§346-17  Child placing organizations, child
caring institutions, and foster boarding homes; authority over, investigation
of, and standards for.  (a)  No child placing organization shall engage in
the investigation, placement, and supervision of minor children in foster care
unless it meets the standards of conditions, management, and competence set by
the department of human services.



(b)  No child caring institution shall receive
minor children for care and maintenance unless it meets the standards of conditions,
management, and competence to care for and train children set by the
department.



(c)  No foster boarding home shall receive for
care and maintenance any child unless:



(1)  It meets with the standards of conditions,
management, and competence set by the department; and



(2)  The foster boarding home applicant successfully
completes foster parent training; provided that after July 1, 1999, new special
licensed or relative foster home care providers licensed for a specific child
or children shall successfully complete foster parent training within the first
year following placement of the first child into the new special licensed or
relative foster home.



(d)  The department shall adopt rules pursuant
to chapter 91 relating to:



(1)  Standards for the organization and administration
of child placing organizations;



(2)  Standards of conditions, management, and
competence for the care and training of minor children in child caring
institutions and foster boarding homes; and



(3)  Standards of conditions and competence of
operation of foster boarding homes as may be necessary to protect the welfare
of children.



(e)  All rules of the department shall have the
force and effect of law, and any violation thereof or of this section shall be
punishable by a fine of not more than $200.



(f)  As a condition for a certificate of
approval, any organization, institution, or foster boarding home, including all
adults residing in the foster boarding home, shall:



(1)  Meet all standards and requirements established
by the department;



(2)  Be subject to criminal history record checks in
accordance with section 846-2.7, and child abuse and neglect registry checks,
in accordance with departmental procedures; and



(3)  Provide consent to the department or its designee
to obtain criminal history record and child abuse and neglect registry
information.



New employees of the organization, institution, or
home shall be fingerprinted within five working days of employment.



(g)  Upon approval of the organization,
institution, or foster boarding home, the department or its authorized agents
shall issue a certificate of approval that shall continue in force for one year
or for two years if the organization, institution, or foster boarding home
meets the criteria established by the department, unless sooner revoked for
cause.  The certificate shall be renewed by the department or its authorized
agents, after annual or biennial investigation, if the investigation discloses
that the organization, institution, or foster boarding home continues to
meet the standards set by the department.  The certificate of approval shall be
a permit to operate the child placing organization, child caring institution,
or foster boarding home, and no person or organization shall operate or
maintain the organization, institution, or foster boarding home without the
certificate.



(h)  Any child placing organization, child
caring institution, or foster boarding home shall be subject to review or
investigation at any time and in a manner, place, and form as may be prescribed
by the department or its authorized agents.



(i)  As used in this section, "foster
parent training" means training or instruction in special skills and
knowledge to care for foster children.



(j)  The department or its designee shall
request:



(1)  A criminal history record check through the
Hawaii criminal justice data center on all operators, employees, and new
employees of child care institutions, child placing organizations, and foster
boarding homes, including all adults residing in the foster boarding homes,
subject to licensure pursuant to section 846-2.7; and



(2)  A child abuse and neglect registry check on all
operators, employees, and new employees of child care institutions, child
placing organizations, and adults residing in a foster boarding home subject to
licensure in accordance with departmental procedures.



(k)  The department may deny a certificate of
approval if an operator, employee, or new employee of a child care institution
or child placing organization's facility, or any adult residing in a foster
boarding home, was convicted of a crime other than a minor traffic violation
involving a fine of $50 or less and if the department finds that the criminal
history record or child abuse registry history of an operator, employee, new employee,
or adult residing in a foster boarding home poses a risk to the health, safety,
or well-being of the children in care.



(l)  The department or its designee shall make
a name inquiry into the criminal history records for the first two years of
certification of a foster boarding home and annually or biennially thereafter
and into the child abuse and neglect registry in accordance with departmental
procedures depending on the certification status of the home. [L 1941, c 296,
pt of §1; RL 1945, pt of §4830; am L 1949, c 353, pt of §1; am L 1953, c 153,
pt of §5 and c 191, pt of §1; RL 1955, §108-11; HRS §346-17; am L 1970, c 105,
§5; am L 1985, c 209, §2; am L 1987, c 339, §4; am L 1996, c 5, §1; am L 1999,
c 271, §3; am L 2003, c 95, §9(2); am L 2007, c 46, §1; am L 2008, c 136, §1]



 



Cross References



 



  Criminal history and child abuse record checks (child care
facilities), see §346-154.



  Operation of adult foster homes for developmentally disabled,
see §321-11.2.



  Rulemaking, see chapter 91.



 



Case Notes



 



  Cited:  73 H. 314, 832 P.2d 265.