Report Title:

Child Protection; Missing Child Records

 

Description:

Establishes guidelines for the court in determining release of information related to cases involving a missing child. (SD1)

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2149

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to child protection.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Section 587-81, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§587-81 Court records. (a) The court shall keep a record of all child protective proceedings under this chapter. The written reports, photographs, x-rays, or other information of any nature [which] that are submitted to the court may be made available to other appropriate persons, who are not parties, only upon an order of the court after the court has determined that such access is in the best interests of the child or serves some other legitimate purpose; provided that the department may disclose, without order of the court, [such] information as is in the court record in the manner and to the extent as is set forth in departmental rules that have been legally promulgated and concern the confidentiality of records; provided further that:

(1) The department shall not disclose parties' names to researchers without prior order of the court; and

(2) The department shall report each disclosure to the court and all parties as part of its next report to the court after the department has disclosed information pursuant to this section.

(b) In ordering access to information related to cases involving a missing child, the court shall determine whether access will materially assist authorities in locating the child. Such a determination raises rebuttable presumptions that:

(1) Concerns as to the whereabouts and well-being of the missing child outweigh concerns as to the confidentiality of information raised on behalf of other family members; and

(2) Concerns as to the whereabouts and well-being of the missing child outweigh concerns of the potentially harmful effect that access may have to the missing child's family members, including a sibling who is a minor and who may be the subject of a protection case that is interrelated with the missing child’s case.

Where authorized access of information may affect a minor sibling of a missing child, the court shall limit the release of information pertaining to the sibling so as not to impede any current investigation by law enforcement authorities."

SECTION 2. This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun, before its effective date.

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.