CHAPTER 8.  PETITIONS; SERVICE; SUMMONS

Art. 631.  Authority to file petition; custody

A.  A child in need of care proceeding shall be commenced by petition filed by the district attorney.  The Department of Children and Family Services, when authorized by the court, may file a petition if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the child is a child in need of care.

B.  At any time prior to adjudication, any person, including a relative of the child, may petition the court for the provisional or permanent legal custody of the child.

Acts 1991, No. 235, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 705, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 1999, No. 1317, §2; Acts 2010, No. 462, §1, eff. June 22, 2010; Acts 2014, No. 354, §1.