The House Family, Children, and Human Affairs Committee heard HB 1407 on parental rights authored by Rep. DeVon and Rep. Jeter. The bill would do the following: The Committee voted 11-0 to adopt amendment #2 which provides that if the juvenile court finds that a child is a child in need of services because the child substantially endangers the child's own or … [Read more...] about Parental rights
Juvenile
Elimination of costs and fees in juvenile court
The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1493 on the elimination of costs and fees in juvenile court authored by Rep. McNamara and Rep. Steuerwald. The bill provides that a parent is presumed indigent for purposes of parental payment or reimbursement for services provided by the department of child services to a child adjudicated delinquent or a child in need of … [Read more...] about Elimination of costs and fees in juvenile court
Sibling groups in family reunification plans
The House Judiciary Committee heard HB 1169 authored by Rep. Schaibley on sibling groups in family reunification plans. The bill requires courts to consider whether a child’s reunification with a parent, guardian, or custodian will result in separation of the child from a sibling and whether that separation from the sibling is in the child’s best interest. Foster parents and Cha … [Read more...] about Sibling groups in family reunification plans
Failure to appear or answer a traffic summons
The House Roads and Transportation Committee heard HB 1156 authored by Rep. Criswell on failure to appear or answer a traffic summons. The bill provides a process for suspending the Indiana driving privileges of a minor who is an Indiana resident for failing to appear or answer a traffic summons. A representative of the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support … [Read more...] about Failure to appear or answer a traffic summons
Department of Child Services
The House Committee on Family, Children and Human Affairs heard HB 1340 authored by Rep. DeVon on the Department of Child Services. This is the DCS agency bill, which does the following: The Department of Child Services testified to explain the bill and answer questions. The bill passed 12-0. Read the bill at https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2023/bills/house/1340 … [Read more...] about Department of Child Services