---
type: "Bill"
title: "Children in need of services."
description: "Requires the department of child services, subject to certain procedural safeguards, to have in-person contact with an alleged victim of child abuse or neglect: (1) before concluding an assessment; and (2) before dismissing or terminating a pending child in need of services case with the juvenile court."
jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 1036"
citation: "Indiana HB 1036 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["AGENCIES; Department of Child Services (DCS)", "CHILDREN AND MINORS; Children in Need of Services (CHINS)", "COURTS; Juvenile Courts"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Brett Clark", "Linda Rogers", "Rodney Pol", "Victoria Garcia Wilburn"]
version_count: 4
action_count: 28
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2025-12-01"
last_action: "2026-02-26"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/26a21f5a-95b6-4037-9b0e-689faf8ad85e"
source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/hb1036"
source_hash: "d69d32dfb5dec6a9eaf86a3f7ec79845afd307d579eae8353286c2c331137ce6"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
---

# Indiana HB 1036 (2026) — Children in need of services.

Requires the department of child services, subject to certain procedural safeguards, to have in-person contact with an alleged victim of child abuse or neglect: (1) before concluding an assessment; and (2) before dismissing or terminating a pending child in need of services case with the juvenile court.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Engrossed House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1036/HB1036.04.ENGS.pdf)
2. **Enrolled House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1036/HB1036.05.ENRS.pdf)
3. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1036/HB1036.03.COMS.pdf)
4. **Introduced House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1036/HB1036.01.INTR.pdf)

## Votes

- HB 1036 - Garcia Wilburn — **94–0** (pass) · lower
- HB 1036 - Rogers - 3rd Reading — **45–0** (pass) · upper
- HB 1036 - Garcia Wilburn - 3rd Reading — **95–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Brett Clark — primary (person)
- Linda Rogers — primary (person)
- Rodney Pol — primary (person)
- Victoria Garcia Wilburn — primary (person)
- Alex Burton — coauthor (person)
- Andrea Hunley — cosponsor (person)
- Daryl Schmitt — cosponsor (person)
- Fady Qaddoura — cosponsor (person)
- Greg Goode — cosponsor (person)
- Greg Walker — cosponsor (person)
- J.D. Ford — cosponsor (person)
- Julie McGuire — coauthor (person)
- Lori Goss-Reaves — coauthor (person)
- Mike Gaskill — cosponsor (person)
- Randy Maxwell — cosponsor (person)
- Stacey Donato — cosponsor (person)
- Tyler Johnson — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-12-01** First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2025-12-01** Coauthored by Representative Burton
- **2025-12-01** Authored by Representative Garcia Wilburn
- **2025-12-04** Representative McGuire added as coauthor
- **2026-01-27** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2026-01-29** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-02** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 189: yeas 95, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2026-02-02** Representative Goss-Reaves added as coauthor
- **2026-02-02** Senate sponsors: Senators Rogers, Pol, Clark
- **2026-02-02** Cosponsor: Senator Ford J.D.
- **2026-02-03** Referred to the Senate `referral`
- **2026-02-05** First reading: referred to Committee on Family and Children Services `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2026-02-09** Committee report: do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-16** Second reading: amended, ordered engrossed `reading-2`
- **2026-02-16** Senator Hunley added as cosponsor
- **2026-02-16** Senators Schmitt, Gaskill, Johnson T added as cosponsors
- **2026-02-16** Senators Goode, Donato, Walker G, Qaddoura added as cosponsors
- **2026-02-16** Amendment #2 (Freeman) prevailed; voice vote `amendment-passage`
- **2026-02-18** Returned to the House with amendments `receipt`
- **2026-02-17** Senator Maxwell added as cosponsor
- **2026-02-17** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 175: yeas 45, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
- **2026-02-19** Motion to concur filed `filing`
- **2026-02-19** House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 294: yeas 94, nays 0
- **2026-02-23** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
- **2026-02-24** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
- **2026-02-25** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
- **2026-02-26** Public Law 37 `became-law`
- **2026-02-26** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/26a21f5a-95b6-4037-9b0e-689faf8ad85e`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).