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

Indiana Statutes

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

Indiana § 31-40-1-3

Art. 40JUVENILE LAW: FUNDING

Ch. 1Cost of Services; Liability of Parent or Guardian to Pay

This text of Indiana § 31-40-1-3 (Payment by parent or guardian for cost of services provided by or through department of child services; presumption of indigency) 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 § 31-40-1-3 (2026).

Text

(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 repe

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(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.]

Legislative History

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.