CHAPTER 1. COST OF SERVICES; LIABILITY OF PARENT OR GUARDIAN TO PAY
IC 31-40
ARTICLE 40. JUVENILE LAW: FUNDING
IC 31-40-1
Chapter 1. Cost of Services; Liability of Parent or Guardian to
Pay
IC 31-40-1-1
Application of article
Sec. 1. This article applies to costs paid by the department under
section 2 of this chapter, including costs resulting from the
institutional placement of a child adjudicated a delinquent child or
a child in need of services.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.146-2008,
SEC.663.
IC 31-40-1-1.5
Definitions
Sec. 1.5. (a) As used in this chapter, "costs of secure detention"
includes all expenses relating to any of the following items:
(1) Construction, repair, operation, maintenance, and
administration of a secure detention facility.
(2) Room, board, supervision, and support services for housing
at a secure detention facility of a child who has been:
(A) taken into custody under IC 31-37-5 and placed in a
secure detention facility for purposes of court proceedings
under IC 31-37; or
(B) placed in a secure detention facility under IC 31-37-19-6
or IC 31-37-19-10.
(3) Services provided by the department, a county probation
office, or any service provider contracted by the department or
county probation office if the services are provided:
(A) to or for the benefit of the child;
(B) under or consistent with the terms of a dispositional
decree entered in accordance with IC 31-37-19-6 or
IC 31-37-19-10; and
(C) during the time the child is housed in a secure detention
facility.
(b) As used in this chapter, "secure detention facility" includes:
(1) a juvenile detention center described in IC 31-31-8 or
IC 31-31-9; or
(2) a secure facility, including any separate unit or structure,
that is:
(A) not licensed by the department under IC 31-27; or
(B) located outside Indiana.
(c) As used in this chapter, "services" includes education,
provision of necessary clothing and supplies, medical and dental
care, counseling and remediation, or any other services or programs
included in a dispositional decree or case plan ordered or approved
by the juvenile court for the benefit of a delinquent child under
IC 31-37.
As added by P.L.146-2008, SEC.664.
IC 31-40-1-1.7
Repealed
(Repealed by P.L.2-2005, SEC.131.)
IC 31-40-1-2
Obligation of parent, guardian, or department for cost of services
or return of child; costs of secure detention or child services
Sec. 2. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section and
subject to:
(1) this chapter; and
(2) any other provisions of IC 31-34, IC 31-37, or other
applicable law relating to the particular program, activity, or
service for which payment is made by or through the
department;
the department shall pay the cost of any child services provided by
or through the department for any child or the child's parent,
guardian, or custodian.
(b) The department shall pay the cost of returning a child under
IC 31-37-23.
(c) Except as provided under section 2.5 of this chapter, the
department is not responsible for payment of any costs of secure
detention.
(d) The department is not responsible for payment of any costs or
expenses for child services for a child if:
(1) the juvenile court has not entered the required findings and
conclusions in accordance with IC 31-34-5-3, IC 31-34-20-1,
IC 31-37-6-6, IC 31-37-19-1, or IC 31-37-19-6 (whichever is
applicable); and
(2) the department has determined that the child otherwise
meets the eligibility requirements for assistance under Title
IV-E of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.).
(e) In all cases under this title, if the juvenile court orders
services, programs, or placements that:
(1) are not eligible for federal assistance under either Title IV-B
of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 620 et seq.) or
Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 670 et
seq.); and
(2) have not been recommended or approved by the department;
the department is not responsible for payment of the costs of those
services, programs, or placements.
(f) The department is not responsible for payment of any costs or
expenses for housing or services provided to or for the benefit of a
child placed by a juvenile court in a home or facility located outside
Indiana, if the placement is not recommended or approved by the
director of the department or the director's designee.
(g) The department is not responsible for payment of any costs or
expenses of child services for a delinquent child under a
dispositional decree entered under IC 31-37-19, if the probation
officer who prepared the predispositional report did not submit to the
department the information relating to determination of eligibility of
the child for assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.), as required by IC 31-37-17-1(a)(3).
(h) If:
(1) the department is not responsible for payment of costs or
expenses of services, programs, or placements ordered by a
court for a child or the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, as
provided in this section; and
(2) another source of payment for those costs or expenses is not
specified in this section or other applicable law;
the county in which the child in need of services case or delinquency
case was filed is responsible for payment of those costs and
expenses.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.273-1999,
SEC.119; P.L.146-2008, SEC.665; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.387.
IC 31-40-1-2.5
Payment of cost for certain services; department agreement with
probation office
Sec. 2.5. (a) This section applies to a child who is:
(1) adjudicated a child in need of services under IC 31-34;
(2) a party in a pending child in need of services proceeding
under the jurisdiction of a juvenile court;
(3) receiving services for which payment has been made by the
department under a case plan and a dispositional decree in the
child in need of services proceeding; and
(4) placed in a secure detention facility by order of a juvenile
court, based on a determination by the juvenile court that the
child committed, or that probable cause exists to believe that the
child committed, a delinquent act described in IC 31-37-1-2 at
a time after adjudication in the child in need of services case.
(b) The department may, by agreement with the probation office
of the juvenile court in which the delinquency case is pending, pay
the cost of specified services for a child described in subsection (a),
during the time the child is placed in a secure detention facility.
(c) An agreement under this section must specify:
(1) the particular services that will be paid by the department
during the time the child is placed in a secure detention facility;
(2) the term of the agreement;
(3) any procedure or limitations relating to amendment or
extension of the agreement; and
(4) any other provision that the parties consider necessary or
appropriate.
(d) The child's case plan in a child in need of services case, as
prepared and approved by the department under IC 31-34-15, shall
be attached to and made a part of the agreement.
(e) An agreement under this section:
(1) shall be signed by:
(A) the director of the department; and
(B) the judge of the juvenile court that ordered or approved
placement of the child in the secure detention facility; and
(2) may not be considered to be a contract for purposes of
IC 4-13-2.
As added by P.L.146-2008, SEC.666.
IC 31-40-1-3
Obligation of parent or guardian for cost of services provided to
child adjudicated delinquent or in need of services; child support
obligation worksheet; manner of payment
Sec. 3. (a) A parent or guardian of the estate of:
(1) a child adjudicated a delinquent child or a child in need of
services; or
(2) a participant in a program of informal adjustment approved
by a juvenile court under IC 31-34-8 or IC 31-37-9;
is financially responsible as provided in this chapter (or
IC 31-6-4-18(e) before its repeal) for any services provided by or
through the department.
(b) Each person described in subsection (a) shall, before a hearing
under subsection (c) concerning payment or reimbursement of costs,
furnish the court and the department with an accurately completed
and current child support obligation worksheet on the same form that
is prescribed by the Indiana supreme court for child support orders.
(c) At:
(1) a detention hearing;
(2) a hearing that is held after the payment of costs by the
department under section 2 of this chapter (or IC 31-6-4-18(b)
before its repeal);
(3) the dispositional hearing; or
(4) any other hearing to consider modification of a dispositional
decree;
the juvenile court shall order the child's parents or the guardian of the
child's estate to pay for, or reimburse the department for the cost of
services provided to the child or the parent or guardian unless the
court makes a specific finding that the parent or guardian is unable
to pay or that justice would not be served by ordering payment from
the parent or guardian.
(d) Any parental reimbursement obligation under this section shall
be paid directly to the department and not to the local court clerk so
long as the child in need of services case, juvenile delinquency case,
or juvenile status offense case is open. The department shall keep
track of all payments made by each parent and shall provide a receipt
for each payment received. At the end of the child in need of
services, juvenile delinquency, or juvenile status action, the
department shall provide an accounting of payments received, and
the court may consider additional evidence of payment activity and
determine the amount of parental reimbursement obligation that
remains unpaid. The court shall reduce the unpaid balance to a final
judgment that may be enforced in any court having jurisdiction over
such matters.
(e) After a judgment for unpaid parental reimbursement obligation
is rendered, payments made toward satisfaction of the judgment shall
be made to the clerk of the court in the county where the enforcement
action is filed and shall be promptly forwarded to the department in
the same manner as any other judgment payment.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.273-1999,
SEC.120; P.L.146-2008, SEC.667; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.388.
IC 31-40-1-4
Obligation of parent or guardian for costs of returning child to
Indiana under interstate compact on juveniles
Sec. 4. The parent or guardian of the estate of any child returned
to Indiana under the interstate compact on juveniles under
IC 31-37-23 shall reimburse the department for all costs involved in
returning the child that the court orders the parent or guardian to pay
under section 3 of this chapter (or IC 31-6-4-18(e) before its repeal)
whether or not the child has been adjudicated a delinquent child or
a child in need of services.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.146-2008,
SEC.668.
IC 31-40-1-5
Obligation of parent or guardian for costs of institutional
placement of child; remittance of support payments; enforcement
Sec. 5. (a) This section applies whenever the court approves
removal of a child from the home of a child's parent or guardian and
the department places the child in a child caring institution, a foster
family home, a group home, or the home of a relative of the child
that is not a foster family home.
(b) If an existing support order is in effect, the juvenile court shall
order the support payments to be assigned to the department for the
duration of the placement out of the home of the child's parent or
guardian. The juvenile court shall notify the court that:
(1) entered the existing support order; or
(2) had jurisdiction, immediately before the placement, to
modify or enforce the existing support order;
of the assignment and assumption of jurisdiction by the juvenile
court under this section.
(c) If an existing support order is not in effect, the court shall do
the following:
(1) Include in the order for out-of-home placement of the child
an assignment to the department or confirmation of an
assignment that occurs or is required under applicable federal
law, of any rights to support, including support for the cost of
any medical care payable by the state under IC 12-15, from any
parent or guardian who has a legal obligation to support the
child.
(2) Order support paid to the department by each of the child's
parents or the guardians of the child's estate to be based on child
support guidelines adopted by the Indiana supreme court and
for the duration of the placement of the child out of the home of
the child's parent or guardian, unless:
(A) the court finds that entry of an order based on the child
support guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate
considering the best interests of the child and other
necessary obligations of the child's family; or
(B) the department does not make foster care maintenance
payments to the custodian of the child. For purposes of this
clause, "foster care maintenance payments" means any
payments for the cost of (in whole or in part) providing food,
clothing, shelter, daily supervision, school supplies, a child's
personal incidentals, liability insurance with respect to a
child, and reasonable amounts for travel to the child's home
for visitation. In the case of a child caring institution, the
term also includes the reasonable costs of administration and
operation of the institution as are necessary to provide the
items described in this clause.
(3) If the court:
(A) does not enter a support order; or
(B) enters an order that is not based on the child support
guidelines;
the court shall make findings as required by 45 CFR 302.56(g).
(d) Payments in accordance with a support order assigned under
subsection (b) or entered under subsection (c) (or IC 31-6-4-18(f)
before its repeal) shall be paid through the clerk of the circuit court
as trustee for remittance to the department.
(e) The Title IV-D agency shall establish, modify, or enforce a
support order assigned or entered by a court under this section in
accordance with IC 31-25-3, IC 31-25-4, and 42 U.S.C. 654. The
department shall, if requested, assist the Title IV-D agency in
performing its duties under this subsection.
(f) If the juvenile court terminates placement of a child out of the
home of the child's parent or guardian, the court shall:
(1) notify the court that:
(A) entered a support order assigned to the department under
subsection (b); or
(B) had jurisdiction, immediately before the placement, to
modify or enforce the existing support order;
of the termination of jurisdiction of the juvenile court with
respect to the support order;
(2) terminate a support order entered under subsection (c) that
requires payment of support by a custodial parent or guardian
of the child, with respect to support obligations that accrue after
termination of the placement; or
(3) continue in effect, subject to modification or enforcement by
a court having jurisdiction over the obligor, a support order
entered under subsection (c) that requires payment of support
by a noncustodial parent or guardian of the estate of the child.
(g) The court may at or after a hearing described in section 3 of
this chapter order the child's parent or the guardian of the child's
estate to reimburse the department for all or any portion of the
expenses for services provided to or for the benefit of the child that
are paid by the department during the placement of the child out of
the home of the parent or guardian, in addition to amounts
reimbursed through payments in accordance with a support order
assigned or entered as provided in this section, subject to applicable
federal law.
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.273-1999,
SEC.121; P.L.145-2006, SEC.362; P.L.146-2008, SEC.669.
IC 31-40-1-6
Contracts for enforcement and collection of parental
reimbursement obligations
Sec. 6. (a) The department may contract with any of the
following, on terms and conditions with respect to compensation and
payment or reimbursement of expenses as the department may
determine, for the enforcement and collection of any parental
reimbursement obligation established by order entered by the court
under section 3 or 5(g) of this chapter:
(1) The prosecuting attorney of the county in which the juvenile
court that ordered or approved the services is located or in
which the obligor resides.
(2) An attorney licensed to practice law in Indiana, if the
attorney is not an employee of the department.
(3) A private collection agency licensed under IC 25-11.
(b) A contract entered into under this section is subject to
approval under IC 4-13-2-14.1.
(c) Any fee payable to a prosecuting attorney under a contract
under subsection (a)(1) shall be deposited in the county general fund
and credited to a separate account identified as the prosecuting
attorney's child services collections account. The prosecuting
attorney may expend funds credited to the prosecuting attorney's
child services collections account, without appropriation, only for the
purpose of supporting and enhancing the functions of the prosecuting
attorney in enforcement and collection of parental obligations to
reimburse the department.
(d) Contracts between a prosecuting attorney, a private attorney,
or a collection agency licensed under IC 25-11 and the department:
(1) must:
(A) be in writing;
(B) include:
(i) all fees, charges, and costs, including administrative
and application fees; and
(ii) the right of the department to cancel the contract at any
time;
(C) require the prosecuting attorney, private attorney, or
collection agency, upon the request of the department, to
provide the:
(i) source of each payment received for a parental
reimbursement order;
(ii) form of each payment received for a parental
reimbursement order; and
(iii) amount and percentage that is deducted as a fee or a
charge from each payment on the parental reimbursement
order; and
(D) have a term of not more than four (4) years; and
(2) may be negotiable contingency contracts in which a
prosecuting attorney, private attorney, or collection agency may
not collect a fee that exceeds fifteen percent (15%) of the
parental reimbursement collected per case.
(e) A prosecuting attorney, private attorney, or collection agency
that contracts with the department under this section may, in addition
to the collection of the parental reimbursement order, assess and
collect from an obligor all fees, charges, costs, and other expenses as
provided under the terms of the contract described in subsection (d).
As added by P.L.273-1999, SEC.122. Amended by P.L.145-2006,
SEC.363; P.L.146-2008, SEC.670; P.L.182-2009(ss), SEC.389.
IC 31-40-1-7
Distribution of payments
Sec. 7. Amounts received as payment of support or reimbursement
of the cost of services paid as provided in this chapter shall be
distributed in the following manner:
(1) If any part of the cost of services was paid from federal
funds under Title IV Part E of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 671 et seq.), the amounts received shall first be applied
as provided in 42 U.S.C. 657 and 45 CFR 302.52.
(2) All amounts remaining after the distributions required by
subdivision (1) shall be deposited in the state general fund.
As added by P.L.273-1999, SEC.123. Amended by P.L.145-2006,
SEC.364; P.L.146-2008, SEC.671.