Rule Text
A. Following the adjudication hearing, the court shall immediately declare whether the evidence warrants a child in need of care adjudication. In exceptional circumstances, the court may take the matter under advisement for a period not to exceed ten days.
B. If the evidence demonstrates that the child's family is in need of services, the court may adjudicate the child's family to be in need of services and proceed to a disposition in accordance with Chapters 10 and 12 of Title VII.
C. If the court finds that the evidence does not warrant an adjudication that either the child is in need of care or the family is in need of services, it shall dismiss the petition.
Amendment history: Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 1317, §2; Acts 2004, No. 321, §1.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
After the hearing where the judge looks at the evidence about whether a child needs protection, the judge must decide right away. The judge will announce whether the evidence supports finding that the child is in need of care. If the case is unusual or complicated, the judge can wait up to ten days before deciding, but this is not the normal practice.
If the evidence shows that the problem is really about the family needing help or services rather than the child being unsafe, the judge can decide the family needs services instead. In that case, the judge moves forward to figure out what help or services the family should get, following the specific rules that cover that process.
If the evidence does not support either finding, meaning it does not show the child needs protection and it does not show the family needs services, the judge must dismiss the case. This means the case ends and no further action is taken against the family at this time.
