Senate Enrolled Act No. 381 Summary

• Effective July 1, 2018, expands the definition of "child in need of services" to include children who are victims of specific criminal offenses including child abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation, and related crimes under Indiana Code sections 35-42-1-2.5, 35-42-2-1, 35-42-2-1.3, 35-42-2-1.5, 35-42-2-9, and 35-46-1-4, as well as attempts or conspiracies to commit these offenses.

• Designates children as needing services if they live in the same household as an adult who has been convicted of or charged with committing abuse or exploitation offenses against another child in that household, regardless of genetic relation or age differences between the children.

• Creates a rebuttable presumption that a child is in need of services when living with an adult who committed or is charged with child abuse offenses, with specific restrictions on what grounds may be used to rebut this presumption.

• Requires a court hearing with full parental due process rights before taking a child into custody or emergency custody when the presumption of need for services is the sole basis for custody action.

• Maintains existing provision that evidence of illegal drug manufacture on property where a child resides creates a rebuttable presumption of serious endangerment to the child's physical or mental health.