HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

15

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the legislative reference bureau to study custody evaluator training models applied by other jurisdictions.

 

 


     WHEREAS, in the 2006 Regular Session, the Legislature adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 52 authorizing the  Committees on Human Services of the Senate and House of Representatives to convene interim hearings on the Hawaii Family Court; and

 

     WHEREAS, the interim hearings were designed as a way to make the Hawaii Family Court more accessible and family friendly; and

 

     WHEREAS, during the course of these interim hearings, a task force was established along with working groups, that submitted their findings and recommendations to the larger task force; and

 

     WHEREAS, while some of the working groups' recommendations were adopted by the task force and have received legislative attention, due to time constraints, there were other issues the task force was unable to explore fully; and

 

     WHEREAS, one area the task force was unable to fully explore is the issue of training and oversight of custody evaluators both in the Hawaii family courts and in other jurisdictions; and

 

     WHEREAS, being unable to fully explore and discuss custody evaluator issues, the task force members are interested in examining how other jurisdictions address training and oversight of custody evaluators before determining a possible course of action to take to improve custody evaluation in the Hawaii family courts; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to conduct a study on custody evaluator models applied in other jurisdictions; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature requests that the study include:

 

     (1)  A review of custody evaluator training models in use in other jurisdictions;

 

     (2)  A review of other jurisdictions' statutes regarding qualifications of custody evaluators; and

 

     (3)  A review of the types of mechanisms other jurisdictions have in place for oversight of the custody evaluation process; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislative Reference Bureau is requested to report its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2008; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Acting Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Chief Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Family Court; Custody Evaluators; Legislative Reference Bureau Study