Dispositional decrees; conditions for placement of child in home or facility outside Indiana; written findings and conclusions
Ind. Code § 31-34-20-1
in effectSec. 1. (a) Subject to this section and sections 1.5 and 1.6 of this chapter, if a child is a child in need of services, the juvenile court may enter one (1) or more of the following dispositional decrees:
(1) Order supervision of the child by the department.
(2) Order the child to receive outpatient treatment:
(A) at a social service agency or a psychological, a psychiatric, a medical, or an educational facility; or
(B) from an individual practitioner.
(3) Remove the child from the child's home and authorize the department to place the child in another home, shelter care facility, child caring institution, group home, or secure private facility. Placement under this subdivision includes authorization to control and discipline the child.
(4) Award wardship of the child to the department for supervision, care, and placement.
(5) Partially or completely emancipate the child under section 6 of this chapter.
(6) Unless a finding has been made under IC 31-34-21-5.6 that reasonable efforts for family preservation or reunification are not required, order the child's parent, guardian, or custodian to complete reunification services recommended by the department and approved by the court under IC 31-34-18 and IC 31-34-19, which may include services described in section 3(a) of this chapter. In determining the reunification services that are appropriate, the court shall take into consideration:
(A) any failure of the parent, guardian, or custodian to substantially participate in previously ordered services or substantially comply with a previous case plan;
(B) any history of the parent, guardian, or custodian abusing the child while the parent, guardian, or custodian was under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
(C) any history of the parent, guardian, or custodian directing violent behavior at the child or at a member of the child's immediate family;
(D) whether the parent, guardian, or custodian continues to reside with an individual who abused the child;
(E) any patterns of behavior by the parent, guardian, or custodian that have exposed the child to repeated abuse;
(F) any testimony by a competent professional that remediation of the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's behavior is unlikely to be successful; and
(G) whether the parent, guardian, or custodian has expressed an interest in reunification with the child.
In determining the appropriateness of the reunification services, the court shall consider the child's health, welfare, and safety as the paramount concern.
(7) Order a person who is a party to refrain from direct or indirect contact with the child.
(8) Order a perpetrator of child abuse or neglect to refrain from returning to the child's residence.
(b) A juvenile court may not place a child in a home or facility that is located outside Indiana unless:
(1) the placement is recommended or approved by the director of the department or the director's designee; or
(2) the juvenile court makes written findings based on clear and convincing evidence that:
(A) the out-of-state placement is appropriate because there is not an equivalent facility with adequate services located in Indiana;
(B) institutional care in the other jurisdiction is in the best interest of the child and will not produce undue hardship; or
(C) the location of the home or facility is within a distance not greater than fifty (50) miles from the county of residence of the child.
(c) If a dispositional decree under this section:
(1) orders or approves removal of a child from the child's home or awards wardship of the child to the department; and
(2) is the first juvenile court order in the child in need of services proceeding that authorizes or approves removal of the child from the child's parent, guardian, or custodian;
the juvenile court shall include in the decree the appropriate findings and conclusions described in IC 31-34-5-3(b) and IC 31-34-5-3(c).
[Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-15.4(a) part.]
As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.17. Amended by P.L.70-2004, SEC.21; P.L.145-2006, SEC.311; P.L.146-2006, SEC.50; P.L.52-2007, SEC.10; P.L.146-2008, SEC.602; P.L.104-2015, SEC.39; P.L.46-2016, SEC.14; P.L.183-2017, SEC.48; P.L.172-2022, SEC.9; P.L.179-2025, SEC.16.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/31Fetched: 10/17/2026