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Ind. Code § 31-34-19-6

Dispositional decree; considerations

Applied in 16 court decisions — leading case A.H. v. Bartholomew County Office of Family & Children (2001)

Most recently applied in M.B. v. Ind. Dep't of Child Servs. (In re My.B.) (July 2019)

As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.17

How often courts cite this section

199920002010201930
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

Sec. 6. (a) If consistent with the safety of the community and the best interest of the child, the juvenile court shall enter a dispositional decree that:

(1) is:

(A) in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available; and

(B) close to the parents' home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;

(2) least interferes with family autonomy;

(3) is least disruptive of family life;

(4) imposes the least restraint on the freedom of the child and the child's parent, guardian, or custodian;

(5) provides a reasonable opportunity for participation by the child's parent, guardian, or custodian; and

(6) provides a reasonable opportunity for the child's parent who:

(A) is incarcerated; and

(B) has maintained a meaningful role in the child's life;

to maintain a relationship with the child.

(b) In determining whether reunification of a child with a parent, guardian, or custodian from whom the child has been removed is in the child's best interest, a court shall do the following:

(1) The court shall determine whether reunifying the child with the parent, guardian, or custodian will result in separation of the child from a sibling of the child.

(2) If the court determines under subdivision (1) that reunifying the child with the parent, guardian, or custodian will result in separation of the child from a sibling of the child, the court shall consider whether separating the child from the child's sibling is in the child's best interest.

Official source: Indiana General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain Indiana statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.