Adoption Agencies in Hawaii

If you are a pregnant woman or birth mother please click here to see information that is geared to your needs.

If you are an adopting family we believe you will find the information below helpful. We begin by giving you information regarding child adoption law in Hawaii (some of what you can and can't do) and then provide you with information on children available for adoption in Hawaii.  We then relate how we can assist you during the adoption process, and finally we provide a list of licensed Hawaii adoption agencies through which you can browse for additional information.

Before starting to search for a child to adopt or an agency to assist you, it is important that you understand how the adoption laws in Hawaii may affect your decisions. Making informed decisions is the best way of increasing your chances of adopting a child.  By way of example, we have listed below a few of the important parts of Hawaii child adoption law including the critical issue of ending the biological parental rights (called a Consent, Relinquishment or Surrender).

Consent to Adoption
Who Must Consent to an Adoption
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(a)

Written consent to a proposed adoption must be executed by:

The
mother of the child
A legal father
An adjudicated father whose relationship to the child has been determined by a court
A presumed father
A concerned natural father who is not the legal, adjudicated, or presumed father but who has demonstrated a reasonable degree of interest, concern, or responsibility as to the welfare of a child
Any person or agency having legal custody of the child or legally empowered to consent
The court having jurisdiction of the custody of the child, if the legal guardian or legal custodian of the person of the child is not empowered to consent to adoption

Age When Consent of Adoptee is Considered or Required
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(a)(8)

A child age 10 older must consent, unless the court, in the child's best interest, dispenses with the need for the child to consent.

When Parental Consent is not Needed
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2

Consent is not required from the following:
A parent who has deserted a child without affording means of identification for a period of 90 days
A parent who has voluntarily surrendered the care and custody of the child to another for a period of 2 years
A parent, whose child is in the custody of another, who has failed for a period of at least 1year to communicate with the child or provide for the care and support of the child when able to do so
A natural father who was not married to the child's mother at the time of the child's conception or birth and has not established paternity
A parent whose parental rights have been judicially terminated
A parent judicially declared mentally ill, mentally retarded, or incapacitated from giving consent
Any legal guardian or custodian who is found by the court to be withholding consent unreasonably

When Consent Can Be Executed
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 571-61

The petition [for relinquishment] may be filed at any time following the mother's sixth month of pregnancy. No judgment may be entered upon a petition concerning an unborn child until after the birth of the child and the petitioners have filed a written reaffirmation of their desires to relinquish and the petitioners have been given not less than 10 days notice of a proposal for the entry of judgment and an opportunity to be heard in connection with such proposal.

Revocation of Consent
Citation: Rev. Stat. § 578-2(f)

Consent cannot be withdrawn after the child is placed with prospective adoptive parents, unless the court finds it would be in the child's best interest.

Rights of Presumed (Putative) Fathers
Registry/Paternity Requirements to Receive Notice
Citation: §§ 584-6(a)(1); 571-61(b)

The putative father must file within 30 days after the child's birth if the mother relinquishes the child for adoption during the 30 day period.
The putative father may file any time:
Prior to the date of the execution of a valid consent to the child's adoption by the mother
Prior to placement of the child with adoptive parents
No later than 3 years after the child reaches the age of majority
If the court finds that good cause exists why notice should not be given, the court may terminate the rights of the putative father if:
The father is not the legal, adjudicated, or presumed father.
The father has not demonstrated a reasonable degree of interest in, or concern or responsibility for the child.

Please visit adoption law in Hawaii for more details.

Yes, through both public and private adoption agencies.  For example, in 2004, Hawaii had 934 children in the welfare system waiting to be adopted of whom 20 were under the age of 1 year, and 280 were between ages 1-5 years old. The actual number of children adopted through Hawaii public child welfare agencies was only 375, which represents only a small portion of the total number of all Hawaii adoptions (exact numbers are not available at this time).

Remember that while you may be a resident of Hawaii, you are not limited to adopting a child from Hawaii.  You can adopt a child born in Hawaii, a child born in any other U.S. state, or even a foreign born child.  What is important for you to understand is that infants and children are available for adoption in Hawaii, in each of the other the 49 states, and in many foreign countries.

Yes, we can help you and so can any licensed child adoption agency (we have listed several below).  By way of introduction to Adoption Services, Inc, I will relate to you a little about myself and our child adoption agency.

Almost 40 years ago I (Dr. Vince Berger) began working as a psychologist with pregnant teens in the Pittsburgh city school system. It was very challenging because in those days there were very few services for these young women, society was not yet accepting of unmarried and/or pregnant teens, and the word "adoption" was hardly ever used.

I loved the work I was doing and knowing that I was personally able to help so many of the pregnant women I was working with. But something was missing - I did not feel I was helping people enough. So, I set out to provide the personal and professional care that a birth mother and adopting family need and deserve in the adoption process.

I started a full service, non-profit adoption agency. Not just any agency, but one that was, and still is, dedicated to helping birth parents and adopting families receive the best and most comprehensive of adoption related services. Over the past 20 years, my staff and I have helped over 9,000 adopting families, birth parents, their babies and children.

I love helping people. I work 6 days a week and answer calls at all hours. The hours I put in are long but never hard, since I find so much joy and strength in helping others.

My goal continues to be to help you. Accordingly, in addition to the website you are on now and the Adoption Services website, we created Adopting Family Resources and International Adoption Help as well as Child Adoption Laws and Child Adoption Resources and Pregnancy And Children to give you a information and help.

I hope that you will call me or my staff so we can help you in the adoption process. However, if you don't want to call us, then please review the agencies listed here and give one of them a call. Do not give up until you get the help and attention you need and deserve.

Thank you for letting us help, and good luck.

Dr. Berger
and the staff of Adoption Services

Casey Family Programs
1848 Nuuanu Avenue
Honolulu, Oahu, HI 96817
(808) 521-9531

Journeys of the Heart Adoption Services
PO Box 235600
Honolulu, HI 96822
Phone: (808) 391-5493
Toll-Free: (800) 876-0575 birth parents

LDS Social Services
1500 South Beretania Street
Suite 403
Honolulu, HI 96826
Phone: (808) 945-3690
Fax: (808) 945-2811

If you are looking for a child adoption agency simply click the link below for the state to see a list of the adoption agencies in that state.

Why You Need an Adoption Consultant

There are many risks when you go to adopt a child including losing a child after you have already taken them home (referred to as a disruption), loosing all of the money you have invested in the adoption if the birth mother changes her mind, or finding that there are previously unknown or undisclosed fees that may appear. Dr Berger has helped thousands of  adopting families with domestic adoptions and international adoptions and he is available to assist you no matter what type of adoption you chose to pursue and regardless of whether you work with an adoption agency, facilitator or adoption attorney.  He can help you save your  time, effort and money in helping you to decide what routes to take and the best way to achieve your goal of adopting a child. He can help reduce your risks and potential pain and can help you avoid many of the problems and pitfalls found in the adoption process. You can read and download his free adoption manual or, for more information on how he can help you, please visit his Adoption Consultant link or contact him by phone (1-800-943-0400) or email.

    [  Return to Adoption Services Home Page ]