STAND. COM. REP. NO.  473

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2013

RE:   H.B. No. 1137

      H.D. 1

Honorable Joseph M. Souki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Seventh State Legislature

Regular Session of 2013

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Human Services, to which was referred H.B. No. 1137 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO FAMILY COURT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to clarify the appointment requirements, qualifications, and complaints process for child custody evaluators.

A few individuals testified in support of the measure.  Two individuals supported the measure with amendments.  The Judiciary offered comments on the measure.

     Your Committee has amended this bill by:

     (1)  Making the Judiciary, instead of the court, responsible for:

(A)  Maintaining the publicly accessible Registry of Child Custody Evaluators; and

(B)  Establishing a process to file a complaint against an evaluator with the Judiciary that requires the Judiciary to refer the complaint to the appropriate licensing or certifying authority and resubmit an annual report to the Legislature regarding the complaints;

     (2)  Deleting the condition to be on the Registry of Child Custody Evaluators that requires evaluators to be willing to perform evaluations on an "on call basis";

     (3)  Deleting the requirement that a court can only use the services of a child custody evaluator in certain complex cases;

     (4)  Deleting language discussing the scope of practice of child custody evaluators; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1137, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1137, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services,

____________________________

MELE CARROLL, Chair