The Senate Family and Children Services Committee heard HB 1064 authored by Rep. DeVon and sponsored by Sen. Donato and Sen. Walker on DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies. The bill removes language regarding medical passports and relocates the definition of “foster youth” and defines “licensed kinship caregiver”. The bill requires if a child in foster care receives medical care, the person having custody of the child shall inform the provider the child is in foster care and require a copy of the medical treatment record be sent to the local office. The bill also removes the age requirement for eligibility and provides that a child who is a ward of the DCS is considered hard to place for purposes of eligibility of state adoption subsidies and removes the priority for funding if funds are insufficient. Finally, the bill makes technical and conforming changes.
The Department of Child Services testified in support of the bill. The bill passed 7-0 and was recommitted to Senate Appropriations.
Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/house/1064