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HRS §321-16.5

Special treatment facilities

This section says all special treatment facilities must be licensed. The director must make rules to ensure these facilities provide proper residential treatment programs, follow federal law, and include penalties for breaking the rules. It also defines short-term and long-term residential programs and who counts as socially or emotionally distressed.

everyone

The statute, as written — Special treatment facilities

(a) All special treatment facilities shall be licensed to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the individuals placed therein. (b) The director shall adopt rules, in accordance with chapter 91, regarding special treatment facilities that shall be designed to: (1) Provide a therapeutic residential program for care, diagnosis, treatment, or rehabilitation for socially or emotionally distressed persons, mentally ill persons, persons suffering from substance abuse, and developmentally disabled persons. Special treatment facilities shall include a short-term crisis residential program or a long-term residential treatment program; (2) Comply with applicable federal laws and regulations; and (3) Provide penalties for the failure to comply with any rule. (c) For the purposes of this section: "Long-term residential" means a residential treatment program for persons whose duration of stay is thirty days or longer. "Short-term crisis residential" means a residential treatment program for persons who are in crisis and whose duration of stay is less than thirty days. "Socially or emotionally distressed person" means an individual who is experiencing psychiatric symptomatology that may be acute or chronic in nature, which requires therapeutic or rehabilitative services.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.