The House Judiciary Committee heard SB 305, sponsored by Rep. Frizzell and Rep. McNamara, on Department of Child Services matters. This bill makes a child who is a victim of human or sexual trafficking a new CHINS category, and adds a CHINS chapter for a child who lives in the same household as an adult who committed or charged with human or sexual trafficking. It also removes a requirement that a delinquent be removed from the home in order to have DCS pay for services in an informal adjustment, deletes statutes permitting a court to assign a case to a foster care review board, allows a court to approve payment of more than $3,000 for adoption expenses in payment to a birth parent if a state with jurisdiction over the child has a higher limit than Indiana for these expenses, extends the deadline for DCS or the probation department to notify a school corporation that a student will be placed in the school district from June 30 to September 1, and adds language to permit DCS to share reports of abuse or neglect with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Two amendments were adopted by the committee. The first amendment expanded the Indiana definition of human and sexual trafficking to include a federal definition and that of other states. The second amendment added the language of Senate Bill 26, which provides that a child is a CHINS if the child lives in the same household as an adult who committed or was charged with certain offenses. Representatives from the Governor’s Office, DCS, IARCA and Prevent Child Abuse Indiana spoke in favor of the legislation. The amended bill passed12-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2016/bills/senate/305