Banning parents from giving away their children could interfere with Hawaii's hanai, or informal, adoptions or be misused, as by a spouse in a nasty divorce who might accuse an ex-partner of neglect for putting a child in day care. Doubts about Peter Kema Sr.'s claim that he gave his son to a woman in Aala Park in August 1997. Police have been unable to verify the woman's existence or find the boy. Kema, who made the claim in April 1998, has denied harming the child. Although there is no law simply outlawing the giving away of children, laws against child endangerment, abandonment or neglect could be applicable.
None carries a very harsh penalty, however.
Arakaki shifted his focus to beefing up laws so child abuse cases would be easier to prove and convicted abusers would be more harshly punished. That comes on the heels of a law passed last session forcing the state's Child Protective Services system to emphasize child safety over family reunification when awarding custody of abused kids. We hope that won't happen anymore. You don't draft laws to address isolated cases. Moreover, Holmgren contended, giving a child away with no thought to his future welfare is already a crime in Hawaii, as it is everywhere else in the United States.