SB 417 - Juvenile Matters and Permanent Guardianships

• Establishes competency requirements for juveniles in delinquency and family service needs proceedings, requiring examination and court hearing to determine if child can understand proceedings and assist in their own defense before adjudication.

• Creates new "permanent legal guardianship" option in child protection cases as alternative to adoption or traditional guardianship, with clear and convincing evidence standards and restrictions on parental reinstatement petitions.

• Raises minimum age for juvenile jurisdiction from unspecified to at least seven years old for delinquency matters and family with service needs cases.

• Modifies transfer procedures for cases involving juveniles charged with felonies, changing automatic transfer for class B felonies to discretionary transfers based on specified factors including prior offenses, seriousness, and availability of juvenile services.

• Requires paternity determinations through genetic testing with rebuttable presumption at 99% probability, and mandates filing of paternity acknowledgments with Department of Public Health registry.