The House Committee on Family, Children, and Human Affairs heard SB 428 sponsored by Rep. DeVon about the Department of Child Services. The bill requires DCS to describe in a child’s case plan any efforts made to coordinate with school officials in developing the case plan And requires DCS to provide information to the court to be made part of the court record if DCS receives information that indicates that a parent, guardian, or custodian may have violated a dispositional order. The author, Sen. Zay, explained a case in his district that gave rise to the first part of the bill, where a school was extremely concerned about a child’s wellbeing and DCS refused to share any information or coordinate services with the school. The second part of the bill is intended to ensure that when a parent whose child is a CHINS fails a drug test ordered by probation or corrections, that information also goes into the CHINS record so that judges have all relevant information in the CHINS case.
An amendment was made to clarify language regarding the DCS-school coordination. DCS testified on the DCS policy that a child cannot be adjudicated CHINS based on a single positive drug test, and this is also established in case law. The decision on case disposition is up to the judge, who hears recommendations from DCS, CASA, parents and foster parents, and makes the ultimate determination. Sen. Zay explained that the intent of the drug test portion of the bill is to ensure that the judge has all the relevant information. The amended bill passed, 13-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2018/bills/senate/428