H.E.A. 1570, P.L. 244
Effective: July 1, 2023
- Makes changes in various adoption law provisions to provide 15 days (rather than 30 days) to contest certain adoptions.
- Provides that a confidentiality agreement entered into between a foster parent and the Department of Child Services (DCS) may not prohibit the foster parent from releasing or disclosing information to a duly elected state government official for whom the information is relevant to the official’s responsibility under the law to protect children from child abuse and neglect (elected official).
- Provides an exception prohibiting release or disclosure of specified information and records regarding a child who is or was in foster care or under the supervision of a juvenile court, or regarding the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian.
- Provides that the DCS may not: (1) take adverse action against a foster parent’s license; or (2) remove a foster child from the home of a foster parent; solely on the basis of the foster parent having spoken to an elected official.
- Requires the DCS to provide a licensed foster parent with: (1) an information packet describing the foster parent’s rights and the grievance filing process; and (2) a complete copy of the DCS’s policy manual.
- Provides that the DCS may not remove a foster child from the home of a foster parent, unlicensed caregiver, or de facto custodian solely on the basis of the foster parent, unlicensed caregiver, or de facto custodian having filed a petition to adopt the child.
- Allows a child’s adoptive parent to request that the DCS allow the child to have visitation with the child’s sibling.
- Requires the DCS to provide notice of the DCS’s decision regarding a request for sibling visitation not later than seven (7) business days after the DCS receives the request.
- Provides that if: (1) a child is the subject of a petition alleging that the child is a child in need of services; and (2) a parent of the child has been convicted of 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.
- Provides that 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: (1) upon filing of a motion with the court by a party to the proceeding; and (2) absent good cause shown for the failure to hold the hearing before the statutorily required deadline.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1570