The House Judiciary Committee heard HB 1369 on family and juvenile matters authored by Rep. Julie McGuire. HB 1369 does the following:
- Provides that the department of child services or a court shall consider ensuring the child’s safety to be the most important consideration in the determination of a child’s best interests under family and juvenile law.
- Provides that there is a rebuttable presumption that a child is a child in need of services if the state establishes that the child lives in the same household as an adult who was a perpetrator of a child fatality or near fatality that may have been the result of abuse, abandonment, or neglect.
- Amends the circumstances under which a court may terminate the parent-child relationship with regard to a child in need of services.
Rep. McGuire offered an amendment which defines the “act of rape” to include all forms of child molestation and sexual misconduct with a minor. The proposed amendment adds sexual misconduct with a minor as an offense that may be alleged in a petition to terminate the parent-child relationship when a child is conceived because of the offense. The Committee approved the amended language by consent.
The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and four citizens testified in favor of the bill. Judge Stephanie Campbell, who represented the Indiana Judges Association, provided neutral testimony. The Indiana Public Defender Council opposed the bill.
The amended bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/house/1369