In the Matter of: J.R. and M.R., Children in Need of Services, D.R. (Mother) and M.R. (Father) v. Indiana Department of Child Services, 98 N.E.3d 652

DCS filed CHINS petitions for two children on September 29, 2016, after a report of alleged abuse.
A factfinding hearing began November 22, 2016, and was continued; the court set completion for February 6, 2017.
Parents objected that the continuation pushed the factfinding beyond the 60-day statutory limit and moved to dismiss; the juvenile court overruled and completed the hearing on February 6, 2017.
The juvenile court entered CHINS findings on February 23, 2017, and a dispositional order on March 14, 2017; Parents appealed and also sought relief under Trial Rule 60(B), which was denied.
The appellate court considered whether Indiana Code § 31-34-11-1 requires dismissal when a factfinding hearing is not completed within 60 days and whether prior case law (Parmeter) remains controlling.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Parents)	Defendant's Argument (DCS)	Held
Whether the juvenile court must dismiss a CHINS petition if a factfinding hearing is not completed within 60 days under I.C. § 31-34-11-1	The 60-day requirement is mandatory and subsection (d) requires dismissal without prejudice when not met	The 60-day deadline is directory; courts may extend time and dismissal is not compelled	Held for Parents: the statute is mandatory as amended and subsection (d) requires dismissal without prejudice when the hearing is not completed within the statutory period

Parmeter v. Cass Cnty. Dep't of Child Servs., 878 N.E.2d 444 (Ind. Ct. App. 2007) (held earlier that “shall” was directory in the pre‑2012 version of the statute)
In re S.D., 2 N.E.3d 1283 (Ind. 2014) (CHINS findings must consider family condition at time of hearing)
Chrysler Group, LLC v. Review Bd. of the Ind. Dep’t of Workforce Dev., 960 N.E.2d 118 (Ind. 2012) (statutory construction reviewed de novo)
State v. Eichorst, 957 N.E.2d 1010 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (statutory construction is a question of law)
Wysong v. Auto. Underwriters, 184 N.E. 783 (Ind. 1933) (discussing when “shall” may be construed as directory)