Second Regular Session of the 123rd General Assembly (2024)
PRINTING CODE. Amendments: Whenever an existing statute (or a section of the Indiana
Constitution) is being amended, the text of the existing provision will appear in this style type,
additions will appear in this style type, and deletions will appear in this style type.
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provision adopted), the text of the new provision will appear in this style type. Also, the
word NEW will appear in that style type in the introductory clause of each SECTION that adds
a new provision to the Indiana Code or the Indiana Constitution.
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between statutes enacted by the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly.
HOUSE ENROLLED ACT No. 1369
AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning family law and
juvenile law.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana:
SECTION 1. IC 31-9-2-0.9, AS ADDED BY P.L.64-2016,
SECTION 1, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 0.9. "Act of rape", for purposes of
IC 31-35-3.5, means an act described in:
(1) IC 35-42-4-1; or
(2) IC 35-42-4-3(a) that:
(A) is committed by using or threatening the use of deadly
force or while armed with a deadly weapon;
(B) results in serious bodily injury; or
(C) is facilitated by furnishing the victim, without the victim's
knowledge, with a drug (as defined in IC 16-42-19-2(1)) or a
controlled substance (as defined in IC 35-48-1-9) or knowing
that the victim was furnished with the drug or controlled
substance without the victim's knowledge.
(2) IC 35-42-4-3; or
(3) IC 35-42-4-9.
SECTION 2. IC 31-10-2-1.5 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE
AS A NEW SECTION TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 1.5. For purposes of IC 31-19, IC 31-28,
IC 31-34, and IC 31-35, the department or a court shall consider
ensuring the child's safety to be the most important consideration
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in the determination of a child's best interests under this title.
SECTION 3. IC 31-34-12-4.5, AS AMENDED BY P.L.71-2018,
SECTION 2, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 4.5. (a) There is a rebuttable presumption that
a child is a child in need of services if the state establishes that the
child lives in the same household as an adult who:
(1) committed an offense described in IC 31-34-1-2,
IC 31-34-1-3, or IC 31-34-1-3.5 against a child and the offense
resulted in a conviction or a judgment under IC 31-34-11-2; or
(2) has been charged with an offense described in IC 31-34-1-2,
IC 31-34-1-3, or IC 31-34-1-3.5 against a child and is awaiting
trial; or
(3) was a perpetrator of a child fatality or near fatality as
described by IC 31-33-18-1.5.
(b) The following may not be used as grounds to rebut the
presumption under subsection (a):
(1) The child who is the victim of the offense described in
IC 31-34-1-2 or IC 31-34-1-3 is not genetically related to the adult
who committed the act, but the child presumed to be the child in
need of services under this section is genetically related to the
adult who committed the act.
(2) The child who is the victim of the offense described in
IC 31-34-1-2 or IC 31-34-1-3 differs in age from the child
presumed to be the child in need of services under this section.
(c) This section does not affect the ability to take a child into
custody or emergency custody under IC 31-34-2 if the act of taking the
child into custody or emergency custody is not based upon a
presumption established under this section. However, if the
presumption established under this section is the sole basis for taking
a child into custody or emergency custody under IC 31-34-2, the court
first must find cause to take the child into custody or emergency
custody following a hearing in which the parent, guardian, or custodian
of the child is accorded the rights described in IC 31-34-4-6(a)(2)
through IC 31-34-4-6(a)(5).
SECTION 4. IC 31-35-2-4, AS AMENDED BY P.L.258-2019,
SECTION 3, IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE
UPON PASSAGE]: Sec. 4. (a) A petition to terminate the parent-child
relationship involving a child adjudicated as a delinquent child or a
child in need of services may be signed and filed with the juvenile or
probate court by any of the following:
(1) The attorney for the department.
(2) The child's court appointed special advocate.
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(3) The child's guardian ad litem.
(b) The A petition must meet the following requirements: filed
under subsection (a)
(1) The petition must be entitled "In the Matter of the Termination
of the Parent-Child Relationship of ___________, a child, and
____________, the child's parent (or parents)".
(2) The (c) A petition filed under subsection (a) must allege:
(1) the existence of one (1) or more of the circumstances
described in subsection (d);
(2) that there is a satisfactory plan for care and treatment of
the child; and
(3) that termination of the parent-child relationship is in the
child's best interests.
(d) A petition filed under subsection (a) must allege the existence
of one (1) or more of the following circumstances:
(A) (1) That one (1) of the following is true:
(i) The child has been removed from the parent for at least
six (6) months under a dispositional decree.
(ii) a court has entered a finding under IC 31-34-21-5.6 that
reasonable efforts for family preservation or reunification
are not required, including a description of the court's
finding, the date of the finding, and the manner in which the
finding was made.
(iii) (2) That:
(A) the child has been removed from the parent and has been
under the supervision of a local office or probation department
for at least fifteen (15) months of the most recent twenty-two
(22) months, beginning with the date the child is removed
from the home as a result of the child being alleged to be a
child in need of services or a delinquent child; and
(B) that one (1) of the following is true: despite the
department's reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify
the child's family under IC 31-34-21-5.5, the parent has
been unable to remedy the circumstances that resulted in
the child being placed in care outside the parent's home.
(i) (3) That there is a reasonable probability that the conditions
that resulted in the child's removal or the reasons for placement
outside the home of the parents will not be remedied.
(ii) (4) That there is a reasonable probability that the continuation
of the parent-child relationship poses a threat to the well-being,
safety, physical health, or life of the child.
(iii) (5) That the child has, on two (2) separate occasions, been
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adjudicated a child in need of services.
(C) that termination is in the best interests of the child; and
(D) that there is a satisfactory plan for the care and treatment
of the child.
(6) That:
(A) at least ninety (90) days have passed since the filing of
the petition alleging that the child is a child in need of
services; and
(B) the identity or location of the parent is unknown
despite reasonable efforts having been made to identify or
locate the parent.
(7) That the parent:
(A) failed to substantially comply with the child's
dispositional decree for a period of at least twelve (12)
months following the child's:
(i) removal from the parent's home under IC 31-34-2; or
(ii) adjudication as a child in need of services;
whichever occurred earlier, unless the parent's failure to
substantially comply with the child's dispositional decree
was due to the failure of the department to make
reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify the child's
family under IC 31-34-21-5.5; or
(B) is unlikely or unable to substantially comply with the
child's dispositional decree.
(8) That the parent is incarcerated and one (1) or more of the
following is true:
(A) The parent is expected to remain incarcerated for a
significant portion of the remaining time during which the
child is less than eighteen (18) years of age.
(B) The parent is a sexually violent predator (as defined by
IC 35-38-1-7.5).
(9) That the parent:
(A) has a history of extensive, abusive, and chronic use of
alcohol or a controlled substance that renders the parent
incapable of caring for the child; and
(B) has refused or failed to complete available treatment
for the alcohol or controlled substance use during the two
(2) year period immediately preceding the filing date of the
petition under subsection (a).
(10) That:
(A) a test administered at the child's birth that indicated
that the child's blood, urine, or meconium contained any
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amount of alcohol or a controlled substance, or metabolites
of such substances, the presence of which was not the
result of medical treatment administered to the mother or
the child; and
(B) the parent:
(i) is the biological mother of at least one (1) other child
who was adjudicated a child in need of services after a
finding of harm to the child's health or welfare due to
exposure to alcohol or a controlled substance; and
(ii) had the opportunity to participate in substance abuse
treatment following the finding under item (i).
(11) That the child was conceived as a result of:
(A) an offense under IC 35-42-3.5 (human and sexual
trafficking);
(B) rape (IC 35-42-4-1);
(C) child molestation (IC 35-42-4-3);
(D) sexual misconduct with a minor (IC 35-42-4-9); or
(E) an offense committed in another jurisdiction the
elements of which are substantially similar to the elements
of an offense described in clause (A), (B), (C), or (D);
committed by the biological parent of the child whose
parent-child relationship with the child is the subject of the
petition.
(12) That the parent is required to register as a sex or violent
offender under IC 11-8-8.
(3) (e) If the department intends to file a motion to dismiss under
section 4.5 of this chapter, the petition must indicate whether at least
one (1) of the factors listed in section 4.5(d)(1) through 4.5(d)(4) of this
chapter applies and specify each factor that would apply as the basis for
filing a motion to dismiss the petition.
(c) (f) At the time the petitioner files the verified a petition
described in subsection (b) under this section with the juvenile or
probate court, the petitioner shall also file a:
(1) copy of the order approving the permanency plan under
IC 31-34-21-7 for the child; or
(2) permanency plan for the child as described by
IC 31-34-21-7.5.
SECTION 5. An emergency is declared for this act.
HEA 1369 — Concur Speaker of the House of Representatives
President of the Senate
President Pro Tempore
Governor of the State of Indiana
Date: Time:
HEA 1369 — Concur