Indiana is one of just six states that does not require counsel for children in child welfare cases in any situation, according to the National Association of Counsel for Children. Although Indiana Code § 31-32-4-2 does give state court judges the discretion to appoint counsel for children in child welfare cases, stakeholders say the Hoosier State could be forced to implement a direct representation program either through lawsuits filed by national children’s rights organization or federal legislation that Congress is considering.
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The fallout is continuing from Indianapolis’ decision to switch providers of CASA and guardian ad litem services.
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Filings for child in need of services and termination of parental rights cases have swung in opposite directions in the past few years, according to statistics released recently by the Indiana Supreme Court.
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With a pending move to a new courthouse, Marion County Courts are launching a new family division that aims to follow a one family, one judge model.
Read MoreThe 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit pushing for better treatment of children in Indiana’s foster care system, finding it difficult to determine what options for relief are open to a federal court but closed to a CHINS court.
Because a mother remained quiet in a CHINS hearing, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed that the trial court had good cause for failing to hold a factfinding hearing within the statutorily required 120-day time frame.
The Marion Superior Court Executive Committee has announced the family recovery court, which started in 2010, will be closing at the end of the month. Dwindling participation along with concerns about how the program was being operated have been cited as among the reasons for the decision to stop. But stakeholders and graduates say the closure will have a devastating impact, rippling beyond the participants to their children and extended family members.
As the Legislature, agency stakeholders and foster parents restart the conversation about providing attorneys for children in child-in-need-of-services and termination of parental rights proceedings, the Child Advocates Direct Representation Program is an example of how direct representation works and what it can do.
A trial court didn’t err when it terminated the parental rights of a mother to her chronically ill son after multiple attempts were made to remedy the situation, the Court of Appeals of Indiana has affirmed.
A southern Indiana couple facing both criminal charges and the termination of their parental rights due to allegations of unreasonable discipline against their children are seeking to use Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act to end, or at least pause, the litigation against them.
The Indiana Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 410 on Wednesday, a measure designed to give “kinship caregivers” the right to intervene in termination of parental rights cases.
In a case that even the district court acknowledged tested the limits of federal interference in state court matters, the Indiana Department of Child Services and Gov. Eric Holcomb are asking the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to review the denial of their motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by children in the foster care system.
The Marion Superior Court, Juvenile Division had good cause when it delayed a pair of hearings in a recent child in need of services case, and the evidence against a father of two supported the trial court’s conclusion that his kids are CHINS, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
The Indiana Supreme Court’s denial of a petition to transfer a challenge to an adoption that was allowed to proceed without the parents’ consent drew a dissent from two justices who argued that forgoing the biological parents’ permission was “inconsistent with the purpose of the CHINS scheme at large.”
Upon being retained by D.S. as counsel in his CHINS proceedings, Indianapolis attorney Rachel Roman-Lagunas visited him regularly, spoke with his family, arranged an in-person visit between him and his mother and assisted in getting him therapy. However, in an unusual turn, her advocacy has been interrupted by the trial court blocking her participation in the case.
A mother who was twice banned from the hospitals where her son was being treated and a father who was found passed out and drunk on the lawn of their temporary housing failed in their challenge to the adjudication of the severely ill son as a child in need of services.
What began as a conversation 18 months ago culminated in May with the merger of the guardian ad litem and court appointed special advocates programs in Allen County, bringing together attorneys and volunteers to serve the abused and neglected children who are involved with the court system.
A Madison County mother was not denied due process in her termination of parental rights case, the Indiana Court of Appeals has affirmed.
The Indiana Public Defender Commission is calling for proposals of projects that will help improve the assistance offered to children and families involved in the child welfare system and prevent involvement altogether.
Monroe County parents protesting the adoption of four of their 14 children could not sway the Indiana Court of Appeals that they were acting with the kids’ best interests in mind by seeking to withdraw their consents to adoption.
The Indiana Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a tax trade publication that sought disclosure of tax dollars and incentives Indianapolis and the state offered Amazon in the city’s failed attempt to lure the online retail giant’s coveted second headquarters project known as HQ2.
Kids’ Voice of Indiana has signed a contract with the city of Indianapolis to provide guardian ad litem and court appointed special advocate services to Marion Superior Courts through the end of 2023, with the nonprofit set to receive $5.4 million for the remainder of 2021.
A CHINS finding against a Hendricks County girl was reversed Thursday after the Indiana Court of Appeals found determined the underlying evidence had been “exaggerated.”
Like a couple deciding not to marry, Kids’ Voice of Indiana and Child Advocates were unable to work out a prenuptial agreement after weeks of negotiations and are now focused on who will take care of the children.