State Senator Connie Lawson
200 West Washington Street – Indianapolis , Indiana 46204
NEWS RELEASE
01.30.06
Contact: Jamie Jorczak ( 317)232-9524
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(STATEHOUSE) – Senate Bill 139, authored by State Senator Connie Lawson (R-Danville), passed the Senate today by a vote of 47 to 3. The bill is part of an ongoing effort to prevent child abuse and neglect in Indiana .
“This legislation is a critical step in updating our policies to protect Hoosier children,” Lawson said. “The Department of Child Services has been a welcome addition to state government, and I will continue to monitor its progress and update our laws as necessary.”
SB 139 expands and refines current Indiana law in regards to the rights and responsibilities of parents and legal guardians. The bill also broadens existing laws expressing who may access information on specified cases involving children. Currently, case managers are not able to access all relevant information about a family in the statewide information system when conducting an investigation. SB 139 permits sharing of information about children and their families among different offices of the DCS, in cases where the same families are involved in different investigations or ongoing services.
The bill also puts time limits on certain CHIN (child in need of service) and TPR (termination of parent child relationship) cases so that safety, well-being and permanency are secured for the child involved.
“Time is very important to cases involving child placement,” Lawson said. “We want to ensure children are not without services any longer than absolutely necessary.”
Currently, foster parents and legal guardians are notified of hearings and can participate by testimony or cross-examination, but they do not have access to matters discussed prior to their portion of the hearing process. SB 139 allows foster parents and legal guardians access to progress reports prepared before a review hearing by the county office or probation departments. In most cases, since foster parents and legal guardians spend a great deal of time with the child in their care, they can offer enlightening input on the child's situation.
The bill will now go to the House of Representatives for further consideration.
State Senator Connie Lawson represents District 24, which includes portions of Hendricks and Putnam counties.
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