H.E.A. 1369, P.L. 70
Effective: March 11, 2024
- Amends the definition for “act of rape”, only for the purposes of I.C. 31-35-3.5 (termination of parent-child relationship of an individual who committed an act of rape), to include child molestation and sexual misconduct with a minor.
- 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.
- 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 as a result of the offense.
- Amends the circumstances under which a court may terminate the parent-child relationship with regard to a child in need of services.
Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/house/1369