CHAPTER 4. PLACEMENT OF INDIGENT IN COUNTY HOMES AND PAYMENT OF INDIGENT EXPENSES
IC 12-30-4
Chapter 4. Placement of Indigent in County Homes and Payment
of Indigent Expenses
IC 12-30-4-1
Receipt and support of indigents; contracting with other counties
or charitable institutions
Sec. 1. Every county that maintains, in addition to any other
charitable institution permitted by law, a county home that provides
for the care of indigent individuals as provided by law:
(1) shall receive and support in the county home indigent
individuals who:
(A) are lawfully settled in the county; and
(B) placed in the county home by the township trustee as the
administrator of township assistance, with the consent of the
board of commissioners of the county; or
(2) may contract with other counties or with other charitable
institutions located in Indiana for the relief and support of
indigent individuals maintained as a public charge of the
county, and may levy taxes for that purpose.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.156.
IC 12-30-4-2
Admission of individuals who have become permanent charges on
township; temporary placement
Sec. 2. (a) The township trustee as the administrator of township
assistance shall periodically provide for the admission to the county
home of indigent individuals who have become permanent charges
on the township.
(b) Whenever an individual who is determined to be eligible for
township assistance and is entitled to temporary relief is in a
township in which the individual does not have legal settlement, the
township trustee as the administrator of township assistance may
place the individual temporarily in the county home.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.51-1996, SEC.74;
P.L.73-2005, SEC.157.
IC 12-30-4-3
Township trustee; investigation of individual; report to county
board of commissioners
Sec. 3. The township trustee as the administrator of township
assistance shall, when seeking the admission of an individual as a
resident of a county home, first investigate the individual and make
a report to the board of commissioners of the county. The report must
contain the following:
(1) The name of the individual.
(2) The birth place and date of birth of the individual.
(3) The length of time that the individual has been legally
settled in the township.
(4) A statement of the health of the individual, which must be
certified to by a competent physician.
(5) A statement of the income, property, or property rights of
the individual.
(6) A list of the individual's relatives who, in the opinion of the
township trustee as the administrator of township assistance, are
capable of making contributions for the support of the
individual.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.158.
IC 12-30-4-4
Recommendation by township trustee; consideration and
investigation by county board of commissioners; terms and
conditions of admission; delegation of investigation
Sec. 4. (a) The board of commissioners of the county shall, upon
receipt of a recommendation by the township trustee as the
administrator of township assistance, immediately consider the
recommendation and make further investigation that the board of
commissioners considers best. The board of commissioners of the
county shall admit the individual on the terms, conditions, and
contract that the board of commissioners considers just and fair by
requiring the individual sought to be admitted, or other persons or
agencies, to pay the money, within the rate lawfully established
under section 8 of this chapter, at the times that the board of
commissioners considers proper.
(b) The board of commissioners may delegate the investigation to
the superintendent of the county home or to other agencies or persons
that the board of commissioners considers best. However, the board
of commissioners retains the right of determination, subject only to
the right of appeal.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.159.
IC 12-30-4-5
Denial of admission; appeal to circuit court
Sec. 5. If a board of commissioners finds that the individual
sought to be admitted into the county home or other charitable
institution should not, for any cause, be admitted, the individual
denied admission, or the township trustee as the administrator of
township assistance, may appeal from the decision of the board of
commissioners of the county to the circuit court of the county by
filing a transcript of the record before the board of commissioners
with the clerk of the circuit court of the county, who shall
immediately notify the circuit court. The court shall, as soon as
possible, proceed to hear and determine the matter. The court may
order the board of commissioners to accept the individual in the
county home or other charitable institution on the terms and
conditions, within the lawfully established rate as provided in section
8 of this chapter, as the court orders.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.160.
IC 12-30-4-6
Temporary admission
Sec. 6. In case of an emergency and pending the decision by the
board of commissioners or the circuit court, an individual sought to
be admitted shall be admitted temporarily. If the final determination
is made that the individual should not be admitted, the trustee of the
township of the individual's legal settlement, as the administrator of
township assistance, shall immediately remove the individual from
the county home or other charitable institution.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.161.
IC 12-30-4-7
Public assistance recipients; voluntary admission; charge for care
and maintenance; modification of welfare payments
Sec. 7. If an individual sought to be admitted to a county home on
a voluntary basis upon application to the board of commissioners is
a recipient of public assistance from the county or other agencies, the
individual may not be deprived of the right to receive welfare or
other payments because of the individual's admission to a county
home. However, the amount of the welfare payments may be taken
into consideration by the board of commissioners in arriving at the
amount, within the lawfully established rate as provided in section 8
of this chapter, necessary for the support of the individual sought to
be admitted in the county home or other charitable institution. The
county office may, in fixing the amount of welfare or other payments
for the individual, take into consideration the fact that the individual
is placed in the county home or other charitable institution and may
modify the amount of the payments as the county office considers
proper under Indiana law governing public assistance.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.4-1993, SEC.227;
P.L.5-1993, SEC.240.
IC 12-30-4-8
Charge for care and maintenance of individuals
Sec. 8. The board of commissioners shall, each year at its July
meeting, fix an amount to be charged for the care and maintenance
of each individual in the county home or other charitable institution.
The charge must cover the total amount to be charged for board,
room, medical and nursing care, maintenance, clothing, and all other
items furnished within the county home. The items shall be made
available to all residents and patients on the same basis.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24.
IC 12-30-4-9
Voluntary residents; ability to pay all or part of costs of care;
charges
Sec. 9. In those cases in which facilities are available, the board
of commissioners may accept individuals in need of care who are
able to pay all or part of the costs of care on a voluntary basis. The
board of commissioners of each county maintaining a county home
shall periodically determine the reasonable cost of these services and
fix charges for each voluntary resident on the basis of the cost of the
care and ability of the voluntary resident to pay.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24.
IC 12-30-4-10
Appropriations; advancement of money to township trustees
Sec. 10. The:
(1) county council shall appropriate; and
(2) the board of commissioners in each county shall advance;
to the township trustees as the administrators of township assistance
the money necessary for the relief and burial of the indigent in each
township, which shall be accounted for and repaid to the county
treasurer as provided in section 11 of this chapter.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.162.
IC 12-30-4-11
Payments to county; maximum monthly amounts per individual;
taxation
Sec. 11. (a) Each township trustee as the administrator of
township assistance shall pay to the county the amount fixed for each
individual admitted into the county home or other charitable
institution from the township, except those otherwise able to pay the
cost of their care from their own resources or from other assistance
awards. Except as provided in subsection (b), the amount that may
be charged to the township may not exceed one hundred dollars
($100) per month per individual.
(b) This subsection applies to a county having a population of
more than four hundred thousand (400,000) but less than seven
hundred thousand (700,000). The amount charged the township per
individual may not exceed forty-eight dollars ($48) per month or
twelve dollars ($12) per week.
(c) Each township shall levy a tax sufficient to meet those
expenses.
(d) Payment and settlement shall be made in July and December
of each year for the preceding year.
As added by P.L.2-1992, SEC.24. Amended by P.L.73-2005,
SEC.163.