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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Extra hours away from the outside world because of stay-at-home orders offered Indiana’s judges and attorneys at least one positive thing during the coronavirus-pandemic – time. Whether spending time with family or using quiet moments of solitude to revive rusty creative skills, many legal professionals are finding the joy and peace of everyday tasks in the midst of uncertain times.
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When those in the legal community look back at 2019, they may turn their heads and look forward instead. While the year had bright spots, several sordid sagas dominated the headlines.
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Christina Kovats and Kristina Byers previously served time at the Indiana Women’s Prison, and this year they became advocates who worked to draft Indiana legislation aimed at dismantling the black-and-white mentality regarding termination of parental rights for incarcerated mothers. A new law now gives judges discretion in TPR cases involving parents behind bars.
Read MoreA Henry County mother will get the opportunity to challenge the voluntary relinquishment of her parental rights after the Indiana Court of Appeals found that she was not given a proper advisement before signing a relinquishment form.
Proposed legislation that would extend financial support to parents who adopt Hoosier children from foster care advanced in the Indiana Senate on Monday, with the bill’s sponsor hoping the bill’s third time will be the charm.
The number of Indiana children who died from neglect or abuse totaled 61 in 2019, down four from the previous year, the Indiana Department of Child Services said in a report released Thursday.
As Indiana lawmakers prepare to craft the state’s next two-year budget, leaders promise K-12 education will be the top priority — but they also acknowledge that every line item in the spending plan is at risk of cuts.
Indiana Supreme Court justices affirmed Wednesday that a Vanderburgh County man who murdered his wife was not harmed when an attorney juror in his trial committed gross misconduct. The high court reinstated the man’s convictions that had been vacated by the Indiana Court of Appeals over the attorney’s misconduct in providing a misleading answer on a jury questionnaire.
A couple’s argument that their drug test results amounted to hearsay and should not have been admitted in court failed to convince the Indiana Supreme Court, which found the drug test reports were admissible under the records of a regularly conducted business activity exception.
Indianapolis parents who claim the Indiana Department of Child Services wrongly removed their children from the home over allegedly false accusations of sexual abuse have filed a federal lawsuit against the agency seeking $3 million in damages.
Eight missing children were rescued in a five-day operation in the Indianapolis area and one person was arrested on charges including parental kidnapping, according to federal authorities.
A father who disregarded court-mandated drug screens, left his child with a relative and refused to participate in services lost his termination of parental rights appeal Tuesday. One judge, however, would have reversed based on the facts of a case that began with the child’s removal due to mother’s drug use and what the dissenting judge saw as “an effort to punish Father.”
Less than a month after a federal court denied a motion to dismiss, the Indiana Department of Child Services is asking the judge to reconsider the original motion as well as review a second motion to dismiss in an attempt to derail a lawsuit alleging the state violated the constitutional rights of children in its care.
An appellate court has dismissed a case involving allegations made against a father to the Indiana Department of Child Services, finding that it doesn’t have jurisdiction over the proceedings in his case.
Indiana trial courts and the Department of Child Services continue to deprive parents of their due process rights after years of warnings, the Indiana Court of Appeals said Wednesday, reversing the termination of a mother’s parental rights when the termination hearing went on without her or her lawyer present. In doing so, appellate judges strongly restated that courts and DCS have a duty to ensure parents’ rights aren’t violated.
Senior Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Michael Barnes died Friday morning in South Bend, leaving a legacy of more than 40 years in public service.
A lawsuit alleging harm and constitutional violations by the Department of Child Services has survived a motion for summary judgment after a federal judge found the children plaintiffs have sufficiently claimed the state failed to protect them.
An Indiana Court of Appeals panel has reversed for two parents in a termination of parental rights case after finding that reasonable efforts were not made by the Department of Child Services to reunify them with their children.
A father who sued the Indiana Department of Child Services after his son died in the custody of his mother and her boyfriend was barred from continuing with his lawsuit Wednesday by the Indiana Court of Appeals. A panel of judges ruled for DCS, finding the father had not timely given the agency tort claim notice.
A juvenile delinquent and her mother successfully appealed an order requiring that they pay more than $11,000 for secure detention costs after an appellate panel found no inquires were ever made concerning the mother’s ability to pay.
Former employees of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office and the Indiana Department of Child Services who were listed as ineligible for rehire after being let go did not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that their dismissed cases against the state deserved reversal.
An Indianapolis mother convicted of felony battery after striking her son with an electrical cord failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that the charges against her could be defeated by the concept of parental privilege.
The admission of positive drug test results under the business-records exception was affirmed by the Indiana Court of Appeals in a Monday child in need of services case, despite a father’s argument that admission of the evidence was erroneous.