Central registry; expungement
HRS §350-2.5
in effect350-2.5. Central registry; expungement
[Section effective July 1, 2025.] (a) The department shall maintain a central registry of reported child abuse or neglect cases. When the department confirms a report by a preponderance of the evidence that a person is the perpetrator of child abuse or neglect, harm, or threatened harm, the person's name shall be included in the central registry.
(b) The department shall promptly expunge a
person's name from the central registry if:
(1) The report is determined not confirmed by the
department, including after administrative proceedings conducted pursuant to
chapter 91; provided that in an administrative appeal hearing, the department
shall have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the
confirmation was correct; or
(2) The family court determines that the report is
not confirmed after:
(A) A petition arising from the report filed
pursuant to section 587A-12 has been dismissed by order of the family court because the court did not find sufficient evidence based
upon a preponderance of the evidence to assume jurisdiction pursuant to
section 587A-5; or
(B) A written report with the disposition is
submitted to the family court pursuant to a referral under section 586-10.5,
and the family court finds that the facts supporting the confirmation were not
proven by a preponderance of the evidence.
The family court shall retain exclusive
jurisdiction for purposes of determining that a report was correctly confirmed
under this paragraph as long as the family court matter is pending. The person
whose name is included in the central registry shall not request an
administrative appeal hearing to contest the confirmation unless the family
court dismisses or closes the related matter without making findings as to the
facts supporting the confirmation.
(c) A person who has been confirmed as the
perpetrator of abuse or neglect, harm, or threatened harm, whose name has not
been expunged from the central registry pursuant to subsection (b), may submit
a request for expungement to the department; provided that:
(1) The confirmation is more than five years old;
(2) The record does not involve aggravated
circumstances or conduct described in paragraph (1)(B) of the definition of
child abuse or neglect in section 350-1; and
(3) There are no other reports of abuse or neglect
subsequent to the confirmation.
Requests submitted that do not meet these minimum
requirements shall be denied.
(d) A person seeking to have the person's own
name expunged pursuant to subsection (c) shall submit a request for expungement
to the department on a form prescribed by the department. The request for
expungement shall be reviewed in accordance with rules adopted by the
department pursuant to chapter 91 that shall consider, at minimum, the
following criteria:
(1) Length of time since the report was confirmed;
(2) Severity of the abuse or neglect, harm, or
threatened harm;
(3) Age of the child at the time of the report;
(4) Age of the confirmed perpetrator at the time of
the report;
(5) Evidence of the confirmed perpetrator's
rehabilitation; and
(6) Any other relevant information received and
deemed credible by the department.
(e) Upon review of a request for expungement,
the department may grant the request for expungement based on a finding of good
cause shown that the expungement would serve the interests of justice. A
person whose request for expungement is denied shall not submit another request
for expungement for a period of five years from the date of the denial or five
years from the date the denial is affirmed on appeal, whichever is later.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law
to the contrary, the department may review reports on its own action and, in
its discretion, may expunge a person's name from the central registry based on
criteria established in rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91.
(g) Records and information contained in a
report for which a person's name is expunged from the central registry shall be
retained by the department solely for future risk and safety assessment
purposes.
[L 2024, c 147, §2]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol07_Ch0346-0398/HRS0350/HRS_0350-0002_0005.htmFetched: 11/10/2026