CHAPTER 2. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT
IC 31-27-2
Chapter 2. General Powers and Duties of the Department
IC 31-27-2-1
Duties of department of child services
Sec. 1. The department shall perform the following duties:
(1) Administer the licensing and monitoring of child caring
institutions, foster family homes, group homes, and child
placing agencies in accordance with this article.
(2) Ensure that a criminal history background check of an
applicant is completed before issuing a license.
(3) Provide for the issuance, denial, and revocation of licenses.
(4) Cooperate with governing bodies of child caring institutions,
foster family homes, group homes, and child placing agencies
and their staffs to improve standards of child care.
(5) Prepare at least biannually a directory of licensees, except
for foster family homes, with a description of the program
capacity and type of children served that will be distributed to
the legislature, licensees, and other interested parties as a public
document.
(6) Deposit all license application fees collected under section
2 of this chapter in the department of child services child care
fund established by IC 31-25-2-16.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273. Amended by P.L.146-2006,
SEC.26; P.L.1-2007, SEC.201.
IC 31-27-2-2
Powers of department
Sec. 2. The department may do the following:
(1) Prescribe forms for reports, statements, notices, and other
documents required by this article or by the rules adopted under
this article.
(2) Increase public awareness of this article and the rules
adopted under this article by preparing and publishing manuals
and guides explaining this article and the rules adopted under
this article.
(3) Facilitate compliance with and enforcement of this article
through the publication of materials under subdivision (2).
(4) Prepare reports and studies to advance the purpose of this
article.
(5) Seek the advice and recommendations of state agencies
whose information and knowledge would be of assistance in
writing, revising, or monitoring rules developed under this
article. These agencies, including the office of the attorney
general, state department of health, division of mental health
and addiction, bureau of criminal identification and
investigation, and fire prevention and building safety
commission, shall upon request supply necessary information
to the department.
(6) Make the directory of licensees available to the public for a
charge not to exceed the cost of reproducing the directory.
(7) Charge a reasonable processing fee for each license
application and renewal as follows:
(A) For a child caring institution or group home license, a
fee not to exceed three dollars ($3) for each licensed bed
based on total licensed bed capacity not to exceed a
maximum fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(B) For a child placing agency license, a fee not to exceed
fifty dollars ($50).
(8) Exercise any other regulatory and administrative powers
necessary to carry out the functions of the department.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-3
Foster family home application fee prohibition
Sec. 3. The department may not charge an application fee for a
foster family home.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-4
Rules; establishment of standards
Sec. 4. (a) The department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2,
including emergency rules under IC 4-22-2-37.1, concerning the
licensing and inspection of child caring institutions, foster family
homes, group homes, and child placing agencies after consultation
with the following:
(1) State department of health.
(2) Fire prevention and building safety commission.
(b) The rules adopted under subsection (a) shall be applied by the
department and state fire marshal in the licensing and inspection of
applicants for a license and licensees under this article.
(c) The rules adopted under IC 4-22-2 must establish minimum
standards for the care and treatment of children in a secure private
facility.
(d) The rules described in subsection (c) must include standards
governing the following:
(1) Admission criteria.
(2) General physical and environmental conditions.
(3) Services and programs to be provided to confined children.
(4) Procedures for ongoing monitoring and discharge planning.
(5) Procedures for the care and control of confined persons that
are necessary to ensure the health, safety, and treatment of
confined children.
(e) The department shall license a facility as a private secure
facility if the facility:
(1) meets the minimum standards required under subsection (c);
(2) provides a continuum of care and services; and
(3) is:
(A) licensed under IC 12-25, IC 16-21-2, or IC 31-27-3; or
(B) a unit of a facility licensed under IC 12-25 or
IC 16-21-2;
regardless of the facility's duration of or previous licensure as a child
caring institution.
(f) A waiver of the rules may not be granted for treatment and
reporting requirements.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273. Amended by P.L.131-2009,
SEC.35.
IC 31-27-2-5
Monitoring of licensed entities
Sec. 5. (a) The department shall monitor the entities licensed
under this article for continued compliance with this article and the
rules adopted by the department, including conducting the following:
(1) Onsite inspections, record reading, observation, and
interviewing.
(2) An onsite licensing study at least one (1) time a year in
announced or unannounced visits.
(b) The department is entitled to access to the premises,
personnel, children in care, and records, including case records,
foster care records, personnel files, corporate and fiscal records, and
board minutes of the licensee. Access shall also be provided to
personnel from other state agencies or other persons who provide
inspections at the request of the department.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-6
Investigation of complaints
Sec. 6. The department shall investigate complaints to determine
possible noncompliance with the rules adopted by the department. A
licensee is entitled to add comments concerning a complaint to the
licensing file. The department shall consider all formal complaints
against a licensee before a license may be renewed.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-7
Child caring institutions and group homes operated by churches
and religious ministries
Sec. 7. (a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), the
department shall exempt from licensure a child caring institution and
a group home operated by a church or religious ministry that is a
religious organization exempt from federal income taxation under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (as defined in
IC 6-3-1-11) and that does not:
(1) accept for care:
(A) a child who is a delinquent child under IC 31-37-1-1 or
IC 31-37-2-1; or
(B) a child who is a child in need of services under
IC 31-34-1-1 through IC 31-34-1-9; or
(2) operate a residential facility that provides child care on a
twenty-four (24) hour basis for profit.
(b) The department shall adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to govern
the inspection of a child caring institution and a group home operated
by a church or religious ministry with regard to sanitation.
(c) The fire prevention and building safety commission shall
adopt rules under IC 4-22-2 to govern the inspection of a child caring
institution and a group home operated by a church or religious
ministry under this section. The rules must provide standards for fire
alarms and fire drills.
(d) A child caring institution and a group home operated by a
church or religious ministry under this section shall comply with the
rules established by the department and the fire prevention and
building safety commission under this section.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-8
Granting of variances and waivers
Sec. 8. (a) The department may grant a variance or waiver of a
rule governing child caring institutions, foster family homes, group
homes, or child placing agencies. A variance or waiver granted under
this section must promote statewide practices and must protect the
rights of persons affected by this article.
(b) The department may grant a variance to a rule if an applicant
for a license or a licensee under this article does the following:
(1) Submits to the department a written request for the variance
in the form and manner specified by the department.
(2) Documents that compliance with an alternative method of
compliance approved by the department will not be adverse to
the health, safety, or welfare of a child receiving services from
the applicant for the variance, as determined by the department.
(c) A variance granted under subsection (b) must be conditioned
upon compliance with the alternative method approved by the
department. Noncompliance constitutes the violation of a rule of the
department and may be the basis for revoking the variance.
(d) The department may grant a waiver of a rule if an applicant for
a license or a licensee under this article does the following:
(1) Submits to the department a written request for the waiver
in the form and manner specified by the department.
(2) Documents that compliance with the rule specified in the
application for the waiver will create an undue hardship on the
applicant for the waiver, as determined by the department.
(3) Documents that the applicant for the waiver will be in
substantial compliance with the rules adopted by the department
after the waiver is granted, as determined by the department.
(4) Documents that noncompliance with the rule specified in the
application for a waiver will not be adverse to the health, safety,
or welfare of a child receiving services from the applicant for
the waiver, as determined by the department.
(e) Except for a variance or waiver of a rule governing foster
family homes, a variance or waiver of a rule under this section that
conflicts with a building rule or fire safety rule adopted by the fire
prevention and building safety commission is not effective until the
variance or waiver is approved by the fire prevention and building
safety commission.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-9
Expiration of variances and waivers
Sec. 9. A waiver or variance granted under section 8 of this
chapter and a waiver or variance renewed under section 10 of this
chapter expires on the earliest of the following:
(1) The date when the license affected by the waiver or variance
expires.
(2) The date set by the department for the expiration of the
waiver or variance.
(3) The occurrence of the event set by the department for the
expiration of the waiver or variance.
(4) Four (4) years after the date that the waiver or variance
becomes effective.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-10
Renewal of variances and waivers
Sec. 10. (a) If the department determines that a waiver or variance
expiring under section 9 of this chapter will continue to serve the
public interest, the department may do the following:
(1) Renew the waiver or variance without modifications.
(2) Renew and modify the waiver or variance as needed to
promote statewide practices and to protect the rights of persons
affected by this chapter.
(b) Before taking an action under subsection (a), the department
may require a licensee under this article to do the following:
(1) Apply for the renewal of a waiver or variance on the form
specified by the department.
(2) Provide the information required by the department.
(c) Except for a variance or waiver of a rule governing foster
family homes, before taking an action under subsection (a), the
department must obtain the approval of the fire prevention and
building safety commission for the action if either of the following
occurs:
(1) The fire prevention and building safety commission
substantially changes a building rule or fire safety rule affected
by the waiver or variance after the date the commission last
approved the waiver or variance.
(2) The department substantially modifies any part of a waiver
or variance that conflicts with a building rule or fire safety rule
adopted by the fire prevention and building safety commission.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.
IC 31-27-2-11
Revocation of variances and waivers
Sec. 11. (a) If a licensee under this article violates a condition of
a waiver or variance under this chapter, the department may issue an
order revoking the waiver or variance before the waiver or variance
expires under section 9 of this chapter.
(b) If a waiver or variance is revoked under subsection (a), the
licensee is entitled to notice and an opportunity for a hearing as
provided under this article.
As added by P.L.145-2006, SEC.273.