DMR.1.5.020 Petition and Notice of Hearing

(a) Any petition under this ordinance 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 ordinance shall be signed under oath by the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director.

(b) Any petition filed under this ordinance shall cite the specific subsection of Section DMR.1.5.010 of this ordinance 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. 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 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) No petition filed by the Child Welfare Director or the Assistant Child Welfare Director shall be deemed insufficient on account of hearsay, provided that there is a sufficient indication in the petition of the declarant's reliability.

(e) Each petition shall be filed with the clerk of court, with copies served, together with the notice prepared by the clerk of court on all affected persons. The clerk of court serves the parties on behalf of the petitioner.

(f) 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 Children's 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 Children's 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.