SB958.DOC

SECTION 1. Existing actions for divorce, separation, annulment, separate maintenance, or any other proceeding where there is at issue a dispute as to the custody of a minor child allow the family court, during the pendency of the action, at the final hearing, or any time during the minority of the child, to make an order for the custody of the minor child as may seem necessary or proper. For this purpose, section 571-46(a)., Hawaii Revised Statutes, allows the court to appoint a child custody evaluator to investigate and report concerning the care, welfare, and custody of any minor child of the parties, or any party to produce an expert, whose skill, insight, knowledge, or experience is such that the person's or expert's testimony is relevant to a just and reasonable determination of what is for the best physical, mental, moral, and spiritual well-being of the child whose custody is at issue. However, there are no provisions in current law that require child custody evaluators or experts to have specific professional qualifications.

The purpose of this Act is to develop standards of practice for child custody evaluators and to establish a registry of child custody evaluators or experts appointed by the family court or produced by a party to assist the court in awarding custody in child custody cases.

SECTION 2. Chapter 571, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"PART . CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATORS

§571-A Definitions. As used in this part:

"Board" means the board of family court judges under section 571-5.

"Child custody evaluator" means an investigator or professional, appointed by the court, to investigate and report concerning the care, welfare, and custody of any minor child of the parties under section 571-46(a)(4).

"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 training or education.

§571-B Duties of the board in child custody cases; registry; standards of practice; appointment and certification of child custody evaluators. (a) The board shall establish a child custody evaluator registry. The board shall establish and maintain this registry on or before January 1, 2012.

(b) The board shall maintain and update the child custody evaluation registry annually, or as new information is received. The child custody evaluator registry shall be made available without charge to any party to the proceeding. The child custody evaluator registry shall contain, at a minimum, the information in the child custody evaluator annual declaration under section 571-C.

(c) To remove any appearance of impropriety, an appropriate disclaimer regarding the use of the child custody evaluator registry may be included as part of the registry.

(d) No person shall be appointed by the court as a child custody evaluator or shall otherwise testify as an expert on behalf of a party to the proceedings to render an opinion on awarding custody pursuant to section 571-46, unless the child custody evaluator or expert is included in the child custody evaluator registry.

(e) Child custody evaluator annual declarations under section 571-C shall be retained and made available to parties to a child custody case as part of the registry for not less than twelve years from the date of filing of the initial current child custody evaluator annual declaration.

§571-C Child custody evaluator annual declaration. (a) Prior to appointment as a child custody evaluator, the child custody evaluator shall have a current child custody evaluator annual declaration, as provided in subsection (b), on file with the court.

(b) A child custody evaluator shall file annually with the board, in writing upon forms provided by the board, the following information, under penalty of perjury:

(1) The child custody evaluator's contact information, professional license, and professional license expiration date;

(2) The circuit, jurisdiction, or state where the child custody evaluator is eligible to perform child custody evaluations;

(3) Any certification or child custody evaluator qualifications from any other state or jurisdiction held by the child custody evaluator;

(4) Training relevant to child custody evaluations; provided that the training shall extend back beyond the immediately preceding calendar year;

(5) Experience relevant to child custody evaluations, including the total number of investigations and reports performed and appointments acquired as a child custody evaluator in the immediately preceding calendar year;

(6) Continuing specialized training, relevant to child custody evaluations, received in the immediately preceding calendar year, including the course, date of the course, sponsoring organization, and continuing education credits earned from the course;

(7) Any criminal convictions, pending criminal charges, civil actions to which the child custody evaluator was or is a party, complaints about the child custody evaluator to a professional licensing agency or ethics enforcement body resulting in public discipline, and orders for protection issued against the child custody evaluator;

(8) Any disciplinary action taken against the child custody evaluator by the appropriate licensing authority with jurisdiction over the professional license of the child custody evaluator that is relevant to child custody evaluations;

(9) References from other relevant professionals or clients of the child custody evaluator;

(10) The specific services provided by the child custody evaluator and the associated cost or fee structure;

(11) Formal education, including academic degrees earned by the child custody evaluator; provided that a curriculum vitae may be provided as an attachment; and

(12) Any other qualifications or information deemed relevant by the board to child custody evaluations, as contained in the child custody evaluator annual declaration.

(c) A current child custody evaluator annual declaration on file with the board shall be a prerequisite for a child custody evaluator or expert to be qualified to testify in family court on the issue of custody pursuant to section 571-46. The board shall not accept for filing any incomplete child custody evaluator annual declaration.

§571-D Child custody evaluator certification. The board may adopt a child custody evaluator certification program, including but not limited to requirements for licensing criteria, academic education, professional experience, and continuing specialized training in child custody evaluations. Certification criteria may include knowledge of policies related to complaints, ethical violations, disciplinary actions, and the certification of the child custody evaluator by other states.

§571-E Child custody evaluation standards. The board shall establish child custody evaluation standards for child custody evaluators to apply in recommending an award of custody of a child, including best practices, benchbooks, and guidelines, based upon the type and extent of the custody investigation and report to the court."

SECTION 3. Section 571-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§571-5 Board of family court judges. A board of family court judges, which shall consist of all the State's family court judges and district family judges is hereby created. The board shall annually elect from among its members a chairperson who shall preside at meetings of the board. The chairperson shall have no other authority not specifically authorized under this chapter, or any applicable rule of the supreme court, or specifically delegated by a majority of the board. The board shall meet at stated times to be fixed by it but not less often than once every six months, and on call of the chairperson.

The board shall discuss and shall attempt to achieve agreement upon general policies for the conduct of the family courts and forms for use in such courts[.], including but not limited to the appointment and certification of child custody evaluators under part . The board shall recommend, for adoption by the supreme court, rules of court governing procedure and practices in such courts. The board may, within the limitations of the facilities available to the family courts of the State, seek the consolidation of the statistical and other data on the work and services of such courts and research studies that may be made of the problems of families and children dealt with by such courts to the end that the treatment of children and families subject to the jurisdiction of such courts shall achieve the highest possible degree of uniformity throughout the State and to the further end that knowledge of treatment, methods, and therapeutic practices be shared among such courts. The board may also formulate recommendations for remedial legislation. All actions by the board shall be subject to the regulatory supervision of the chief justice of the supreme court."

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. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	958
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011
STATE OF HAWAII