Relating to the modification of a bridge order issued pursuant to a previous child in need of assistance case

This bill relates to the ability of a juvenile court to close a child in need of assistance (CINA) case by transferring jurisdiction through modification of a bridge order issued pursuant to a previous CINA case. Under current law, a juvenile court may close a CINA case by issuing a bridge order that would transfer jurisdiction to the district court. If the child is subject to a subsequent CINA case, the juvenile court is required to issue a new order for the case and the court would have to rescind the previous bridge order. The bill provides that if a bridge order currently exists for a child in a CINA case, a juvenile court may close a CINA case by returning jurisdiction of the child’s custody to the district court through an order modifying issues of legal custody, physical care, and parenting time if the child has been adjudicated a CINA in an active juvenile court case, and a permanency order is in place in that case; legal paternity has been established for the child; the child is safely unified with a parent; the district court has issued an order concerning custody, physical care, and parenting time regarding the child and the order is in place at the time of the filing of the CINA petition; the juvenile court has determined that the CINA case can safely close when the modified district court order for custody, physical care, and parenting time is in place; and either parent has qualified for a court appointed attorney in the juvenile case. When all of the criteria as described in the bill are met, the bill allows any party to a CINA proceeding in juvenile court to file a motion with the juvenile court for a bridge modification order to return jurisdiction to the district court and close the CINA case. The bill requires such a motion to be set for hearing by the juvenile court no less than days but not more than days from the date of filing of the motion. The juvenile court, on its own motion, may set a hearing on the issue of the bridge modification order if such hearing is set no less than days from the date of notice to the parties. The bill limits bridge modification orders to only address matters of legal custody, physical care, and parenting time. All other matters, including child support, shall be filed by separate petition in district court and shall be subject to existing statutory requirements. The bill requires the clerk of court, upon receiving jurisdiction of a transferred CINA case, to docket the bridge modification order in the current district court custodial order court file. The bill prohibits the clerk of court from assessing any filing fees or other court costs. The bill requires the juvenile court to follow the previously designated listing of the parties as petitioner and as respondent for the purposes of the bridge modification order. The bill requires the district court to take judicial notice of the CINA case related to the bridge modification order, as well as any prior CINA cases relating to any prior bridge orders in any hearing related to the case. Records that are copied or transferred from the juvenile court file shall be subject to Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice) confidentiality provisions for cases not involving juvenile delinquency. The bill requires such documents to be disclosed, upon request, to the child support recovery unit without a court order, subject to any statutory confidentiality provisions. The bill does not require the appointment of counsel for the parties in the district court action.