HR54

WHEREAS, in the 2006 Regular Session, the Senate and the House of Representatives adopted Senate Resolution No. 52, S.D. 1, 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

WHEREAS, during the course of the interim hearings, four committees were formed relating to Family Court Models, Family Court Sunshine and Accountability, Temporary Restraining Orders, and the Best Interests of the Child; and

WHEREAS, after hours of hard work and meetings, the Best Interests of the Child Committee submitted its findings and recommendations to the Committees on Human Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives, regarding the possible amendment of current child custody and visitation criteria and procedures to specify what the Family Court shall consider when determining the best interests of the child; and

WHEREAS, it was recommended that when determining what constitutes the best interests of the child under section 571‑46, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the court consider, but not be limited to:

(1) Any history of sexual or physical abuse of a child by either parent;

(2) Any history of neglect or emotional abuse of the child by either parent;

(3) The overall quality of the parent-child relationship;

(4) The parents' history of shared parenting before, during, and after their separation;

(5) A parent's new partner's contribution to the parenting of the child;

(6) The parents' affection for the child;

(7) The willingness of each parent to allow the child to maintain contact with the other parent;

(8) The parents' cooperation in developing and implementing a plan to meet the child's schedule, needs, and interests;

(9) The physical health needs of the child;

(10) The emotional needs of the child;

(11) Any fears the child has about the current family situation;

(12) The educational needs of the child;

(13) The child's affection for each parent;

(14) Preservation of assets so a parent can financially provide for the child following the issuance of the divorce decree;

(15) Each parent's support of teaching the child age‑appropriate life skills;

(16) The child's views and preferences;

(17) The child's need for relationship with sibling(s);

(18) Each parent's ability to provide an age-appropriate safe environment for the child;

(19) Each parent's willingness to allow the child to maintain family connections through family events and activities;

(20) Each parent's ability to separate the child's needs from their own;

(21) Any drug or alcohol abuse by either of the parents;

(22) The mental health and psychological adjustment of each parent;

(23) Each parent's willingness to protect the child from inter-parental conflict; and

(24) A parent's criminal history, where the parent has been convicted of or has entered a plea of no contest to crimes that would pose a threat to the child; and

WHEREAS, the Judiciary should convene a task force to consider amending current child custody and visitation criteria and procedures to specify what the Family Court shall consider when determining the best interests of the child; and

WHEREAS, the task force should consider the recommendations made by the Best Interest of the Child Committee; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Judiciary is requested to convene a task force to consider amending current child custody and visitation criteria and procedures to specify what the Family Court shall consider when determining the best interests of the child; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force should include at least one representative of the Judiciary, the legal community, a children's advocacy organization, a social work organization, a children's violence organization, an organization representing the interests of petitioners, and an organization representing the interests of respondents; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to consider the recommendations made by the Best Interest of the Child Committee formed pursuant to S.C.R. No. 52, S.D. 1 (2006); and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report, including any recommendations for legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Best Interests of the Child; Task Force

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	54
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII