The Senate Appropriations Committee heard SB 180 authored by Sen. Jon Ford on appointed attorneys for children in juvenile court. The bill (1) requires the appointment of an attorney for each child in a Child in Need of Services (CHINS) case where abuse or neglect is alleged, and in a termination of parental rights (TPR) case, (2) specifies that a child’s guardian ad litem or special advocate must be an attorney, (3) specifies that the attorney for the child, as well as the attorney for the parent in a TPR proceeding, shall be appointed before the first hearing, (4) requires the attorney to meet with the child within 14 days of the preliminary protective hearing and before all substantive hearings, and (5) provides that if the court finds that a parent has the ability to pay all or part of the attorney cost, the court shall order the parent to pay the amount ordered by the court, enforceable by a civil judgment.
The bill was amended by consent to request that the topic be reviewed by an interim study committee. The Indiana Association of Counties and the Children’s Law Center of Indiana testified as supportive of the concept but expressed concerns about the practicalities of the bill including costs and logistics. Both organizations supported the bill being studied further.
The amended bill passed 13-0. Read the bill at: http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2022/bills/senate/180