services and the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives are requested to reconvene the Task Force to further study the outstanding recommendations of the four committees that were formed to wit: Family Court Models, Family Court Sunshine and Accountability, Temporary Restraining Orders, and the Best Interests of the Child; and any other related issues; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, upon the adoption of this Concurrent Resolution, the Task Force be referred to as the Family Court Legal Interventions Task Force and cease to exist on January 1, 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force include one representative from the:

(1) Department of Human Services;

(2) Department of Health;

(3) Hawaii Association of Marriage and Family Therapists;

(4) Family Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association;

(5) National Association of Social Workers, Hawaii Chapter;

(6) Children's Rights Council of Hawaii;

(7) Hawaii Coalition for Dads;

(8) Legal Aid Society of Hawaii;

(9) Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii;

(10) Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence;

(11) Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline;

(12) Mediation Center of the Pacific;

(13) EPIC Ohana Conferencing; and

(14) Hawaii Psychological Association;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Task Force submit an interim report, including any proposed legislation, no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008, and submit a final report, including any proposed legislation, no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the:

(1) Director of Human Services;

(2) Director of Health;

(3) President of the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Association of Marriage and Family Therapists;

(4) Chair of the Family Law Section of the Hawaii State Bar Association;

(5) President of the Hawaii State Bar Association;

(6) Executive Director of the Hawaii Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers;

(7) President of the Children's Rights Council of Hawaii;

(8) President of the Hawaii Coalition for Dads;

(9) President of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii;

(10) Executive Director of Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii;

(11) Executive Director of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence;

(12) Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Clearinghouse and Legal Hotline;

(13) President of the Board of Directors of the Mediation Center of the Pacific;

(14) Director of EPIC Ohana Conferencing;

(15) President of the Hawaii Psychological Association; and

(16) Senior Judge of the Family Court of all circuits.

Report Title:

Family Court; SCR 52 Task Force

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	22
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII