Fabio
98 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
98 lines
11 KiB
Markdown
---
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type: "Bill"
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title: "Child services matters."
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description: "Adds four members to the statewide child fatality review committee, one of whom is appointed by each of the following: (1) The speaker of the house of representatives. (2) The president pro tempore of the senate. (3) The minority leader of the house of representatives. (4) The minority leader of the senate. Provides that a court may grant postadoption contact privileges to the birth parent of a child if the child is at least one year of age (rather than two years of age, under current law). Adds information that must be included in the annual report of the department of child services (department) concerning child fatalities or near fatalities in Indiana that are the result of child abuse or neglect. Requires the department to promptly disclose to the public certain information regarding child fatalities or near fatalities. Allows the department, upon request, to provide additional information regarding cases of child fatalities or near fatalities subject to certain requirements. Provides that the obligation of the department to conduct a detailed assessment of a report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect does not apply if the report is screened out and referred to a law enforcement agency. Provides that the department: (1) shall disclose information regarding reported child abuse or neglect to a member of the United States Congress representing Indiana or a member of the Indiana general assembly (state legislator) upon request of the state legislator; (2) may release information to the news media to confirm, clarify, correct, or supplement information concerning reported child abuse or neglect that has been made public by a source other than the department; and (3) shall, upon request by the news media, report to the news media specified information regarding the death of a child whose death is suspected to be the result of child abuse or neglect. Provides that if the information disclosed or released by the department includes a record that is redacted to exclude specified information, the record is not confidential. Provides that the department may provide unredacted reports or material to: (1) a service provider that requires access to the unredacted reports or material to assess whether the service provider's services are suitable for the child; and (2) the attorney general or a prosecutor for purposes of a criminal investigation by the attorney general or prosecutor. Provides that the statutory limit on the department's provision of services to a parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is the subject of a petition alleging the child to be a child in need of services (CHINS) applies: (1) regardless of whether the child has been removed from the home of the parent, guardian, or custodian; (2) regardless of whether the services are provided at the direction of a court or at the direction of the department; and (3) beginning on the date on which the CHINS petition is filed. Makes technical and conforming changes."
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jurisdiction: "us/states/in"
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legislature: "Indiana General Assembly"
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session: "2026"
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identifier: "HB 1257"
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citation: "Indiana HB 1257 (2026)"
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classification: ["bill"]
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subjects: ["AGENCIES; Department of Child Services (DCS)", "AGENCIES; Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA)", "CHILDREN AND MINORS; Adoption", "CHILDREN AND MINORS; Children in Need of Services (CHINS)", "CHILDREN AND MINORS; Foster Care", "COURTS; Judges", "COURTS; Supreme Court", "DEATH AND DECEASED; Mortality Reporting", "GENERAL ASSEMBLY; Generally", "LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS; Prosecutors", "SOCIAL SERVICES; Generally", "STATE ELECTED OFFICIALS; Attorney General", "TASK FORCES AND COMMITTEES; Generally"]
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status: "enacted"
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primary_sponsors: ["Julie McGuire", "Stacey Donato", "Tyler Johnson"]
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version_count: 4
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action_count: 26
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vote_count: 3
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first_action: "2026-01-05"
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last_action: "2026-03-04"
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source: "openstates"
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source_identifier: "ocd-bill/48bbe0df-b0e4-4908-8d90-9f86fdce8652"
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source_url: "https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/hb1257"
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source_hash: "793a277a705907190b1ee69991bd39b00562a4cc5f9d68edff3687e6e1942590"
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vintage: "2026-07-01"
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source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
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retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
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confidence: "reported"
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tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-in"]
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---
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# Indiana HB 1257 (2026) — Child services matters.
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Adds four members to the statewide child fatality review committee, one of whom is appointed by each of the following: (1) The speaker of the house of representatives. (2) The president pro tempore of the senate. (3) The minority leader of the house of representatives. (4) The minority leader of the senate. Provides that a court may grant postadoption contact privileges to the birth parent of a child if the child is at least one year of age (rather than two years of age, under current law). Adds information that must be included in the annual report of the department of child services (department) concerning child fatalities or near fatalities in Indiana that are the result of child abuse or neglect. Requires the department to promptly disclose to the public certain information regarding child fatalities or near fatalities. Allows the department, upon request, to provide additional information regarding cases of child fatalities or near fatalities subject to certain requirements. Provides that the obligation of the department to conduct a detailed assessment of a report of known or suspected child abuse or neglect does not apply if the report is screened out and referred to a law enforcement agency. Provides that the department: (1) shall disclose information regarding reported child abuse or neglect to a member of the United States Congress representing Indiana or a member of the Indiana general assembly (state legislator) upon request of the state legislator; (2) may release information to the news media to confirm, clarify, correct, or supplement information concerning reported child abuse or neglect that has been made public by a source other than the department; and (3) shall, upon request by the news media, report to the news media specified information regarding the death of a child whose death is suspected to be the result of child abuse or neglect. Provides that if the information disclosed or released by the department includes a record that is redacted to exclude specified information, the record is not confidential. Provides that the department may provide unredacted reports or material to: (1) a service provider that requires access to the unredacted reports or material to assess whether the service provider's services are suitable for the child; and (2) the attorney general or a prosecutor for purposes of a criminal investigation by the attorney general or prosecutor. Provides that the statutory limit on the department's provision of services to a parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is the subject of a petition alleging the child to be a child in need of services (CHINS) applies: (1) regardless of whether the child has been removed from the home of the parent, guardian, or custodian; (2) regardless of whether the services are provided at the direction of a court or at the direction of the department; and (3) beginning on the date on which the CHINS petition is filed. Makes technical and conforming changes.
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## Version chain
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The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
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1. **Enrolled House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1257/HB1257.04.ENRS.pdf)
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2. **House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1257/HB1257.03.COMS.pdf)
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3. **House Bill (S)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1257/HB1257.02.COMH.pdf)
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4. **Introduced House Bill (H)** (committee substitute) — [source](https://iga.in.gov/pdf-documents/124/2026/house/bills/HB1257/HB1257.01.INTR.pdf)
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## Votes
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- HB 1257 - McGuire — **84–0** (pass) · lower
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- HB 1257 - Donato - 3rd Reading — **48–0** (pass) · upper
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- HB 1257 - McGuire - 3rd Reading — **93–0** (pass) · lower
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## Sponsors
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- Julie McGuire — primary (person)
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- Stacey Donato — primary (person)
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- Tyler Johnson — primary (person)
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- Carolyn Jackson — coauthor (person)
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- Daryl Schmitt — cosponsor (person)
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- Fady Qaddoura — cosponsor (person)
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- Greg Walker — cosponsor (person)
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- J.D. Ford — cosponsor (person)
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- Linda Rogers — cosponsor (person)
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- Lori Goss-Reaves — coauthor (person)
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- Robert Morris — coauthor (person)
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## Timeline
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The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
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- **2026-01-05** Authored by Representative McGuire
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- **2026-01-05** First reading: referred to Committee on Family, Children and Human Affairs `reading-1, referral-committee`
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- **2026-01-05** Coauthored by Representative DeVon
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- **2026-01-12** Representative Jackson C added as coauthor
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- **2026-01-13** Representative Morris added as coauthor
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- **2026-01-22** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
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- **2026-01-22** Representative Goss-Reaves added as coauthor
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- **2026-01-22** Representative DeVon removed as coauthor
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- **2026-01-27** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
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- **2026-01-28** Senate sponsors: Senators Donato, Johnson T
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- **2026-01-28** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 132: yeas 93, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
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- **2026-01-29** Referred to the Senate `referral`
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- **2026-02-02** First reading: referred to Committee on Family and Children Services `reading-1, referral-committee`
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- **2026-02-09** Committee report: amend do pass, adopted `committee-passage`
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- **2026-02-10** Senators Schmitt, Walker G added as cosponsors
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- **2026-02-16** Senators Ford J.D., Qaddoura, Rogers added as cosponsors
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- **2026-02-16** Second reading: ordered engrossed `reading-2`
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- **2026-02-24** Returned to the House with amendments `receipt`
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- **2026-02-24** Third reading: passed; Roll Call 243: yeas 48, nays 0 `passage, reading-3, reading-3`
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- **2026-02-25** Motion to concur filed `filing`
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- **2026-02-26** House concurred with Senate amendments; Roll Call 390: yeas 84, nays 0
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- **2026-02-26** Signed by the Speaker `passage`
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- **2026-03-04** Signed by the Governor `executive-signature`
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- **2026-02-27** Signed by the President Pro Tempore `passage`
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- **2026-02-27** Signed by the President of the Senate `passage`
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- **2026-03-04** Public Law 84 `became-law`
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## Source
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OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/48bbe0df-b0e4-4908-8d90-9f86fdce8652`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Indiana legislature records).
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