At a previous meeting, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard SB 143 on parental rights, authored by Sen. Liz Brown. The bill: Testimony in support of the bill was provided by the Alliance for Defending Freedom and six members of the public. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana testified against the bill. On January 15, 2025, the bill was heard for amend and … [Read more...] about Parental rights
Department of Child Services
DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies
H.E.A. 1064, P.L. 46 Effective: July 1, 2024 Relocates the definition of "foster youth". Defines "licensed kinship caregiver". Makes the following changes regarding state adoption subsidies: (1) Removes the age requirement for eligibility. (2) Provides that a child who is a ward of the Department of Child Services (DCS) is considered hard to place for purposes of eligibility. … [Read more...] about DCS technical changes and adoption subsidies
Child advocacy centers
H.E.A. 1123, P.L. 54 Effective: July 1, 2024 Provides that the Department of Child Services may use a child advocacy center to coordinate a multidisciplinary team for responding to reports involving child abuse or neglect. Requires the child advocacy center to: (1) coordinate a multidisciplinary team that consists of specified professionals; (2) ensure that the … [Read more...] about Child advocacy centers
Family and juvenile law matters
H.E.A. 1369, P.L. 70 Effective: March 11, 2024 Read the bill at: https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2024/bills/house/1369 … [Read more...] about Family and juvenile law matters
Child advocacy centers
The Senate Family and Children Services Committee heard HB 1123 authored by Rep. DeVon and sponsored by Sen. Messmer on child advocacy centers. The bill: The bill was amended by consent to provide that the bill's civil immunity provision applies to members of a child advocacy center's board of directors and to volunteers and employees of a child advocacy center. The amendment … [Read more...] about Child advocacy centers