Bradford, J.
Case Summary
Appellants-Respondents D.R. (“Mother”) and M.R. (“Father”) (collectively, “Parents”) appeal from the juvenile court’s determination that J.R. and M.R. (“the Children”) are children in need of services (“CHINS”). Parents contend that the juvenile court erred in denying their motion to dismiss the CHINS petitions filed by the Appellee-Petitioner the Indiana Department of Child Services (“DCS”), which motion was made on the ground that the fact-finding hearing was not completed within the statutorily-required sixty-day period after the filing of the CHINS petitions. Because we agree with Parents, we reverse the judgment of the juvenile court and remand with instructions to dismiss DCS’s CHINS petitions without prejudice.
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Parents contend that the juvenile court erred in denying their motion to dismiss the CHINS petitions on the basis that the factfinding hearing was not completed within the required sixty days, the juvenile court lacked authority to enter a CHINS finding due to the failure to complete factfinding within sixty days, and the evidence is insufficient to support the juvenile court’s CHINS determination. Because we conclude that Parents’ first claim is dispositive, we need not address their others.
Parents argue that the juvenile court erred in denying their motion to dismiss pursuant to Indiana Code section 31-34-11-1…
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…Rather than changing “shall” to “may” or adding provisions allowing for continuances for good cause, the General Assembly instead added subsection (d). Simply put, there is no longer any reason to believe that the General Assembly intends Indiana Code section 31-34-11-1 to mean anything other than what its clear language indicates, i.e., that a factfinding hearing shall be completed within sixty days of the filing of a CHINS petition and that failure to do so is grounds for dismissal. Parmeter is no longer good law on this point, and we conclude that the juvenile court erred in denying Parents’ motion to dismiss.
While it may be that in many cases DCS would refile, it is important to note that it would not be able to just simply refile the same CHINS petition; it still has to get approval to refile from the juvenile court, and this can only be given after a probable cause determination…We note that “[a] CHINS finding should consider the family’s condition not just when the case was filed, but also when it is heard.” In re S.D., 2 N.E.3d 1283, 1290 (Ind. 2014). Therefore, should DCS refile, it would not be able to rely solely on the evidence that was admitted at the original CHINS factfinding; it would have to also submit new evidence regarding the conditions at the current time.
Moreover, if we were to allow the deadline to be ignored here, trial courts could habitually set these matters outside the time frame and there would be no consequence whatsoever. We believe that any change (including the imposition of any more severe consequences) has to come from the General Assembly, and unless/until that occurs, we are bound to apply the statute as written. Consequently, we reverse the judgment of the juvenile court and remand with instructions to dismiss DCS’s CHINS petitions without prejudice.
We reverse the judgment of the juvenile court and remand with instructions.
Baker, J., and Kirsch, J., concur.