The House Family, Children and Human Affairs Committee heard HB 1570 on family and juvenile law matters authored by Rep. Olthoff, Rep. Lauer, Rep. Schaibley, and Rep. Jackson. The bill provides that:
- A foster parent may provide documents and reports to a duly elected member of state or local government and is immune from liability for disclosing confidential information when speaking with a duly elected member of state or local government.
- Department of Child Services (DCS) may not take adverse action against a foster parent’s license; or remove a foster child from the home of a foster parent; solely on the basis of the foster parent having spoken to a duly elected member of state or local government.
- DCS provides a licensed foster parent with an information packet describing the foster parent’s rights and the grievance filing process; and a complete copy of DCS’s policy manual.
- DCS may not remove a foster child from the home of a foster parent, kinship caregiver, or de facto custodian solely on the basis of the foster parent, kinship caregiver, or de facto custodian having filed a petition to adopt the child.
- DCS gives the Social Security number of a child to a person providing foster care to the child if specified conditions are satisfied.
- A child’s adoptive parent can request DCS allow the child visitation with the child’s sibling.
- DCS gives notice of DCS’s decision regarding a request for sibling visitation not later than seven business days after the department receives the request.
- A foster parent of a child in a juvenile law proceeding has party status regarding the child if the child has been under the foster parent’s care and supervision for at least six months; or DCS has committed a legal error.
- If a child is the subject of a petition alleging that the child is a child in need of services and a parent of the child has been convicted of, or has been charged with and is awaiting trial for, committing one or more specified offenses against the child; there is a rebuttable presumption that it is in the child’s best interests to prohibit the parent from having in person contact with the child until a dispositional decree is entered or the petition is dismissed.
- Foster parents and kinship caregivers must be given notice of and allowed to participate in; child and family team meetings.
- If a hearing regarding a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship is not held before the statutorily required deadline, the court shall dismiss the petition without prejudice upon filing of a motion with the court by a party to the proceeding and absent good cause shown for the failure to hold the hearing before the statutorily required deadline
The bill was amended by consent to remove:
- the definition of “kinship caregiver” and amends the existing definition for “unlicensed caregiver”;
- allowing foster parents to have access to foster child’s Social Security number;
- giving party status to foster parents; and,
- defining and requiring the department of child services to give notice of and allow a foster parent or kinship caregiver to participate in a CFT meeting.
The amendment addressed several legal issues raised by the Indiana Public Defender Council in testifying in opposition to the bill. The Department of Child Services also testified in opposition to some of provisions of the bill. A foster parent and Champions for Children testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Association of Resources and Child Advocacy (IARCA) provided neutral testimony on the bill. The amended bill passed 9-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1570.