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8.310 Dependency Petitions
(a) Contents.
(1) A dependency petition may be filed as provided
by law. Each petition shall be entitled a petition
for
dependency and shall allege sufficient facts showing
the child to be dependent based upon applicable
law.
(2) The petition shall contain allegations as to the
identity and residence of the parents or legal custodians,
if known.
(3) The petition shall identify the age, sex, and
name of the child. Two or more children may be the
subject
of the same petition.
(4) Two or more allegations of dependency may
appear in the same petition, in separate counts. The
petition
need not contain allegations of acts or omissions
by both parents.
(5) The petition must describe what voluntary services
and/or dependency mediation the parents or legal
custodians
were offered and the outcome of each.
(b) Verification. The petition shall be signed stating
under oath the signer’s good faith in filing the petition.
No objection to a petition on the grounds that it
was not signed or verified, as herein provided, shall be
entertained after a plea to the merits.
(c) Amendments. At any time prior to the conclusion
of an adjudicatory hearing, an amended petition
may be filed or the petition may be amended by
motion; however, after a written answer or plan has
been filed, amendments shall be permitted only with
the permission of the court, unless all parties consent.
Amendments shall be freely permitted in the interest
of justice and the welfare of the child. A continuance
may be granted on motion and a showing that the
amendment prejudices
or materially affects any party.
(d) Defects and Variances. No petition or any count
thereof shall be dismissed, or any judgment vacated,
on account of any defect in the form of the petition or
of misjoinder of counts. If the court is of the opinion
that the petition is so vague, indistinct, and indefinite
as to mislead the child, parent, or legal custodian and
prejudice any of them in the preparation of a defense,
the petitioner may be required to furnish a more definite
statement.
(e) Voluntary Dismissal. The petitioner without
leave of the court, at any time prior to entry of an order
of adjudication, may request a voluntary dismissal
of the petition or any allegations of the petition by
serving a notice requesting dismissal on all parties,
or, if during a hearing, by so stating on the record.
The petition or any allegations in the petition shall be
dismissed. If the petition is dismissed, the court loses
jurisdiction unless another party adopts the petition
within 72 hours.
Committee Notes
1991 Amendment. (c) The time limit for amending a petition
has been extended to be consistent with civil pleading procedures.
The best interest of the child requires liberal amendments. The procedures
for determining if a party has been prejudiced have not
been changed.
(e) This section has been reworded to provide a procedure for
notice to all parties before dismissal and to allow adoption of a
petition by another party.
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