Sec. 9. (a) Except as provided in sections 11 and 12 of this chapter, the department shall conduct, or request that the office of administrative law proceedings assign an administrative hearing officer to conduct, an administrative hearing upon a request made under section 8 of this chapter.

     (b) At the administrative hearing, the department must prove by a preponderance of credible evidence that the perpetrator is responsible for the child’s abuse or neglect.

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Terms Used In Indiana Code 31-33-26-9

  • administrative hearing officer: refers to an individual who presides over an administrative hearing. See Indiana Code 31-33-26-0.5
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
  • Property: includes personal and real property. See Indiana Code 1-1-4-5
     (c) During an administrative hearing under this section, the administrative hearing officer shall consider hearsay evidence to be competent evidence and may not exclude hearsay based on the technical rules of evidence. If not objected to, the hearsay evidence may form the basis for an order. However, if the evidence is properly objected to and does not fall within a recognized exception to the hearsay rule, the resulting order may not be based solely upon the hearsay evidence.

     (d) If the department fails to carry the burden of proof under subsection (b), the department shall amend or expunge the report as ordered by the administrative hearing officer within the period provided under section 15 of this chapter.

     (e) The department and, if an administrative law judge has been assigned by the office of administrative law proceedings, the office of administrative law proceedings, shall maintain the confidentiality of an abuse or a neglect report during the administrative process.

     (f) The administrative hearing shall be closed.

     (g) The administrative files shall be closed and not disclosed to the public.

     (h) The department shall provide a copy of a decision and the written final agency action resulting from an administrative hearing under this section to the department of education if:

(1) the alleged perpetrator is licensed by the department of education; or

(2) the incident happened on school property or at a school function.

As added by P.L.138-2007, SEC.67. Amended by P.L.162-2011, SEC.48; P.L.48-2012, SEC.53; P.L.13-2021, SEC.13.

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