Rule Text
A. A copy of the case plan shall be filed with the court ten days before any scheduled disposition, permanency, or case review hearing. Upon filing, the department shall provide a copy of the case plan to counsel of record either by mail or electronic mail and shall mail a copy by certified mail to any unrepresented parent at his last known address or send the copy by electronic mail at the electronic mail address expressly designated by the parent in a pleading, at the continued custody or continued safety plan hearing, or at any other hearing at which the parent personally appeared before the court, unless otherwise ordered by the court for good cause.
B. Service by electronic mail is complete upon transmission but is not effective if the serving party learns the transmission did not reach the party to be served.
Amendment history: Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1997, No. 612, §1; Acts 1999, No. 449, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2015, No. 124, §1, eff. June 19, 2015.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a child's case plan is ready, it has to be turned in to the court at least 10 days before certain hearings. These include hearings about the child's living situation, long-term plans, or general case updates. This gives everyone time to review the plan before the judge makes decisions.
Once the plan is filed, the child welfare department has to make sure the parents and their lawyers actually get a copy. If a parent has a lawyer, the department can send it by mail or email. If a parent does not have a lawyer, the department has to send the plan by certified mail to the parent's last known address. The department can also email the parent directly, but only if the parent has clearly given permission to be contacted that way in writing or told the court this in person at a hearing.
If the department sends the plan by email, the law says it counts as delivered once it's sent. But if the department later finds out the email never actually reached the parent, that delivery does not count. A judge can also change these rules if there's a good reason.
