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HRS §587A-7.5

Disability cannot be the only reason a child is removed

A court cannot decide a child's family is unsafe just because a parent or caregiver has a disability. If disability is part of the reason, the court must write down why. The person claiming the disability harms parenting must show a clear link between the disability and the specific parenting problem.

courtsparents

The statute, as written — Safe family home factors; disability

The court shall not consider the disability of a parent or caregiver to be the sole factor in the court's determination made pursuant to this part. If the court makes a determination that a child's family is unable to provide a safe family home and one or more of the child's parents or caregivers are disabled, the court shall make specific written findings stating the basis for this determination. The party attempting to demonstrate that the disability of a parent or caregiver impairs the parent's or caregiver's ability to parent must prove that the disability is a factor, and demonstrate a clear nexus between the disability and the alleged parental deficiency.
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.