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