Indiana § 31-34-21-5.6 Exceptions to requirement to make reasonable efforts to preserve and
reunify families

Indiana Statutes

§ 31-34-21-5.6 — Exceptions to requirement to make reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families

Indiana § 31-34-21-5.6

Art. 34JUVENILE LAW: CHILDREN IN NEED OF

Ch. 21Review of Dispositional Decrees; Formal Review

This text of Indiana § 31-34-21-5.6 (Exceptions to requirement to make reasonable efforts to preserve and reunify families) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Ind. Code § 31-34-21-5.6 (2026).

Text

6.

(a)Except as provided in subsection (c), a court may make a finding described in this section at any phase of a child in need of services proceeding.

(b)Reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the child's parent, guardian, or custodian or preserve a child's family as described in section 5.5 of this chapter are not required if the court finds any of the following:

(1)A parent, guardian, or custodian of the child has been convicted of:

(A)an offense described in IC 31-35-3-4(1)(B) or IC 31-35-3-4(1)(D) through IC 31-35-3-4(1)(J) against a victim who is:

(i)a child described in IC 31-35-3-4(2)(B); or

(ii)a parent of the child; or

(B)a comparable offense as described in clause (A) in any other state, territory, or country by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(2)A parent, guardi

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6. (a) Except as provided in subsection (c),
a court may make a finding described in this section at any phase of a
child in need of services proceeding.
(b) Reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the child's parent,
guardian, or custodian or preserve a child's family as described in
section 5.5 of this chapter are not required if the court finds any of the
following:
(1) A parent, guardian, or custodian of the child has been
convicted of:
(A) an offense described in IC 31-35-3-4(1)(B) or IC 31-35-3-4(1)(D) through IC 31-35-3-4(1)(J) against a victim
who is:
(i) a child described in IC 31-35-3-4(2)(B); or
(ii) a parent of the child; or
(B) a comparable offense as described in clause (A) in any
other state, territory, or country by a court of competent
jurisdiction.
(2) A parent, guardian, or custodian of the child:
(A) has been convicted of:
(i) the murder (IC 35-42-1-1) or voluntary manslaughter (IC 35-42-1-3) of a victim who is a child described in IC 31-35-3-4(2)(B) or a parent of the child; or
(ii) a comparable offense described in item (i) in any other
state, territory, or country;
(B) has been convicted of:
(i) aiding, inducing, or causing another person;
(ii) attempting; or
(iii) conspiring with another person;
to commit an offense described in clause (A);
(C) is required to register:
(i) as a sex offender under 34 U.S.C. 20913; or
(ii) as a sex or violent offender under IC 36-2-13-5.5; or
(D) committed an offense described in IC 31-34-1-3 or IC 31-34-1-3.5 against a child and the offense resulted in a
conviction or a judgment under IC 31-34-11-2.
(3) A parent, guardian, or custodian of the child has been
convicted of:
(A) battery as a Class A felony (for a crime committed before
July 1, 2014) or Level 2 felony (for a crime committed after
June 30, 2014);
(B) battery as a Class B felony (for a crime committed before
July 1, 2014) or Level 3 or Level 4 felony (for a crime
committed after June 30, 2014);
(C) battery as a Class C felony (for a crime committed before
July 1, 2014) or Level 5 felony (for a crime committed after
June 30, 2014);
(D) aggravated battery (IC 35-42-2-1.5);
(E) criminal recklessness (IC 35-42-2-2) as a Class C felony
(for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or a Level 5 felony
(for a crime committed after June 30, 2014);
(F) neglect of a dependent (IC 35-46-1-4) as a Class B felony
(for a crime committed before July 1, 2014) or a Level 1 or
Level 3 felony (for a crime committed after June 30, 2014);
(G) promotion of human labor trafficking, promotion of human
sexual trafficking, promotion of child sexual trafficking,
promotion of sexual trafficking of a younger child, child sexual
trafficking, or human trafficking (IC 35-42-3.5-1 through IC 35-42-3.5-1.4) as a felony; or
(H) a comparable offense described in clauses (A) through (G)
under federal law or in another state, territory, or country;
against a child described in IC 31-35-3-4(2)(B).
(4) The parental rights of a parent with respect to a biological or
adoptive sibling of the child have been involuntarily terminated
by a court under:
(A) IC 31-35-2 (involuntary termination involving a delinquent
child or a child in need of services);
(B) IC 31-35-3 (involuntary termination involving an individual
convicted of a criminal offense); or
(C) any comparable law described in clause (A) or (B) in any
other state, territory, or country.
(5) The child is an abandoned infant, provided that the court:
(A) has appointed a guardian ad litem or court appointed
special advocate for the child; and
(B) after receiving a written report and recommendation from
the guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate, and
after a hearing, finds that reasonable efforts to locate the child's
parents or reunify the child's family would not be in the best
interests of the child.
(6) The child is a safe haven infant.
(7) The child:
(A) was the subject of two (2) or more previous:
(i) child in need of services proceedings under this chapter;
or
(ii) proceedings under comparable law in another state; and
(B) was removed from the home of the child's parent, guardian,
or custodian under:
(i) a dispositional decree entered under IC 31-34-20-1; or
(ii) a court order issued under comparable law in another
state;
in each of the proceedings described in clause (A);
and the court finds that each removal described in clause (B) was
the result of conditions caused by the parent, guardian, or
custodian.
(c) During or at any time after the first periodic case review under
IC 31-34-21-2 of a child in need of services proceeding, if the court
finds that a parent, guardian, or custodian of the child has been charged
with an offense described in subsection (b)(3) and is awaiting trial, the
court may make a finding that reasonable efforts to reunify the child
with the child's parent, guardian, or custodian or preserve the child's
family as described in section 5.5 of this chapter may be suspended
pending the disposition of the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's
criminal charge.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.35-1998, SEC.13. Amended by P.L.197-1999, SEC.5; P.L.133-2000, SEC.8; P.L.222-2001, SEC.2; P.L.217-2001, SEC.10; P.L.1-2003, SEC.78; P.L.158-2013, SEC.323; P.L.46-2016, SEC.15; P.L.144-2018, SEC.7; P.L.10-2019, SEC.125; P.L.45-2023, SEC.11; P.L.19-2024, SEC.1.