LEGISLATIVE SERVICES AGENCY
OFFICE OF FISCAL AND MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS
200 W. Washington St., Suite 301
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 233-0696
iga.in.gov
FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
LS 6427 NOTE PREPARED: Dec 13, 2023
BILL NUMBER: SB 60 BILL AMENDED:
SUBJECT: Safe Haven Infants.
FIRST AUTHOR: Sen. Holdman BILL STATUS: As Introduced
FIRST SPONSOR:
FUNDS AFFECTED:XGENERAL IMPACT: State
DEDICATED
FEDERAL
Summary of Legislation: The bill has the following provisions:
It requires the Indiana Clearinghouse for Information on Missing Children and Missing Endangered Adults
to cooperate with licensed child placing agencies for purposes of locating missing children.
The bill amends the definition of "safe haven infant" to provide that the term means any infant taken into
custody by an emergency medical services provider under specified circumstances. It also amends the
definition of "abandoned infant" for purposes of juvenile law to provide that the term does not include a safe
haven infant.
The bill requires an emergency medical services provider who takes custody of a safe haven infant at a
location other than a hospital to transport the safe haven infant to a hospital.
The bill requires the Department of Child Services (DCS) to do the following:
(1) Create and maintain:
(A) a means by which licensed child placing agencies may opt to receive notice of a safe haven
infant having been taken into custody by an emergency medical services provider; and
(B) a registry of licensed child placing agencies that have opted to receive notice.
(2) Accurately track the number of safe haven infants taken into custody by emergency medical services
providers.
The bill requires a licensed child placing agency that assumes custody of a safe haven infant to immediately
notify DCS that the licensed child placing agency has assumed custody of the safe haven infant.
SB 60 1 It provides that if a licensed child placing agency assumes custody of a safe haven infant from an emergency
medical services provider with which the licensed child placing agency, or an employee of the licensed child
placing agency, has a financial relationship that could be construed as providing an incentive for the
emergency medical services provider to give custody of the safe haven infant to the licensed child placing
agency, the licensed child placing agency:
(1) may not place the safe haven infant; and
(2) shall, without unnecessary delay after taking custody of the safe haven infant, transfer custody
of the safe haven infant to the DCS.
The bill provides that if the DCS or a licensed child placing agency files a petition to terminate the
parent-child relationship, the petition must be accompanied by an affidavit attesting to the existence of
specified conditions.
The bill specifies that notice to an unnamed or unknown putative parent regarding the surrender of a safe
haven infant must be published only in Indiana counties.
The bill also makes technical corrections.
Effective Date: July 1, 2024.
Explanation of State Expenditures: DCS: The DCS would incur a one-time cost between $50,000 to
$75,000 to hire a contractor to develop the licensed child placing agency (LCPA) notification registry. The
DCS shall create and maintain a registry of LCPAs that have opted to receive notice from an emergency
medical service provider to take custody of a safe haven infant. The DCS shall develop a means by which
an emergency medical service provider may access the registry. It also requires the DCS to track the number
of children taken into custody.
It is possible that the Indiana Office of Technology (IOT) would store the data. Currently, IOT charges
$33.54 per database per month for database hosting and $1.67 per gigabyte (GB) over 1 GB per month for
data storage.
These new duties represent an additional workload and expenditures on the DCS outside of routine
administrative functions. If the DCS’s staff is currently being used to capacity, existing resources may not
be sufficient for full implementation of this registry. The additional funds and resources required could be
supplied through existing staff and resources currently being used in another program or with new
appropriations. Ultimately, the source of funds and resources required to satisfy the requirements of this bill
will depend on legislative and administrative actions.
TPR Affidavit: This provision will have minimal workload impact on the DCS.
Indiana State Police (ISP): The bill should have no impact on the ISP’s management as the state central
repository for all information on missing children and missing endangered adults from Indiana or believed
to be in Indiana.
Explanation of State Revenues:
Explanation of Local Expenditures:
SB 60 2 Explanation of Local Revenues:
State Agencies Affected: Department of Child Services; Indiana State Police.
Local Agencies Affected:
Information Sources: Department of Child Services; Indiana Office of Technology, Services Descriptions
& Rates, https://www.in.gov/iot/customer-service/customer-service-home/services-descriptions-and-rates/;
Fiscal Analyst: Corrin Harvey, 317-234-9438.
SB 60 3