The Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB 1369 on family and juvenile law matters sponsored by Sen. Brown, Sen. Koch, and Sen. Dernulc. Author, Rep. McGuire, stated the bill prioritizes child safety and decreases the time to permanency for children in foster care. The bill provides clear and concise statutory guidelines for DCS and the courts to use when determining the permanency plan and for reaching permanency to significantly reduce time in foster care.
Multiple foster care and adoptive parents, and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified in opposition. The bill passed 11-0.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/house/1369