HB 1367 Summary

• Permits children in foster care to select up to two child representatives at least 18 years old to accompany them to meetings, court hearings, school functions, and extracurricular activities, and to host them for overnight visits, vacations, and holidays.

• Requires the Department of Child Services and the Judicial Conference of Indiana to adopt rules establishing reasons for rejecting or terminating child representatives and expectations for their conduct.

• Allows youth at least 18 years old receiving foster care to petition the juvenile court for partial or complete emancipation, which the court must grant unless it finds a compelling reason not to.

• Creates a bill of rights for youth in foster care that must be made available and distributed, covering legal rights, complaint procedures, ombudsman services, and rights to education, sibling placement, and child representatives.

• Requires juvenile courts to schedule status conferences with children in need of services every six months or upon request, and expands notice requirements to include child representatives in detention, initial, factfinding, and dispositional hearings.