Public Hearing on Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines revisions

The Domestic Relations Committee [DRC] of the Judicial Conference of Indiana met on Friday 19 March 2010 to establish the process by which public input would be taken and revisions made to the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines [IPTG].

In attendance were Cynthia Longest of the Child Support Bureau and Robert Monday of PACE along with Jason Cannon, Chris Ochs and Stuart Showalter of Indiana Shared Parenting and InCRA. Ms Longest explained some of the provisions of the recently adopted Senate Bill 163 also known as the Gambling Intercept Law. Mr Monday and Mr Showalter explained the effect of Senate Bill 178 which was signed by Governor Daniels a week earlier and is known as the Paternity Affidavit amendment.

Committee members discussed some concerns about the IPTG and a process for amending them. It was encouraging to hear the terms Shared Parenting and Parenting Time Coordination used throughout the session. InCRA provided resource materials on Virtual Visitation for the Committees review and consideration. The Committee decided upon a process that will include receiving written comments and testimony at a public hearing. Then a draft proposal will be posted and additional public comment taken on the proposals.

Judicial officers, parents, mental health professionals, attorneys, and members of the public are invited to submit written comments to the DRC by 21 May 2010. Interested parties may submit written comments by mailing them to the Indiana Judicial Center, Domestic Relations Committee, 30 South Meridian Street, Suite 900, Indianapolis, IN 46204-3564.

A public hearing will be held on Friday 21 May 2010 from 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon in the Indiana Supreme Court chambers on the third floor of the Indiana State House in Indianapolis. Interested parties may attend and/or speak at the public hearing. However, speakers will be limited to no more than five minutes each. Persons planning to speak should contact Jeffrey Bercovitz at 317.232.1313.

The Committee will have additional meetings on 16 July, 20 August, 22 October and 19 November. These are meetings conducted in public but are not public input sessions. Interested persons wanting to make comments to the Committee should do so at the public hearing or by sending comments to the Committee.

People who intend to testify should observe some procedural guidelines. These are my own recommendations but are based upon my previous testimony to the Committee and interactions with the Indiana General Assembly.

Observe the time limit. A yellow light will display as you enter your last minute. A red light indicates you have reached your five minutes. One sentence after this is acceptable. I and other stakeholders will make presentations based upon longstanding involvement with the IPTG and input from numerous sources. This does not mean you should not testify but if you hear something from one of us that you were planning to say then simply mention that you agree with what that person said and then add your personal dynamic to it.

Public testimony is not a time to plead your individual case. You may have been denied due process or not received parenting time that is most suitable to you. However, if it does not apply generally then it should not be mentioned. If you and the ex can't understand from the Guidelines when it is required that additional parenting time be offered if a sitter is needed then make a comment to the Committee about that.

I suggest that when you plan to testify make your testimony in writing and provide 12 copies for the Committee members. That way they have all of it even if you don't testify to much of it. Finally, if you intend to submit written comments but not testify submit your written comments in person at the public hearing and offer to answer any questions.

This is your opportunity to affect nearly every child custody case in Indiana. Please take advantage of it.

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