Please help amend Indiana's child custody laws

Commission on Indiana Child Support and Parenting Time Laws and Guidelines

If you have been through a divorce, been involved in a CPS action, had a child born out-of-wedlock, had a child custody dispute or been subject to a support payment order then you may be interested in reading about how you can affect changing these laws and guidelines.

The Indiana General Assembly has made its priority to recess by 05 March 2010 for this legislative session. Following that I would like to begin work on proposals affecting family law for the 2011 legislative session.

In this session I have seen two bills that have demonstrated a clear need to fully vet bills prior to going to the chamber floor for a vote. The law making process does include the opportunity for interim study committees and further committees in each chamber as the bills progress. However, I believe that one major obstruction to legislation getting to the floor for a vote is the lack of time to fully vet bills in committee.

If a proposal has been vetted prior to becoming a bill I feel that I have greater likelihood that I will get committees chairs to set the bills for hearing. I can demonstrate to them that the major stakeholders have already debated the issue and ensured that the language of the bill complies with related federal and state statutes.

There is still opportunity for inclusion into the commission which is the writing group for the proposals and ultimately bills to be presented to the Indiana General Assembly in 2011. The commission includes legislators, family law attorneys, mental health professionals, domestic violence advocates, child advocates, law enforcement personnel, educators and a wide array of family members.

Members of the public are invited to participate in the discussion by visiting the Commission's Facebook page. The discussions will formally begin on 20 March 2010 following the meeting on the Domestic Relations Committee on the preceding day. If you are a family law professional and would like to be included on the Commission's e-mail list please contact me.


Subscribe


Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates

©2010 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.