Reduce Child And Incarcerated Parent Separation

The act requires the department of human services to promulgate rules that facilitate communication and family time between children and their parents who are incarcerated. The act requires the court to appoint counsel for a respondent parent who is incarcerated, unless the court determines the respondent is able to financially secure counsel or chooses to proceed without counsel. The act requires the court and the prison or jail where the parent is incarcerated to facilitate the parent's attendance and participation in proceedings for the parent's dependency and neglect case. Under current law, after an order of adjudication in a dependency and neglect case, the court holds a dispositional…