Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 17 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Department of Human Services › Chapter 1610 - CHILD WELFARE CASEWORK SERVICES › Section 17-1610-2 - Definitions

Current through June, 2024
As used in this chapter:
"Abandoned infant" means abandoned infant as defined in
				  section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Abuse and neglect" means harm or threatened harm as defined
				  in section
				  587A-4, HRS, of a
				  child under eighteen years of age by a parent, legal custodian, or person
				  responsible for that child's welfare.
"Adoption service" means a social service provided by the
				  department or a licensed child-placing organization for children whose parents
				  have been found to be unwilling or unable to provide them with a safe and
				  nurturing permanent home and who need and can benefit from permanent family
				  ties established through legal adoption.
"Adoptive home" means a home which has been studied and
				  approved by the department or a licensed child-placing organization for the
				  placement of a child for the purpose of adoption.
"Adoptive placement" means the placement of a child who is
				  legally free for adoption into an approved adoptive home.
"Aggravated circumstances" means aggravated circumstances as
				  defined in section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Assessment" or "investigation" is the professional,
				  systematic, gathering and evaluation of information about the family for the
				  purpose of making decisions regarding confirmation of child abuse and/or
				  neglect, protection of the child, and services to the family.
"Authorized agency" means the department or other public or
				  private agency, person, organization, corporation, or benevolent society or
				  association that is licensed or approved by the department or the court to
				  receive children for control, care, maintenance or placement.
"Bad faith" means that the statements or material contained
				  in the child abuse and/or neglect report were found by the department to be
				  designed to mislead or deceive and not the result of an honest mistake.
"Caregiver" means any adult, other than the legal custodian,
				  authorized to provide care or oversee the care of children.
"Case plan" means for families and children subject to
				  chapter 587A, HRS, the safe family home report and the service plan and
				  agreement, or the safe family home report and the permanent plan, or the
				  permanent plan. The case plan must meet the requirements in §
									17-1610-26.
"Casework services" means services provided or purchased by
				  the department to ensure that steps necessary to protect a child are taken in a
				  timely manner and that needed supportive and rehabilitative services are sought
				  and arranged for the family.
"Child" means a person who is born alive and is less than
				  eighteen years of age.
"Child-caring institution" or "group home" means any
				  private, institution or group home licensed by the department for the purpose
				  of receiving six or more minor children for care and maintenance, apart from
				  the legal custodian, on a twenty-four hour basis for monetary payment. The term
				  shall not apply to any boarding school which is primarily engaged in
				  educational work or to any treatment facility, forestry camp, training school,
				  or facility operated primarily for the detention of delinquent children. The
				  term shall also exclude public child care institutions that accommodate more
				  than 25 children.
"Child-placing organization" means any person, agency, or
				  organization, except family courts and the department, engaged in the
				  assessment, placement, and supervision of children in foster care and which has
				  been delegated the authority by the department to approve resource family homes
				  and adoptive homes.
"Child protective services" means the specialized, time
				  limited child welfare service provided to the children who are reported to have
				  been harmed or threatened with harm, and to their families to ensure the
				  children's safety, permanency, and well-being.
"Child welfare services" means services by the child welfare
				  services branch necessary for the protection, care, and permanency of abused
				  and neglected children. This includes intake, assessment, counseling, case
				  management, permanency services, licensing, service payments, and support
				  activities provided by department staff or through services purchased by the
				  department.
"Close proximity to the family home" means a placement which
				  can be accessed within one hour or less, either by private or public
				  transportation, by the child's parent(s) or legal guardian(s).
"Concurrent planning" means an ongoing assessment, planning,
				  and service process with concurrent service planning, treatment, and permanency
				  goals depending upon the family situation to ensure the safety, permanency, and
				  well-being of the child.
"Concurrent planning placement" means the placement of a
				  child into a prospective permanent home, when the child's legal custodian's
				  rights have not been relinquished or divested by order of the court.
"Confirmed" means that an investigation conducted by the
				  department revealed reasonable cause to believe that harm or threatened harm
				  occurred.
"Constructive removal" means a non-physical removal of
				  custody from a legal parent or legal custodian with whom the child resided
				  within six months of the constructive removal and the child continues to reside
				  with the interim caregiver. A child is considered constructively removed on the
				  date of the first judicial order removing custody, even temporarily, from the
				  appropriate specified relative or the date that the voluntary placement
				  agreement is signed by all relevant parties.
"Court" means one of the family courts established pursuant
				  to the family court act.
"Criminal history record check" means an examination of an
				  individual's criminal history record through fingerprint analysis and name
				  inquiry into state and national criminal history record files including, but
				  not limited to, the files of the Hawaii criminal justice data center provided
				  that the information obtained shall be used exclusively for purposes under this
				  chapter and shall be subject to applicable federal and state laws and
				  regulations.
"Department" means the department of human services.
"Expunge" means to destroy or delete all information
				  relating to a specific report of child abuse and/or neglect.
"Family home" means the home of the child's legal custodian
				  where there is the provision of care for the child's physical and psychological
				  health and welfare.
"Family preservation services" means those services provided
				  by the department which are intended to maintain a child in the family home and
				  prevent out-of-home placement.
"Foster care" or "out-of-home care" means placement which is
				  apart from the child's legal custodian which provides twenty-four hour
				  parenting care, including, but not limited to, placement in a licensed
				  relative's home, a resource family home, or a child-caring institution.
"Foster child" means any child under eighteen years of age
				  in out-of-home care under the placement responsibility of the department; or,
				  for State-funded foster care, upon attaining age eighteen years while residing
				  in a resource family home with a goal towards independent living, is able and
				  willing to complete high school education or equivalent within six months or
				  within the following school year; or, for State-funded foster care, is living
				  in a resource family home and receiving special educational services as defined
				  by the department of education and remains, in high school until the end of the
				  school year in which the foster child attains age twenty.
"Frivolous" means that the statements or information
				  contained in the child abuse and/or neglect report have been found by the
				  department to have little weight or importance after attempts to substantiate
				  the information have been made, or are substantially inaccurate, incomplete or
				  misleading relating to any or all material fact(s) of the allegations.
"Hanai relative" means an adult other than a blood relative
				  who performs or has performed a substantial role in the upbringing or material
				  support of a child, as attested to by the written or oral designation of the
				  child or of another person, including other relatives of the child as deemed
				  credible by the court or the department.
"Harm" means harm as defined in section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Imminent harm" means imminent harm as defined in section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Independent living services" means programs and activities
				  that assist an eligible child to prepare for the transition from out-of-home
				  care to independent living.
"Initial date of entry into out-of-home care" means the
				  initial date on which the department assumed placement responsibility of a
				  child:
(1) By receipt of custody of the child from the
				  police;
(2) Pursuant to a voluntary agreement with the legal
				  custodian;
(3) By order of the court; or
(4) By placing a child in foster care and thereby assuming
				  temporary foster custody of a child subject to court ordered family
				  supervision, pursuant to section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Intake report" means the initial oral statement and, if
				  required by section
				  350-1.1(c),
				  HRS, the subsequent written account concerning the facts and circumstances
				  which caused the reporter to believe that child abuse and/or neglect has
				  occurred, or that there is a substantial risk that child abuse and/or neglect
				  may occur in the reasonably foreseeable future.
"Least restrictive environment" means an available placement
				  that is the most family-like setting that can best meet the needs of the
				  child.
"Legal custodian" means the child's parent(s), permanent
				  custodian(s), legal guardian(s), or other entities who have legal and physical
				  custody of the child.
"Legal guardian" means any adult who has legal guardianship
				  of a child as the result of a judicial determination under chapter
				  5 60, HRS, made at the time the
				  department had placement responsibility of the child.
"Legal guardianship" means a judicially created relationship
				  between child and caretaker which is intended to be permanent and
				  self-sustaining as evidenced by the transfer to the caretaker of the following
				  parental rights with respect to the child: protection, education, care and
				  control of the person, custody of the person, and decision-making. The term
				  "legal guardian" means the caretaker in such a relationship.
"Medical neglect" means serious deterioration of a child due
				  to the failure of the legal custodian(s) or caregiver(s) to provide or seek
				  appropriate medical treatment or the legal custodian(s) or caregiver(s)
				  repeatedly ignoring medical recommendations for treatment.
"Multidisciplinary team" means those persons who provide
				  consultation through a formal arrangement with the department to assist social
				  workers with multidisciplinary diagnosis, assessment, or treatment planning for
				  families.
"Negligent treatment" means the failure of the legal
				  custodian or caregiver(s) to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical
				  care, supervision, or guidance to a child.
"Not confirmed" means that an investigation conducted by the
				  department revealed that there was insufficient evidence to confirm that harm
				  or threatened harm had occurred.
"Ohana conference" means a family focused strength-based
				  meeting facilitated by trained community facilitators designed to build and
				  strengthen the network of protection of the extended family members and the
				  community for the child.
"On-Call resource family home" means a licensed resource
				  family home or child-caring institution where temporary care, apart from
				  parents or legal custodians, is provided to abused and/or neglected, or other
				  dependent children in need of care and protection on a twenty-four hour basis,
				  until more suitable plans are made for the children.
"Periodic review" means a judicial review of the status of
				  each child in out-of-home care under the placement responsibility of the
				  department, which is held within six months of the initial date of entry into
				  out-of-home care, and at least every six months thereafter.
"Permanency hearing" means the hearing required by federal
				  statute to determine the permanency plan for a child in out-of-home care under
				  the placement responsibility of the department that may occur at a
				  dispositional or review hearing pursuant to relevant sections of HRS chapter
				  587A that is held within twelve months of the initial date of entry into
				  out-of-home care and at least every twelve months thereafter, until the child
				  is placed into a permanent home. For children for whom the court determines
				  that reasonable efforts to return the child home are not required because of
				  aggravated circumstances or in the case of an abandoned infant, the initial
				  permanency hearing is held within 30 days of the judicial determination.
"Permanent custodian" means any adult who has permanent
				  custody of a child pursuant to a judicial determination under chapter 587A,
				  HRS, made at the time the department had placement responsibility of the
				  child.
"Permanent custody" means the legal status as defined in
				  section
				  587A-4, HRS. The
				  awarding of permanent custody divests from each legal custodian and vests in a
				  permanent custodian each of the parental and custodial duties and rights of a
				  legal custodian including, but not limited to, the following: to determine
				  where and with whom the child shall live, to assure the child is provided in a
				  timely manner with adequate food, shelter, clothing, psychological care,
				  physical care, supervision, and other necessities, to monitor the provision of
				  appropriate education, to provide all consents that are required for the
				  child's physical or psychological welfare, to provide consent to adoption
				  change of name or marriage.
"Permanent plan" means a specific written plan prepared
				  pursuant to HRS section
				  587A-4.
"Perpetrator" or "maltreater" means the person the reporter
				  of child abuse and/or neglect or the department has identified as the person
				  who by acts or omissions has harmed or threatened a child or children with
				  harm.
"Person responsible for a child's care or welfare" means the
				  child's parent, guardian, legal and physical custodian, resource parent, an
				  employee of a public or private residential home or facility, other person
				  legally responsible under State law for the child's welfare in a residential
				  setting, or any staff person providing out-of-home care or day care.
"Placement responsibility" means the authority of the
				  department or other agency or individual to determine the placement and care of
				  the child.
"Prospective adoptive parent(s)" means a person(s) who has
				  been studied and approved by the department or a licensed child-placing
				  organization and identified by the department or licensed child-placing
				  organization as the most likely adoptive placement for the child.
"Psychological abuse and neglect" means child rearing
				  practices or an absence of them by the family, or person responsible for a
				  child's welfare, which has resulted in, or is likely to result in, a
				  substantial impairment of a child's opportunity for normal and healthy
				  psychological development.
"Purchase of service(s) provider" or "POS provider" means an
				  agency or organization providing child welfare services on behalf of the
				  department under the terms of a valid written contract with the
				  department.
"Reasonable efforts" means appropriate and available
				  services offered or provided to prevent the placement of a child into
				  out-of-home care, to reunify a family, or to finalize the permanency plan for
				  the child.
"Recipient" means a person who has received a service or
				  payment from the department.
"Records" means all written, oral, or electronic information
				  gathered and maintained by the department in its state central registry or in
				  physical records, including but not limited to:
(1) Reports of child abuse and/or neglect accepted by the
				  department for further action;
(2) Subsequent actions by the department, including but not
				  limited to medical, psychological, psychiatric, or other agency reports as well
				  as departmental contacts, assessments, or reports; and
(3) Any record or information collected and maintained by the
				  department that identifies or contains information regarding a person who is
				  an:
(A) Applicant;
(B) Recipient of services from the department; or
(C) Resource caregiver, adoptive parent, legal guardian, or
				  permanent custodian.
"Relative" means a person related by blood or adoption, or a
				  hanai relative, as defined in this chapter, who is willing and able to safely
				  provide support to the child and family, as determined by the court or the
				  department.
"Resource family home" means a home in which fewer than six
				  minor children, or six or more minor siblings, are received for care and
				  maintenance apart from their legal custodian on a twenty-four hour basis for
				  fee or charge and which has met the state certification requirements.
"Resource family" or "resource caregiver" means a family or
				  person who is:
(1) Licensed by the department to provide temporary safe
				  foster care services for children under the jurisdiction of the department in
				  out-of-home care; and
(2) Paid foster care maintenance payments by the department
				  for such services.
"Risk assessment" means the collecting and interpreting of
				  information about a child and family, that is utilized during the duration of a
				  family's involvement with the department by the child welfare services social
				  worker in a continual process of evaluating whether there is reasonable,
				  foreseeable risk of harm to the child.
"Severe harm" means substantial physical injury, neglect, or
				  injury to the psychological capacity of a child characterized by an observable
				  and substantial impairment in the child's ability to function, including those
				  acts or omissions included in chapters
				  350
				  and 587A, HRS, as determined by the department's risk assessment used to
				  determine the level of harm or risk to a child.
"Sexual abuse" means any sexual act performed on a child or
				  sexual exploitation of a child, by a family member who resides with the child
				  or is otherwise responsible for the child's care or welfare. It includes, but
				  is not limited to, rape, sodomy, genital fondling, incest, sexual molestation,
				  and allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution or
				  participate in obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depiction of
				  those acts as defined by state law.
"Specified relative" means father, mother, brother, sister,
				  half-brother, half-sister, uncle, aunt, uncle half-blood, aunt half-blood,
				  great uncle, great aunt, great uncle half-blood, great aunt half-blood,
				  grandfather, grandmother, great grandfather, great grandmother, first cousin,
				  first cousin once removed, nephew or niece, great-great grandmother,
				  great-great grandfather, great-great-great grandmother, great-great-great
				  grandfather, great-great aunt, great-great uncle, great-great aunt half-blood,
				  great-great uncle half-blood; stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and
				  stepsister; the adoptive parents of a legally adopted child as well as other
				  natural or legally adopted children and relatives of the adoptive parents; and
				  the legally married spouse of any of the persons specified in this subsection
				  even after the marriage has ended in death or divorce.
"State central registry" means the information regarding
				  reports of child abuse and/or neglect and subsequent actions by the department
				  maintained in the department's information system.
"Termination of parental rights hearing" means a hearing
				  held pursuant to HRS section
				  587A-33.
"Threatened harm" means threatened harm as defined in
				  section
				  587A-4, HRS.
"Unsubstantiated" means that the statement or information
				  contained in the child abuse and/or neglect report was found by the department
				  to be frivolous or made in bad faith.
"Voluntary placement" means an out-of-home placement of a
				  minor, by or with participation of a State agency, after the parents or
				  guardians of the minor have requested the assistance of the agency and signed a
				  voluntary placement agreement;
"Voluntary foster custody agreement" means a written
				  agreement, binding on the parties to the agreement, between the department, any
				  other agency acting on its behalf, and the parents or guardians of a minor
				  child which specifies, at a minimum, the legal status of the child and the
				  rights and obligations of the parents or guardians, the child, and the agency
				  while the child is in placement. If parents or guardians request that the child
				  be returned to their home or to the home of a relative, the voluntary custody
				  agreement shall be deemed to be revoked unless the department opposes such
				  request and obtains a judicial determination that the return of the child to
				  such home would be contrary to the child's best interests.