DMR.1.10.050 Petition and Notice of Hearing

(a) Any petition under this subchapter shall be filed with the Children's Court, shall be made under oath, and shall include the following information if known: child's name, date of birth, parents' names, child's parents' last known addresses, and the names and addresses of all other affected persons. Any petition filed under this subchapter shall be signed under oath by the Director of the Behavioral Health Department or his or her designee.

(b) Any petition filed under this section shall cite the specific subsection of Section DMR.1.5.010 upon which the petitioner alleges jurisdiction, and shall allege the specific facts upon which the petitioner asserts jurisdiction exists. No petition shall be sufficient if it merely reiterates the language of the subsection invoked.

(c) Upon filing of a petition, the Clerk of Court shall prepare a notice which shall include notice of the time, date, and place of the initial hearing, and shall instruct any affected person that his or her rights and responsibilities may be affected by the Children's Court in the course of the proceedings. A copy of the petition and notice shall be served on all affected persons not later than twenty-four (24) hours in advance of the hearing. Upon request of the petitioner or order of a judge or magistrate, the Clerk of Court shall prepare a summons directing any parent with legal custody of a child to appear in Court and to produce the subject minor in Court.

(d) Petitions shall be served personally or by first class mail. In the case of a non-marital child, the petition shall be served on any man whose paternity has been adjudicated, or who has filed a declaration of paternal interest, or who is alleged in any paternity action to be the father, except if the child was conceived as a result of sexual assault. In the event an affected person who was not personally served does not appear at the initial hearing the Court may order a continuance and may order the person served personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested. The Children's Court may proceed in the absence of an affected person if it appears that actual service cannot practicably be made. If an individual claiming paternity appears, the Court may make an interim disposition pending a paternity determination based upon reasonable evidence where there are no competing interests or may make any other orders fashioned to serve the best interest of the child.

(e) No petition filed by the Behavioral Health Director or his or her designee shall be deemed insufficient on account of hearsay, provided that there is a sufficient indication in the petition of the declarant's reliability.