I previously wrote about Senate Bill 0202 in this post before it was heard in committee. During the 30 January hearing questions were raised by committee members about the ability of judges to obtain confidential files in other cases – CHiNS cases in particular. The chair tabled the bill and scheduled it to be heard at today's hearing.
The synopsis of the bill is as follows: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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Petitions to modify custody and visitation. Provides that if a person files a petition to establish or modify a guardianship, visitation, or child custody, the person shall state in a verified petition whether the person has been the subject of a department of child services (DCS) investigation, whether the child has been the subject of a DCS investigation, or if the child has been determined to be a child in need of services.
I have submitted three proposed amendments to the authors. The first is to expand the scope of cases to be disclosed from that of knowing of the case to also include having reason to believe that a case exist. The second is to expand the covered persons from only the petitioner to also include anyone who may become a guardian or who may have parenting time affected. These two amendments jointly serve the purpose of ensuring that the court is aware that a person who may be in a custodial position to the child have received an adverse finding by CPS. Because CHiNS cases are confidential the party wanting to bring it to the court's attention may not have the specific case information. I participated in a contested custody case once where the mother's sister had notified father of a CPS case involving a different child of the mother's. This amendment would provide the court with that fringe information by which the court could then obtain the particulars.
The third amendment provides that the petition must comply with the confidentiality statutes and be filed in accordance with Administrative Rule 9(G) so as to not put the confidential information into the public domain. It also provides the rule allowing judges to declare their need to review the confidential files.
My proposed amendments to the bill are in red as follows;
Page 1
1 SECTION 1. IC 29-3-2-7 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
2 AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY
3 1, 2013]: Sec. 7. (a) A person who files a petition to establish or
4 modify a guardianship of a person less than eighteen (18) years of
5 age must set forth a verified petition stating whether the petitioner
knows or has reason to believe that:
6 (1) the person filing the petition, a person whose guardianship of
the child may be affected, or the
[DUPLICATE SIMILAR LANGUAGE AS APPROPRIATE FOR ALL SECTIONS]
Page 2
8 (d) A court reviewing a petition to modify a guardianship may,
consistent with subsection (f),
9 request information regarding the department of child services
10 case or the child in need of services case of the person filing the
11 petition or the person under the guardianship. The department
12 shall answer the court's request for information not later than ten
13 (10) days after the court requests the information.
14 (e) Information disclosed in any petition filed pursuant to this
section that contains identifying information that has been deemed
confidential by Indiana Administrative Rule 9(G)(1)(b) must be
filed on green paper and excluded from public access.
(f) Information in a case record that is excluded from public access
by Indiana Adm. R. 9(G)(1)(b) may be made accessible if
the information is declared by a court with jurisdiction over the
case to be essential to the resolution of litigation, or, if the
information is released by each person to whom such information
pertains as permitted by Adm. R. (9)(G)(3).
[DUPLICATE THIS LANGUAGE FOR ALL SECTIONS]
14 SECTION 2. IC 31-14-13-12 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA
15 CODE AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS
16 [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2013]: Sec. 12. (a) A person who files a
17 petition to establish or modify the custody of a child or parenting
18 time with a child must set forth in a verified petition stating whether
the petitioner knows or has reason to believe that:
19 (1) the person filing the petition, a person whose custody or
parenting time of the child may be affected, or the child has been
20 investigated by the department of child services; and
21 (2) the child has been determined to be a child in need of
22 services under IC 31-34.
Parents who would like to achieve the best outcome for their children in a contested child custody case should visit my website and contact my scheduler to make an appointment to meet with me. Attorneys may request a free consultation to learn how I can maximize their advocacy for their clients.
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
2013 Indiana SB 202 Child Custody Modifications amendments - Legislation Part 19
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