The House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee heard SB 1 on the Department of Child Services (DCS), sponsored by Rep. Mahan. The bill makes various changes:
- Indicates a court shall determine that consent to adoption is not required from the parent if the parent is convicted of certain crimes, which would also include crimes in another state that are substantially similar to those in Indiana.
- Decisions made by DCS or the courts shall be made in consideration of the best interests of the child or children concerned.
- DCS is required to make diligent efforts to identify all adult relatives and adult siblings who may be considered as out of home placements from the inception of the case for at least twelve (12) months.
- DCS and Office of Judicial Administration shall collaborate, with input from foster parents and other stakeholders, on the creation of a foster parent reporting form which can be used to provide written testimony to the court. Foster parents are not required to use this specific form to submit written testimony.
- Adds a new section to require DCS operate a 24/7 hotline for family case managers for the purpose of providing access to assist in finding a relative, foster or other suitable placement for a child.
- Amends the law to provide waiver of the number of children in a foster home, if a child is being placed in the foster family home for a second or subsequent time, and other conditions are met.
- Adds a new section to provide foster parents may petition to intervene as a party in any stage of a CHINS or termination of parental rights proceeding and sets forth hearing requirements on the petition.
- When preparing the progress report, DCS shall include any information and recommendations obtained from foster parents as part of the report.
- A foster parent, relative of the child, or a de facto custodian with whom the child has been placed for more than six(6) months, may file a notice to the court indicating that the child has been placed out of home for more than 15 of the previous 22 months, and the court shall schedule a hearing within thirty (30) days.
- Requires the DCS and Office of Judicial Administration to report to the General Assembly on efforts to provide training and technical assistance to juvenile judges on foster parents’ statutory right to be heard.
Three amendments were accepted by the committee. The first provided when an adoption occurs for a person over the age of eighteen, a medical history is not required to be filed along with or after a petition for adoption. The second amendment clarifies that the definition of long-term foster parent includes foster parents that have provided care and supervision for the most recent 12 months, removes a requirement that case review reports must include foster parent recommendations, and makes some technical amendments. Judge Graham introduced the third amendment which would tighten the CHINS definition in HB 1006. This amendment states a court may find that a child is not a CHINS under Ind. Code 31-34-1-1 if the court finds that the parent, guardian, or custodian is financially unable to provide food, clothing, or shelter, and that caretaker has not failed, refused, or demonstrated an inability to seek financial or other means to do so.
Representatives of Indiana Foster and Adoptive Parents, DCS, the Indiana Association of Resources and Child Advocacy, and various individuals testified in support of the bill. Judge Faith Graham also testified about the bill’s requirements. The amended bill passed 10-1.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/1