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 MoreKids’ 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.”
Kids’ Voice of Indiana will be the sole operator of the guardian ad litem and court appointed special advocate programs for Marion County juvenile courts after Child Advocates, which had provided those services for decades, rejected the subcontract agreement the two organizations had been negotiating.
An eastern Indiana woman whose three-month-old son died last year from methamphetamine intoxication has agreed to plead guilty to a neglect charge in the infant’s death.
Kids’ Voice of Indiana and Child Advocates are close to inking a deal after the city of Indianapolis announced it would be switching providers of the Guardian Ad Litem and CASA services for the Marion County juvenile court May 1.
Described as a “model of the nation,” an Indiana juvenile justice reform bill passed the Indiana House of Representatives with Democrats and Republicans all voting in support of the measure.
Calls to Indiana’s child abuse and neglect hotline fell by more than 10% last year compared to the previous two years, and an expert said that may reflect the isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With just three weeks before its contract with the city of Indianapolis ends, Child Advocates is trying to negotiate a subcontract with Kids’ Voice so it can continue providing volunteers and staff to advocate for youngsters in Indiana’s child welfare system. Meanwhile, a report questioned longtime contractor Child Advocates’ cost overruns.
Child Advocates is asking the city of Indianapolis to delay plans to switch CASA providers until the end of year, citing questions about the transition, the ability of Kids’ Voice to handle the work and concerns over the risk to children.
Tipton County parents who alleged their children were unconstitutionally treated by doctors while in a grandmother’s care failed to convince the Indiana Court of Appeals that summary judgment for the doctors was inappropriate.
Kids’ Voice of Indiana, a nonprofit serving children and families, will take over the training and operation of the court-appointed special advocate program in Marion County courts May 1 after the city of Indianapolis switched the contract for the services from Child Advocates.
The question of whether children in CHINS proceedings should be appointed counsel is best left for state court resolution, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, finding no “civil Gideon” principle requiring counsel in child welfare cases.
Three adults who claim they were abused as children have filed a lawsuit against their adoptive parents as well as the Indiana Department of Child Services and the department’s county director and caseworkers, claiming the state agency and its employees were the “proximate cause of the shocking abuse” that the plaintiffs suffered.
An out-of-state father whose children were placed in foster care after one of them was injured during a domestic dispute between their mother and her boyfriend was wrongly denied an opportunity to parent his children, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
A 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.