The House Committee on Family, Children, and Human Affairs heard SB 381 sponsored by Rep. McNamara about children in need of services. The bill provides that a child who is: (1) a victim of certain offenses; and (2) unlikely to receive necessary care, treatment, or rehabilitation without the intervention of the court; is a child in need of services. It also provides that a child who: (1) lives in the same household as an adult who committed an offense against another child who lives in the household that resulted in a conviction or judgment; or (2) lives in the same household as an adult who has been charged with an offense against another child who lives in the household and is awaiting trial; and is unlikely to receive necessary care, treatment, or rehabilitation without the intervention of the court is a child in need of services. The author, Sen. Messmer, explained that in cases of sexual abuse against one child, all children in a household are considered CHINS, however the same is not true for cases of physical abuse. The bill adds a number of additional offenses to the list of situations where all children in the household are designated CHINS.
The bill passed, 13-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/381