Haw. Rev. Stat. § 571-11 (2026)

PART II.  JURISDICTION

     §571-11  Jurisdiction; children.  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings:

     (1)  Concerning any person who is at least twelve years old and is alleged to have committed an act before achieving eighteen years of age that would constitute a violation or attempted violation of any federal, state, or local law or county ordinance.  Regardless of where the violation occurred, jurisdiction may be taken by the court of the circuit where the person resides, is living, or is found, or in which the offense is alleged to have occurred;

     (2)  Concerning any child living or found within the circuit who is:

          (A)  Neglected as to or deprived of educational services because of the failure of any person or agency to exercise that degree of care for which it is legally responsible;

          (B)  Beyond the control of the child's parent or other custodian or whose behavior is injurious to the child's own or others' welfare;

          (C)  Neither attending school nor receiving educational services required by law whether through the child's own misbehavior or nonattendance or otherwise; or

          (D)  In violation of curfew;

     (3)  To determine the custody of any child or appoint a guardian of any child;

     (4)  For the adoption of a person under chapter 578;

     (5)  For the termination of parental rights under sections 571-61 through 571-63;

     (6)  For judicial consent to the marriage, employment, or enlistment of a child, when consent is required by law;

     (7)  For the treatment or commitment of a mentally defective or mentally ill child, or a child with an intellectual disability;

     (8)  Under the Interstate Compact on Juveniles under chapter 582 or the Interstate Compact for Juveniles under chapter 582D;

     (9)  For the protection of any child under chapter 587A;

    (10)  For a change of name as provided in section 574-5(a)(2)(C);

    (11)  Concerning custody or guardianship of an immigrant child pursuant to a motion for special immigrant juvenile factual findings requesting a determination that the child was abused, neglected, or abandoned before the age of eighteen years for purposes of section 101(a)(27)(J) of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "child" means an unmarried individual under the age of twenty-one years; and

    (12)  Concerning emancipation of a minor pursuant to section 577-25. [L 1965, c 232, pt of §1; Supp, §333-8; HRS §571-11; am L 1970, c 81, §1; am L 1972, c 2, pt of §33; am L 1976, c 85, §4; am L 1980, c 303, §7(1); am L 1983, c 171, §2; am L 1986, c 250, §3; am L 2004, c 161, §36; am L 2009, c 93, §2; am L 2010, c 135, §7; am L 2011, c 220, §8; am L 2020, c 36, §2; am L 2023, c 79, §1; am L 2025, c 84, §2]

Cross References

  Children under twelve, see §571-44.

  Commitment, see chapters 333F and 334.

  Determination of custody, see §§571-46, 571-46.1.

  Guardianship, see chapter 560, article V.

  Waiver of jurisdiction, see §571-22.

Rules of Court

  Applicability of Hawaii Rules of Civil Procedure, see HRCP rules 1, 81; applicability of Hawaii Rules of Penal Procedure, see HRPP rules 1, 54.

  Proceedings, see Hawaii Family Court Rules, part D.

Law Journals and Reviews

  Limits of Family Court Jurisdiction Under Section 571-11(2) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes.  10 HBJ, no. 2, at 41 (1973).

Case Notes

  Jurisdiction, custody of children.  49 H. 20, 29-31, 407 P.2d 885 (1965).

  Child's right to support in action against parent.  49 H. 200, 412 P.2d 638 (1966).

  Family court has jurisdiction to determine custodial and visitation rights of the natural father of illegitimate child.  56 H. 462, 541 P.2d 13 (1975).

  Court retains "exclusive original jurisdiction" where jurisdiction is not validly waived.  61 H. 185, 599 P.2d 200 (1979).

  Section 571-48 applies only to minors actually adjudicated under this section, and placement of a minor, prior to adjudication, is dealt with under §571-32.  84 H. 41, 928 P.2d 883 (1996).

  The family court may adjudicate and punish status offenders under paragraph (1) for criminal contempt based on violations of court orders of protective supervision, provided the minor is given sufficient notice to comply, the court considers less restrictive alternatives, and contact between the status offender and juvenile delinquents convicted of other crimes are kept to a minimum.  96 H. 73, 26 P.3d 562 (2001).

  As claim that health department was legally obligated to pay for child's services at private residential treatment center arose under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and child did not pursue the remedies available under the federal act to establish health department's obligation to pay for the services, family court lacked jurisdiction to order the department to pay for the services.  96 H. 272, 30 P.3d 878 (2001).

  As district family court proceedings under paragraph (1) concerning juvenile law violators are considered to be noncriminal proceedings, prosecution's appeal of family court order was not authorized by §641-13(7).  104 H. 403, 91 P.3d 485 (2004).

  The district family courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, under any circumstances, to order the department of education to alter a child's grade placement.  105 H. 38, 93 P.3d 1145 (2008).

  Where minor was adjudicated for alleged law violations without the statutorily required recommendation of a qualified physician or psychologist, pursuant to §571-44, and without the constitutional protections that apply to proceedings conducted under paragraph (1) jurisdiction, the family court erred in proceeding under paragraph (2) jurisdiction based on the material allegations of the amended petition filed against minor.  123 H. 184, 231 P.3d 457 (2010).

  No reversible error is committed where the family court employs rules from the HRPP in adjudicating §571-11(1) proceedings, if the otherwise correct use of such rules does not conflict with judicial administration of chapter 571 and is not unfairly prejudicial to minor(s) involved.  79 H. 265 (App.), 900 P.2d 1332 (1995).

  A family court may exercise jurisdiction over a child in a paragraph (3) divorce case while a paragraph (9) case involving the same child is on appeal.  81 H. 91 (App.), 912 P.2d 588 (1996).

  While a family court has jurisdiction over custody of two children in a paragraph (9) case, a family court may also assert jurisdiction over the custody of those same children in a paragraph (3) divorce case.  81 H. 91 (App.), 912 P.2d 588 (1996).

  Family court properly exercised jurisdiction over person alleged to have committed acts which would have constituted violations of state law before person was eighteen years old.  86 H. 517 (App.), 950 P.2d 701 (1997).

  Minor was properly adjudicated a law violator in a criminal contempt proceeding for failing to comply with rules of a protective supervision order.  96 H. 255 (App.), 30 P.3d 269 (2001).

  Family court orders assessing father's attorney fees and costs against mother were orders entered in a proceeding based upon paragraph (9) that fell within the ambit of §571-54 and were expressly excluded by the Hawaii family court rules, rule 59(e) from its ambit.  113 H. 478 (App.), 155 P.3d 661 (2007).

  Any person who is alleged, pursuant to paragraph (1), to have committed an act prior to achieving eighteen years of age which would constitute a violation of law (as described in this statute) shall be advised of his or her right to testify, and in every adjudication under paragraph (1) in which the accused minor does not testify, a family court must engage in a Tachibana-like colloquy to obtain an on-the-record waiver of that right.  121 H. 92 (App.), 214 P.3d 1082 (2009).

  Parents have standing throughout a juvenile's proceeding conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).  121 H. 92 (App.), 214 P.3d 1082 (2009).