SB2055 SD2

SECTION 1. Existing law allows the court to order an investigation and report concerning the care, welfare, and custody of a minor child of the parties in a contested custody case. In such a case, investigators or professional personnel attached to or assisting the court shall make investigations and reports which shall be made available to all interested parties and counsel before the hearing. This Act defines such court-appointed investigators or professional personnel as child custody evaluators, and establishes education, experience, training, methodology and certification requirements and procedures applicable to child custody evaluators. This includes establishing related responsibilities for the board of family court judges and the courts.

SECTION 2. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding six new sections to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§ ‑A Definitions.

"Board" means the board of family court judges per section 571‑5.

"Child custody evaluator" means all court-appointed investigators or professional persons directed by the court to make investigations and reports pursuant to section 571-46, excluding social workers employed by the judiciary.

"Eligible training providers" includes the administrative office of the courts and may include educational institutions, professional associations, professional continuing education groups, public or private for-profit or not-for-profit groups, court‑connected groups, and any entity that provides a course or seminar that qualifies for child custody evaluator continuing education requirements.

"Mentor" means a person who meets all the education, experience, training, and other requirements and is certified as a child custody evaluator under this chapter, and who oversees, supervises and consults for a court-appointed child custody evaluator who does not meet the experience requirements of this chapter.

§ ‑B Board and family court responsibilities. (a) On or before January 1, 2010, the board shall review, adapt, establish, and maintain statewide policies and procedures based upon the policies and procedures in use in each of the circuits that establish all education, experience, training, methodology, ethical standards, certification and other requirements for all child custody evaluators appointed pursuant to this chapter. These policies and procedures shall also include:

(1) Comprehensive standards for investigations, evaluations, and reporting, as related to child custody;

(2) The monitoring and handling of complaints against child custody evaluators and coordinating with professional licensing boards;

(3) Disqualification or decertification of child custody evaluators based upon convictions, criminal charges, relevant civil actions or complaints, or ethical violations; and

(4) An administrative appeal process for both parties and child custody evaluators, as related to the application of this chapter and established policies.

(b) After January 1, 2010, the family court shall administer procedures for certifying and decertifying child custody evaluators. The family court shall certify that child custody evaluators meet the necessary requirements of this chapter and established policies and procedures. No person may be appointed as a child custody evaluator unless certified or appointed pursuant to this chapter.

(c) The board and family court shall assess the resources required to implement and maintain this chapter and shall make findings and recommendations.

§ ‑C Child custody evaluator annual declaration. The family court shall require a child custody evaluator to declare annually under penalty of perjury:

(1) That the child custody evaluator meets all of the required education, experience, training and other requirements of this section, and if applicable, possesses a license in good standing; and

(2) Whether the child custody evaluator has any convictions, criminal charges, relevant civil actions or complaints, or ethical violations lodged or filed against the child custody evaluator.

§ ‑D Licensing requirements. (a) No person may be a child custody evaluator under this chapter unless the person meets one of the following licensing criteria and is in good standing as a:

(1) Social worker;

(2) Marriage and family therapist;

(3) Psychologist; or

(4) Physician specializing in psychiatry.

The licensing requirements of this section shall not apply in any case where the court determines that there are no child custody evaluators who meet the criteria of this section who are willing and available to perform child custody evaluations. In those cases, the parties may stipulate to a child custody evaluator who does not meet the criteria of this section, subject to approval by the court.

(b) A child custody evaluator who is licensed shall be subject to disciplinary action by the board or the director of commerce and consumer affairs for unprofessional conduct as defined in the applicable licensing law.

§ ‑E Education and experience. Every child custody evaluator shall meet minimum education and experience requirements, as determined by the board.

(1) Educational standards which shall require all child custody evaluators to utilize comparable interview, assessment, testing and reporting methodologies and procedures for all parties that are consistent with generally accepted clinical, forensic, scientific, diagnostic, or medical standards. These standards shall also require child custody evaluators to inform each adult party of the purpose, nature, and method of the evaluation; and

(2) Experience; provided that if any experience requirements are lacking for a prospective child custody evaluator, procedures for assigning a mentor and defining the mentor's responsibilities toward the prospective child custody evaluator may be used to ensure qualified oversight exists during the custody evaluation process; provided further that:

(A) Mentors shall be assigned on a case by case basis;

(B) Conditions on the continued use of mentors by an individual prospective child custody evaluator shall be established to ensure the necessary experience requirements are completed in a timely manner; and

§ ‑F Continuing training. The board shall establish the minimum child custody evaluator annual continuing training requirements and policies for the use of eligible training providers.

(1) Training approved by professional licensing boards, or by national or local eligible training providers, as qualifying for child custody evaluator training, may count towards the annual continuing education requirements for child custody evaluators.

(2) Eligible training providers shall:

(A) Develop procedures to verify that participants complete the applicable education and training program; and

(B) Distribute a statement or certificate of completion to each person who has completed the training; provided that the statement or certificate [~~must~~] shall document the number of hours of training offered, the number of hours of training the person completed, the dates of the training, and the name of the training provider.

(3) Education and training courses that were taken between January 1, 2007, and January 1, 2010, may be applied toward the requirements of this section if the courses addressed the required subjects and either were certified or approved for continuing education credit by a professional provider group or were offered as part of a related postgraduate degree or licensing program."

SECTION 3. (a) The judiciary shall report its findings, recommendations, and resource requirements to implement this Act to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2009.

(b) The judiciary shall report any findings, recommendations, and resource requirements to maintain or improve the policies and procedures contained in this Act to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of 2010, and annually thereafter.

SECTION 4. In codifying the new sections added by section 2 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 5. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2055
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII