Hawaii

Adoption Laws

Consent to Adoption

Who Must Consent to an Adoption Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(a)

Written consent to a proposed adoption must be executed by:

• The mother of the child
• A legal father
• An adjudicated father whose relationship to the child has been determined by a court
• A presumed father
• A concerned natural father who is not the legal, adjudicated, or presumed father but who has demonstrated a reasonable degree of interest, concern, or responsibility as to the welfare of a child:
  • During the first 30 days after the child’s birth
  • Prior to the execution of a valid consent by the mother of the child
  • Prior to the placement of the child with adoptive parents
• Any person or agency having legal custody of the child or legally empowered to consent
• The court having jurisdiction of the custody of the child if the legal guardian or legal custodian of the person of the child is not empowered to consent to adoption

A petition to adopt an adult may be granted only if written consent to adoption has been executed by the adult and the adult’s spouse, if the adult is married.

Consent of Child Being Adopted Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(a)(8)

A child age 10 or older must consent unless the court, in the child’s best interests, dispenses with the need for the child to consent.

When Parental Consent Is Not Needed Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2

Consent is not required from the following:

• A parent who has deserted a child for a period of 90 days without affording means of identification
• A parent who has voluntarily surrendered the care and custody of the child to another for a period of 2 years
• A parent whose child is in the custody of another, who has failed for a period of at least 1year to communicate with the child or provide for the care and support of the child when able to do so
• A natural father who was not married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s conception or birth and has not established paternity
• A parent whose parental rights have been judicially terminated
• A parent judicially declared mentally ill, mentally retarded, or incapacitated from giving consent
• Any legal guardian or custodian who is found by the court to be withholding consent unreasonably
• A parent of a child who has been in the custody of a petitioner for at least 1 year and who entered the United States as a consequence of extraordinary circumstances in the child’s country of origin, by reason of which the existence, identity, or whereabouts of the child’s parents is not reasonably ascertainable or there is no reasonable means of obtaining suitable evidence of the child’s identity or availability for adoption
• Any parent of the adopted person if the adopted person is an adult eligible for adoption under this section
• A parent whose parental and custodial duties and rights have been divested by an award of permanent custody pursuant to § 587A-33

When Consent Can Be Executed Citation: Rev. Stat. § 571-61

The petition [for relinquishment] may be filed at any time following the mother’s sixth month of pregnancy. No judgment may be entered upon a petition concerning an unborn child until after the birth of the child and the petitioners have filed a written reaffirmation of their desires to relinquish and the petitioners have been given not less than 10-days’ notice of a proposal for the entry of judgment and an opportunity to be heard in connection with that proposal.

How Consent Must Be Executed Citation: Rev. Stat. § 571-61

The parents or either parent or the surviving parent who desire to relinquish parental rights to any natural or adopted child and thus make the child available for adoption or readoption may petition the family court of the circuit in which they or he or she resides, or of the circuit in which the child resides or was born, for the entry of a judgment of termination of parental rights.

Revocation of Consent Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(f)

Consent cannot be withdrawn after the child is placed with prospective adoptive parents unless the court finds it would be in the child’s best interests.

Criminal Background Checks for Prospective Foster and Adoptive Parents

Requirements for Foster Parents

The department shall request:

• 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
• 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

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.

The department shall make a name inquiry into the criminal history records for the first 2 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.

Requirements for Adoptive Parents Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7(c)-(e)

Any person who seeks to become an adoptive parent, including all adults residing in the prospective adoptive home, shall be subject to criminal history record checks and child abuse and neglect registry checks.

The department may deny a person’s application to adopt a child if either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home has been convicted of an offense for which incarceration is a sentencing option, and if the department finds by reason of the nature and circumstances of the crime that either of the prospective adoptive parents, or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home, poses a risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the child.

The department may deny a person’s application to adopt a child if either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home has a history of confirmed child abuse or neglect, or both, revealed by the child abuse and neglect registry check, and if the department finds by reason of the nature and circumstances of the abuse or neglect, or both, that either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home poses a risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the child.

Grounds for Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

Circumstances That Are Grounds for Termination of Parental Rights Rev. Stat. §§ 571-61; 587A-4

The family courts may terminate the parental rights to a child of any legal parent:

• Who has deserted the child without affording means of identification for a period of at least 90 days
• Who has voluntarily surrendered the care and custody of the child to another for a period of at least 2 years
• Who, when the child is in the custody of another, has failed to communicate with the child or provide care and support for the child when able to do so for a period of at least 1 year
• Whose child has been removed from the parent’s physical custody and who is found to be unable to provide now and in the foreseeable future the care necessary for the well-being of the child
• Who is found by the court to be mentally ill or intellectually disabled and incapacitated from giving consent to the adoption of or from providing now and in the foreseeable future the care necessary for the well-being of the child
• Who is found not to be the child’s natural or adoptive father

The court may also hold a permanency hearing to determine a placement for the child outside the parent’s home when the parent has subjected the child to aggravated circumstances. ‘Aggravated circumstances’ means that:

• The parent has murdered, or has solicited, aided, abetted, attempted, or conspired to commit the murder or voluntary manslaughter of, another child of the parent.
• The parent has committed a felony assault that results in serious bodily injury to the child or another child of the parent.
• The parent’s rights regarding a sibling of the child have been judicially terminated or divested.
• The parent has tortured the child.
• The child is an abandoned infant.
• The parent has committed sexual abuse against another child of the parent.
• The parent is required to register with a sex offender registry.

Circumstances That Are Exceptions to Termination of Parental Rights

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Circumstances Allowing Reinstatement of Parental Rights Rev. Stat. § 587A-34

The child, the child’s guardian ad litemor attorney, or the department may file a motion to reinstate the terminated parental rights of the child’s parents when the child has been in permanent custody for at least 12 months and the child is age 14 or older.

At a preliminary hearing on the motion, the court may order a trial home placement and a temporary reinstatement of parental rights upon finding that:

• There has been a material change in circumstances.
• A parent is willing to provide care for the child.
• A parent is able to provide a safe family home or the home can be made safe with the assistance of services.
• A trial home placement is in the child’s best interests.

If the court issues a temporary order of reinstatement of parental rights:

• The child shall be conditionally placed in the physical care of the parent for no longer than 6 months.
• The department shall develop a permanent plan for reunification and ensure that transition services are provided to the family, as appropriate.

At a final hearing on the motion, the court may issue a final order of reinstatement of parental rights if the trial home placement has been successful. In making its final decision, the court shall determine whether:

• Reinstatement of parental rights is in the best interests of the child, taking into consideration:
  • Whether a parent has remedied the conditions that caused the termination of parental rights
  • The age and maturity of the child and the child’s ability to express a preference
  • The likelihood of risk to the health, safety, or welfare of the child
• The parent is able to provide the child with a safe family home.
• Both the parent and child consent to the reinstatement of parental rights.
• The permanent plan goals for the child have not been and are not likely to be achieved.

Home Study Requirements for Prospective Parents in Domestic Adoption

Who Must Be Studied Citation: Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7

The prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home shall be included in the study.

Agency or Person Conducting the Study Citation: Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7

The Department of Human Services is responsible for conducting the study. The department may authorize or contract for home studies of prospective adoptive parents for children under the department’s custody by experienced social workers with specialized adoption experience.

Qualifications for Adoptive Parents Citation: Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7

Any person who seeks to become an adoptive parent, including all adults residing in the prospective adoptive home, shall:

• Meet all standards and requirements established by the department
• Be subject to criminal history record checks and child abuse and neglect registry checks

Elements of a Home Study Citation: Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7

The department shall develop standards to ensure the reputable and responsible character of prospective adoptive parents as defined in this chapter.

The department shall develop procedures for obtaining verifiable information regarding the criminal history and child abuse and neglect registry information of persons who are seeking to become adoptive parents. The department or its designee shall obtain criminal history record information through the Hawaii criminal justice data center, and child abuse record information from the department in accordance with departmental procedures.

Grounds for Withholding Approval Citation: Rev. Stat. § 346-19.7

The department may deny a person’s application to adopt a child if either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home was convicted of an offense for which incarceration is a sentencing option, and if the department finds by reason of the nature and circumstances of the crime that either of the prospective adoptive parents, or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home, poses a risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the child.

The department may deny a person’s application to adopt a child if either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home has a history of confirmed child abuse or neglect, or both, revealed by the child abuse and neglect registry check, and if the department finds by reason of the nature and circumstances of the abuse or neglect, or both, that either of the prospective adoptive parents or any adult residing in the prospective adoptive home poses a risk to the health, safety, or well-being of the child.

When Studies Must Be Completed Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-8

The court may enter a decree of adoption if it is satisfied that the petitioners are fit and proper persons and financially able to give the individual a proper home and education and that the adoption will be for the best interests of the child.

Postplacement Study Requirements Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-9

During the period, if any, between the entry of the adoption decree and the effective date of adoption, the decree may provide for the supervision and visitation of the minor child by the director of human services or the director’s agent during that period and for any reports in connection with that supervision as the court may require.

Exceptions for Stepparent or Relative Adoptions

This issue is not addressed in the statutes and regulations reviewed.

Requirements for Interjurisdictional Placements Citation: Rev. Stat. § 350E-1

Any out-of-home placement of a child outside the State is subject to the provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.

The child shall not be sent into the receiving State until the appropriate public authorities in the receiving State notify the sending agency, in writing, that the proposed placement does not appear to be contrary to the interests of the child.

Foster to Adopt Placements

This issue is not addressed in the statutes and regulations reviewed.

Infant Safe Haven Laws

Infant’s Age Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587D-2

A child who is no more than 72 hours old may be relinquished.

Who May Relinquish the Infant Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587D-2

A person may leave the child with a safe haven provider.

Who May Receive the Infant Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587D-2

The child may be left with the personnel of a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency services provider.

Responsibilities of the Safe Haven Provider Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 587D-3; 587D-4

When a person leaves a newborn child with a safe haven provider, the provider:

• Shall make every reasonable effort to solicit the following information:
  • The child’s name
  • The name and address of the parent or person dropping off the child
  • Where the child was born
  • The child’s medical history
  • The child’s birth family’s medical history, including major illnesses and diseases
  • Any other information that might reasonably assist the Department of Human Services in determining the best interests of the child, including whether the parents plan to seek custody of the child in the future
• May provide the person leaving the newborn child with information on how to contact relevant social service agencies
• Shall notify appropriate law enforcement agencies that a child was received for purposes of matching the child with missing children reports

Refusal of the person leaving the child to provide personal information shall not prevent personnel from accepting the child.

If a safe haven provider receives a child, the provider shall perform any act necessary, in accordance with generally accepted standards of their respective professional practice, to protect, preserve, and aid the physical health and safety of the child during the temporary physical custody.

Within 24 hours of receiving an unharmed newborn child, the provider shall inform the department that a child has been left at the premises. The department shall not be informed until the person leaving the child has left the premises. If the child is received in a harmed condition, the provider shall notify appropriate law enforcement agencies, regardless of whether the person or persons leaving the child has left the premises.

Immunity for the Provider Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587D-5

A hospital, health-care provider, hospital personnel, fire station, firefighter, fire personnel, police station, police officer, police personnel, and emergency services personnel acting in good faith in receiving a newborn child shall be immune from:

• Any criminal liability that otherwise might result from their actions
• Any civil liability that otherwise might result from merely receiving a newborn child

A hospital, health-care provider, hospital personnel, fire station, firefighter, fire personnel, police station, police officer, police personnel, and emergency services personnel who are mandated reporters under § 350-1.1 shall be immune from any criminal or civil liability that otherwise might result from the failure to make a report if the person is acting in good faith in complying with this chapter.

Protection for Relinquishing Parent Citation: Rev. Stat. § 587D-2

A person may leave a newborn child at a safe haven without being subject to prosecution for abandonment of a child pursuant to § 709-902 provided that the newborn child is left in an unharmed condition.

Effect on Parental Rights Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 587D-6; 587D-7

Upon receiving custody of a newborn child who has been discharged from a hospital that received the newborn child pursuant to § 587D-3, the Department of Human Services may reunite the newborn child with the newborn’s parents.

The department may search for relatives of the newborn child as a placement or permanency option or implement other placement requirements that give a preference to relatives provided that the department has information as to the identity of the newborn child, the newborn child’s mother, or the newborn child’s father.

For purposes of proceedings under this chapter and adoption proceedings, a newborn child left at a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency services provider shall be considered an abandoned child.

Regulation of Private Domestic Adoption Expenses

These issues are not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

The Rights of Unmarried Fathers

Legal Definition of Father Rev. Stat. § 584-4

A man is presumed to be the natural father of a child if:

• He and the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born during the marriage or within 300 days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, divorce, or a decree of separation.
• Before the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have attempted to marry each other in apparent compliance with the law, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:
  • If the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during the attempted marriage or within 300 days after its termination by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or divorce.
  • If the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation.
• After the child’s birth, he and the child’s natural mother have married or attempted to marry each other, although the attempted marriage is or could be declared invalid, and:
  • He has acknowledged his paternity of the child in writing filed with the Department of Health.
  • With his consent, he is named as the child’s father on the child’s birth certificate.
  • He is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by a court order.
• While the child is under the age of majority, he receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child.
• Pursuant to § 584-11, he submits to court-ordered genetic testing, and the results do not exclude the possibility of his paternity of the child.
• A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity of the child signed by him under oath is filed with the Department of Health.

Paternity Registry Rev. Stat. § 584-3.5

To expedite the establishment of paternity, each public and private birthing hospital or center and the Department of Health shall provide unwed parents the opportunity to voluntarily acknowledge the paternity of a child during the period immediately prior to or following the child’s birth. The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity shall be in writing and shall consist of a single form signed under oath by both the natural mother and the natural father and signed by a witness.

Prior to the signing of the voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form, designated staff members of such facilities shall provide to both the mother and the alleged father, if he is present at the facility:

• Written materials regarding paternity establishment
• Forms necessary to voluntarily acknowledge paternity
• Oral, video, or audio, and written descriptions of the alternatives to, the legal consequences of, and the rights and responsibilities of acknowledging paternity, including, if one parent is a minor, any right afforded due to minority status

Judicial and administrative proceedings shall not be required or permitted to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of paternity.

Alternate Means to Establish Paternity Rev. Stat. §§ 584-6(a); 584.12; 584-15(a)

Any of the following persons may file an action for the purpose of declaring the existence or nonexistence of the father and child relationship:

• A child or guardian ad litem of the child
• The child’s natural mother
• A man alleged or alleging himself to be the natural father
• A presumed father, as defined in § 584-4
• The child support enforcement agency

Evidence relating to paternity may include:

• Evidence of sexual intercourse between the mother and the alleged father at any possible time of conception
• An expert’s opinion concerning the statistical probability of the alleged father’s paternity based upon the duration of the mother’s pregnancy
• Genetic test results, including blood test results, weighted in accordance with evidence, if available, of the statistical probability of the alleged father’s paternity
• Medical or anthropological evidence relating to the alleged father’s paternity of the child based on tests performed by experts
• A voluntary, written acknowledgment of paternity
• Bills for pregnancy and childbirth, including medical insurance premiums covering this period and genetic testing
• All other evidence relevant to the issue of paternity of the child

The judgment or order of the court determining the existence or nonexistence of the parent and child relationship shall be determinative for all purposes.

Required Information Rev. Stat. § 584-3.5

The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity form shall include the Social Security number of each parent. The completed voluntary acknowledgment forms shall also clearly identify the name and position of the staff member who provides information to the parents regarding paternity establishment.

Each facility shall send to the Department of Health the original acknowledgment of paternity containing the Social Security numbers, if available, of both parents, with the information required by the Department of Health so that the birth certificate issued includes the name of the legal father of the child.

Revocation of Claim to Paternity Rev. Stat. § 584-3.5

The signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity shall constitute a legal finding of paternity, subject to the right of any signatory to rescind the acknowledgment within the earlier of:

• 60 days of signature
• Before the date of an administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the child, including a proceeding to establish a support order to which the signatory is a party

Following the 60-day period referred to above, a signed voluntary acknowledgment of paternity may be challenged in court only on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof upon the challenger. The legal responsibilities of any signatory arising from the acknowledgment, including child support obligations, shall not be suspended during the challenge, except for good cause shown.

Access to Information Rev. Stat. § 584-3.5

Notwithstanding §§ 338-17.7 and 338-18(b), the Department of Health shall disclose to the child support enforcement agency, upon request, all voluntary acknowledgment of paternity forms on file with the Department of Health.

Use of Advertising and Facilitators in Adoptive Placements

Use of Advertisement

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Use of Intermediaries/Facilitators

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Who May Adopt, Be Adopted, or Place a Child for Adoption?

Who May Adopt Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-1

The following persons may adopt:

• Any unmarried adult
• The spouse of a legal parent of the child
• A husband and wife jointly

Who May Be Adopted Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-1.5; 578-2

Any person may be adopted. An adult may be adopted only if that adult, and his or her spouse if that adult is married, gives written consent to the adoption.

Who May Place a Child for Adoption Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-1; 578-2

A child may be placed by or consent may be given by any of the following:

• The parent or legal custodian
• The Department of Human Services
• An approved child-placing organization

Post-Adoption Laws

Access to Adoption Records

Who May Access Information Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-14.5; 578-15

Health information may be provided to:

• The adult adopted person
• The adoptive parent
• The minor adopted person’s guardian or custodian

Adoption records may be accessed by:

• The adult adopted person
• The adoptive parents
• The birth parents

Access to Nonidentifying Information Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-14.5; 578-15

The Department of Health shall prepare a standard medical information form to obtain medical information on the birth parents of the minor adopted person. This form shall include a request for any information about the adopted child’s potential genetic or other inheritable diseases, including similar medical histories, if known, of the parents of the birth parents. All child-placing organizations shall make reasonable efforts to complete this form on both birth parents, to obtain from the natural parents written consent to the release of this information to or for the benefit of the adopted child, and whenever possible, to obtain from the natural mother a signed release to receive a copy of all of her medical records relating to the birth of the adopted child that are in the possession of the hospital or other facility at which the child was born. The completed forms shall be included in the department’s adoption records.

Upon written application from the adult adopted person, or the adoptive parent, guardian, or custodian on behalf of a minor adopted person, the Department of Health shall furnish the applicant with a copy of the completed forms. The department is authorized to disclose the information without prior court approval.

Information concerning the ethnic background and necessary medical information may be released regardless of the presence of a confidentiality affidavit.

Mutual Access to Identifying Information Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-15

An adopted person who is age 18 or older may submit a written request to the family court for inspection of adoption records. Such records will be released unless the birth parents have filed a confidentiality affidavit. Such affidavits may be renewed every 10 years.

The adopted person may submit an affidavit person consenting to the inspection of records by the birth parents.

Access to Original Birth Certificate Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-14; 578-15; 338-20

If a new birth certificate is issued, the original birth certificate shall be sealed. The sealed document may be opened by the department only by an order of a court or when requested in accordance with § 578-15.

The birth parent may be provided a copy of the original birth certificate upon request.

Where the Information Can Be Located

Family Court Central Registry

Intestate Inheritance Rights for Adopted Persons

Birth Parents in Relation to Adopted Person Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-16

The former legal parent(s) of an adopted individual and any other former legal kindred shall not be considered to be related to the individual as provided in the Uniform Probate Code.

All legal duties and rights between the adopted person and his or her former legal parent(s) shall cease from the time of the adoption, unless the adopted person is adopted by the spouse of a legal parent. In such case, the rights of inheritance between the adopted person and the legal parent and the legal relatives of the parent shall continue.

Adoptive Parents in Relation to Adopted Person Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-16; 560:2-114

An adopted person and his or her adopting parent(s) shall sustain towards each other the legal relationship of parent(s) and child, and shall have all the rights and duties of that relationship, including the rights of inheritance from and through each other and the adopting parents’ legal kindred.

Adopted Persons Who Are Not Included in a Will Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 578-16; 560:2-302; 560:2-705

If a testator fails to provide in his or her will for any child who was adopted after the execution of the will, the omitted after-adopted child receives a share in the estate as follows:

• If the testator had no child living when he or she executed the will, an omitted after-adopted child receives a share in the estate equal in value to that which the child would have received had the testator died intestate, unless the will bequeathed all or substantially all of the estate to the other parent of the omitted child and that other parent survives the testator and is entitled to inherit under the will.
• If the testator had one or more children living when he or she executed the will, and the will gave property or an interest in property to one or more of the then-living children, an omitted after-adopted child is entitled to share in the estate as follows:
  • The portion of the estate in which the omitted after-adopted child is entitled to share is limited to bequests made to the testator’s then-living children under the will.
  • The omitted after-adopted child is entitled to receive the share of the estate, as limited above, that the child would have received had the testator included all omitted after-born and after-adopted children with the children to whom bequests were made and had given an equal share of the estate to each child.

If it appears from the will that the omission was intentional or the testator provided for the omitted after-adopted child by transfer outside the will with the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision, such child shall receive no share of the estate.

Adopted individuals and their respective descendants, if appropriate to the class, are included in class gifts and other terms of relationship in accordance with the rules for intestate succession.

Postadoption Contact Agreements Between Birth and Adoptive Families

These issues are not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Laws Related to Intercountry Adoption

Effect and Recognition of a Foreign Adoption Decree

Rev. Stat. § 578-8(c)

In cases in which a child is adopted from a foreign country and is brought into the State, the court, in its discretion, may dispense with a hearing on an adoption petition upon receipt of a sworn affidavit, ex parte, from the adoptive parents requesting that the hearing be dispensed with, and upon a finding that the issues it would have reviewed have received full consideration by the country from which the child was adopted and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Readoption After an Intercountry Adoption

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Application for a U.S. Birth Certificate

Rev. Stat. § 338-20.5

The Department of Health shall establish a Hawaii certificate of birth for a person born in a foreign country and for whom a final decree of adoption has been entered in a court of competent jurisdiction in Hawaii, when it receives the following:

• A properly certified copy of the adoption decree or certified abstract thereof on a form approved by the department
• A copy of any investigatory report and recommendation that may have been prepared by the Director of Social Services
• A report on a form approved by the Department of Health setting forth the following:
  • Date of the assumption of custody
  • The sex, color, or race of the child
  • The approximate age of the child
  • The name and address of the adoptive parent(s)
  • The name given to the child by the adoptive parent(s)
  • The true or probable country of birth
  • A request that a new certificate of birth be established
• The true or probable country of birth shall be known as the place of birth, and the date of birth shall be determined by approximation. This report shall constitute an original certificate of birth.

After preparation of the new birth certificate in the new name of the adoptee, the Department of Health shall seal and file the certified copy of the adoptive decree, investigatory report, and recommendation of the Director of Human Services, if any, the report constituting the original certificate of birth, and the request for a new certificate of birth. The sealed documents may be opened by the department only by an order of a court of record or when requested in accordance with § 578-14.5 or 578-15.

The new certificate of birth shall show the true or probable foreign country of birth and that the certificate is not evidence of U.S. citizenship for the child for whom it is issued or for the adoptive parents.

Source

Child Welfare Information Gateway. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families. [1]