Ind. Code ch. 31-40-1

Ind. Code ch. 31-40-1
in effect

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-0.2 Application of certain amendments to prior law

Sec. 0.2. The amendments made to IC 31-6-4-18 (before its repeal, now codified in this chapter) by P.L.270-1995 apply only to services provided or fees imposed after May 3, 1995. As added by P.L.220-2011, SEC.517.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-1 Application of article

Sec. 1. This article applies to costs paid by the department, the department of correction, and counties under this chapter, including costs resulting from the institutional placement of a child adjudicated a delinquent child or a child in need of services. [Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-18(a).] As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.146-2008, SEC.663; P.L.204-2011, SEC.2.

Ind. Code § 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.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-2 Obligation of parent, guardian, or department for costs of services or return of child

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 or IC 11-13-4.5-1.5. (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 the payment of any costs or expenses for child services for a child placed in a child caring institution, a group home, or a private secure facility if the entity does not have an executed contract with the department, unless the child services to be provided by the entity are recommended or approved by the director of the department or the director's designee in writing prior to the placement. (e) 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. (f) If a county is responsible for the payment of: (1) any costs or expenses of services for or the placement of a child in need of services; or (2) the costs or expenses of services for or the placement of a delinquent child; the court may order the parents to reimburse the county as set forth in section 3.8 of this chapter. [Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-18(b), (e) part.] 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; P.L.204-2011, SEC.3; P.L.48-2012, SEC.75.

Ind. Code § 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.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-3 Payment by parent or guardian for cost of services provided by or through department of child services; presumption of indigency

Sec. 3. (a) Subject to subsection (f), a parent or guardian of the estate of a child adjudicated a delinquent child or a child in need of services 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 may not 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 able to pay. (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 or juvenile delinquency 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 or juvenile delinquency 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. (f) A parent is presumed indigent unless a court makes a specific finding that states otherwise. [Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-18(c), (e) part.] 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; P.L.101-2022, SEC.30; P.L.151-2023, SEC.1.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-3.5 Payment by parent or guardian for cost of services provided by department of correction

Sec. 3.5. (a) If a juvenile court: (1) adjudicates a child to be a delinquent child; and (2) awards wardship of the child to the department of correction; the juvenile court may conduct a hearing. The juvenile court shall use the Child Support Rules and Guidelines of the Indiana supreme court and the child support obligation worksheet developed by the Indiana supreme court to determine what each parent should pay for the services provided for the child under this section. If the parent participates with the treatment plans developed by the department of correction, the parent or parents are entitled to receive a parenting time credit under the Child Support Rules and Guidelines. The hearing may be conducted before or after the department of correction incurs costs for a child. (b) Each parent shall, before a hearing under subsection (a), furnish the juvenile court and the department of correction 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) A juvenile court may not order a parent to pay or reimburse the department of correction unless the juvenile court makes a specific finding that the parent is able to pay. (d) If, after a hearing, the juvenile court orders a parent to pay or reimburse costs, the parent is financially responsible for the costs of treatment services incurred by the department of correction. (e) Any parental reimbursement obligation under this section shall be paid directly to the clerk of the court so long as the juvenile delinquency case is open. The clerk of the court shall keep track of all payments made by each parent and shall provide a receipt for each payment received. At the end of the juvenile delinquency action, the clerk of the court shall provide an accounting of payments received, and the juvenile court may consider additional evidence of payment activity and determine the amount of parental reimbursement obligation that remains unpaid. The juvenile court shall reduce the unpaid balance to a final judgment that may be enforced in any court having jurisdiction over such matters. (f) 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 forwarded promptly to the department of correction in the same manner as any other judgment payment. (g) The department of correction may compromise a claim owed by a parent under this section. The department of correction, after obtaining the advice of the attorney general, may notify the court of a parental reimbursement obligation that is willfully ignored. (h) Upon release from the department of correction, the parental reimbursement obligation payment to the department of correction ends. If there was a child support order for the child adjudicated delinquent, it reverts to the most recent child support order in effect before the child's adjudication. If the child is placed with a person other than a custodial parent, the juvenile court shall establish a new support order for the benefit of the child being released from the department of correction. (i) The department of correction shall deposit money collected under this section in the division of youth services transitional services fund established by IC 11-10-2-11. As added by P.L.204-2011, SEC.4. Amended by P.L.151-2023, SEC.2.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-3.8 Parental reimbursement for services provided by a county

Sec. 3.8. (a) If a county is responsible for the payment of: (1) any costs or expenses of services for or the placement of a child in need of services; or (2) the costs or expenses of services for or the placement of a delinquent child under section 2 of this chapter; the juvenile court ordering the services that the county is responsible for may hold a hearing. The juvenile court shall use the Child Support Rules and Guidelines of the Indiana supreme court and the child support obligation worksheet developed by the Indiana supreme court to determine what each parent should pay for the services provided for the child under this section. If the parent participates with the treatment plans developed by the department or court, the parent or parents are entitled to receive a parenting time credit under the Child Support Rules and Guidelines. (b) Each person described in subsection (a) shall, before a hearing under subsection (c) concerning payment or reimbursement of costs, furnish the court 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 county; (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 to pay for, or reimburse the county for, the cost of services provided to the child or the parent unless the court makes a specific finding that the parent is unable to pay or that justice would not be served by ordering payment from the parent. (d) Any parental reimbursement obligation under this section shall be paid directly to the clerk of the court so long as the child in need of services case, juvenile delinquency case, or juvenile status offense case is open. The clerk of the court 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 clerk of the court 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. (f) The county may collect any money that is owed under this section as provided by IC 36-1-4-17. (g) Upon release from services ordered under this section, the parental reimbursement obligation payment ends. If there was a child support order for the child adjudicated delinquent, it reverts to the most recent child support order in effect before the child's adjudication. If the child is placed with a person other than a custodial parent, the juvenile court shall establish a new support order for the benefit of the child. As added by P.L.204-2011, SEC.5.

Ind. Code § 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. [Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-18(d).] As added by P.L.1-1997, SEC.23. Amended by P.L.146-2008, SEC.668.

Ind. Code § 31-40-1-5 Obligation of parent or guardian for costs of placement; 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: (1) clerk of the circuit court as trustee for remittance to the department; or (2) state central collection unit established in IC 31-25-3-1. (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. [Pre-1997 Recodification Citation: 31-6-4-18(f), (g) part.] 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; P.L.206-2015, SEC.60.

Ind. Code § 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.

Ind. Code § 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) As provided in 45 CFR 302.52(b)(2), all amounts remaining after the distributions required by subdivision (1) shall be used in the best interests of the child for whom the support or reimbursement was paid, including: (A) setting aside amounts for the child's future needs; or (B) making all or part of the amount available to the person responsible for meeting the child's daily needs to be used for the child's benefit. As added by P.L.273-1999, SEC.123. Amended by P.L.145-2006, SEC.364; P.L.146-2008, SEC.671; P.L.206-2015, SEC.61.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/31Fetched: 10/17/2026

Starting a business in Indiana? Indiana LLC guide: costs and requirements