Parental Substance Use as Child Maltreatment - Hawaii

Substance-Exposed Newborns

This issue is not addressed in the statutes reviewed.

Children Exposed to Parental Substance Use
Citation: Rev. Stat. §§ 350-1;712-1240.5

'Child abuse or neglect' means the acts or omissions of any person or legal entity who is in any manner or degree related to the child, residing with the child, or otherwise responsible for the child's care, which have resulted in harm to the physical or psychological health or welfare of a child under age 18, or have subjected the health or welfare of the child to any reasonably foreseeable, substantial risk of being harmed.

For the purposes of reports, acts or omissions are indicated by circumstances that include, but are not limited to, when the child is provided with dangerous, harmful, or detrimental drugs; provided that this paragraph shall not apply when such drugs are provided to the child pursuant to the direction or prescription of a practitioner.

Except as provided below, any person convicted of manufacturing a controlled substance in violation of this chapter, who commits the offense knowing that a child under age 16 is present in the structure where the offense occurs, shall be sentenced to a term of 2 years imprisonment to run consecutively to the maximum indeterminate term of imprisonment for the conviction of any offense involving the manufacturing of a controlled substance.

Any person convicted of manufacturing a controlled substance in violation of this chapter, who commits the offense knowing that a child under age 18 is present in the structure where the offense occurs and causes the child to suffer serious or substantial bodily injury, shall be sentenced to a term of 5 years imprisonment to run consecutively to the maximum indeterminate term of imprisonment for the conviction of any offense involving the manufacturing of a controlled substance.

As used in this section, 'structure' means any house, apartment building, shop, warehouse, building, vessel, cargo container, motor vehicle, tent, recreational vehicle, trailer, or other enclosed space capable of holding a child and equipment for the manufacture of a controlled substance.