HB1526: Children in need of services.

Legislative Summary

Children in need of services. Provides that when the department of child services (department) enters into a contract with a provider to provide services under the department's community partners for child safety program, the contract must require the provider to: (1) submit monthly reports to the department regarding the progress of an individual receiving services from the provider; and (2) immediately report to the department under specified circumstances. Requires a court in an action regarding a report of child abuse or neglect or an action regarding a petition alleging that a child is a child in need of services (CHINS action) to appoint a guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate, or both, if the court finds that there is a documented history of: (1) chronic abuse of alcohol or a controlled substance by; or (2) substantiated allegations of physical or sexual abuse having been committed by; the child's parent, guardian, or custodian. Provides that evidence that a child's parent, guardian, or custodian is actively engaged in chronic use of a controlled substance creates a rebuttable presumption that the child's physical or mental health is seriously endangered for purposes of finding that the child is a child in need of services. Provides that if the court in a CHINS action finds that a child is a child in need of services and that the child's parent, guardian, or custodian is actively engaged in chronic use of a controlled substance: (1) there is a rebuttable presumption that removal of the child from the child's home is in the child's best interests; and (2) the dispositional decree entered by the court must require the parent, guardian, or custodian to: (A) participate in drug abuse treatment services; and (B) submit to routine, randomly scheduled drug testing.