The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1493 on the elimination of costs and fees in juvenile court authored by Rep. McNamara and Rep. Steuerwald. The bill provides that a parent is presumed indigent for purposes of parental payment or reimbursement for services provided by the department of child services to a child adjudicated delinquent or a child in need of services. The bill further provides that, when the department of correction is awarded wardship of a child, the juvenile court may not order a parent to pay or reimburse the department unless the juvenile court makes a specific finding that the parent is able to pay. Removes fees and costs associated with a child alleged to be a delinquent child from the supplemental public defender services fund and the public defense administration fee.
Rep. McNamara explained that while these fees and costs are currently levied, very little of the assessed costs are actually collected. Rep. McNamara introduced Amendment #1 to authorize the alternative dispute resolution fund to be used to pay for guardian ad litem services in divorce/custody and paternity cases; it also strikes the provision that a court may not order parties into mediation if a person is charged with a crime against a person and provides that the court must determine if participation in the services provided by this fund poses an unreasonable risk of harm to any party. Amendment #1 was adopted by consent.
Testimony in support of the bill was heard from Stand for Children Indiana, Family Law Task Force, Indiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Children’s Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana, Marion County Commission on Youth, Indiana Public Defender Council, ACLU Indiana, and members of the public. The amended bill passed 12-1.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1493